Legacy of Heroes
by Cmartin-Panda Productions
Summary: Minato Namikaze. Son Goku. These two are known to be heroes of their own realms, but what happens when the eldest son of Goku and his friend Videl encounter the son of Minato in the world of Shinobi with no way home? (AU. Non-canon mostly. Saiyan Videl. Stronger and slightly smarter Naruto. Stronger and useful Sakura. More confident Gohan. M for Adult Content, language and gore.)
1. Chapter 1: New Arrivals

**Hey all! New story hot off the presses and this one is gonna rock your socks! Idea and story by myself, written by me and co-written by samuraipanda85. He's been a big help with Transfer Students, but due to writers block, I can't find it in me to write chapter 13. This idea popped into my head one day while at work and started writing as soon as I got home. NaruxSaku and GohanxVidel story. M rated for violence and language. please rate and review and give a big shout out to my co-writer and be sure to check out his work as well!**

 **Disclaimer: neither me or samuraipanda85 own DBZ or Naruto. All content belongs to their original owners.**

* * *

"Come on you guys! Konoha is just ahead!" Yelled a blond teenager running down a dirt path who wore an orange and black jump suit.

"Take it easy, Naruto. Don't forget, it's not just you and me anymore." Said an elderly man with long white hair with a large scroll tied to the back of his Gi. "The village will still be there if we slow down."

"Is he always like this, Jiraiya?" Said a teenage girl with black hair in pigtails with a long white shirt and green boots.

"well, hes calmed down a bit over the years. Though, sometimes you wouldn't notice. Today being one of those times." The man known as Jiraiya said. "You two do know that this change in your location will most likely be permanent, right? We don't have the technology you have."

A black haired teen boy sighed in exasperation. "I kinda gathered that much, but I think we'll be alright. Right, Videl?"

The girl known as Videl nodded. "Gets me away from my over protective father that's for sure. It also gives us more time for my training to fly. Which by the way, for the 3 weeks we have been here, you have yet to teach me anything, Gohan."

Gohan sighed. "I wanted to wait until after we got settled here before we did any serious training"

"I know I know... I'm just anxious is all." Videl said waving off Gohan's comment.

The four travelers continued on down the dirt path for a few more miles. Gohan could have flown them all there, but its rare that he took a liesurly walk and enjoy the sights. eventually they came to the gates of the Leaf village, with three figures standing at the gate.

Two were men dressed in black uniforms with green Chunin flak jackets and the third wore a red shirt and a light pink skirt and had vibrant pink hair. the latter of which darted to Naruto and wrapped the unsuspecting blond in a tight hug as the girl cried with tears of joy.

"I'm so glad you're back, Naruto!" The girl cried.

"You really missed me that much, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said returning the hug which only deepened.

Gohan and Videl observed with curiosity.

"Gohan. Naruto never mentioned having a girlfriend." Videl said

"What makes you sure they're together?" Gohan said, receiving a slap upside his head from Videl.

"Are you blind?! Look at them! I don't see just regular friends hugging like that. I'm half expecting them to start making out." Videl exclaimed.

Gohan looked at the blond and pinkette and that was when he noticed how tenderly they were holding each other and for how long they were at it.

"I think you're right, Videl. But if you notice, the girl is crying. could just be a comforting gesture." Gohan said.

Videl conceded a nod. "I didn't think about that and I honestly didn't notice she was crying. I can't see 3 miles ahead of me and make it look like it was 3 feet like you." Videl said with indignation.

Gohan laughed and put his hand behind his head.

That was when Sakura noticed the two other teens and pulled away from Naruto, wiping the tears from her face.

"Sorry about that. I just haven't seen this idiot in three years and hes a really good friend of mine. Anyway, what brings you to the Leaf and could you tell me your names?" Sakura said.

Videl smiled. "I'm Videl Satan."

"I'm Gohan. We met up with Naruto and Jiraiya three weeks ago and have been traveling with them since." Gohan explained.

Sakura nodded. "Where did you come from? Are you Shinobi?"

Videl and Gohan shook their heads. "No, we don't come from the Elemental nations." Videl said.

Sakura was visually shocked. "You don't? where do you come from?"

Videl looked to Gohan who gave her a slight shake of his head to her.

"It's complicated to explain and rather not repeat it. Could you take us to your... um..." Videl said, trying to remember who it was she was told was the village leader.

"Hokage?" Jiraiya said

"Yes, thanks." Videl said nodding.

Sakura nodded. "I understand. You need to go see her anyway. Anyone who goes in or out of the village needs to see the Hokage. Follow me, I'll take you to her."

* * *

Tsunade was busy doing her usual routine, singing mounds of paperwork and looking over mission reports. Oh how she hated doing paperwork. She just wished that Naruto would be old enough to take the reins so she could step down from this tedious job.

Tsunade heard a light knock on her door. "Enter" She said in her usual bored to tears tone. Sakura walked in

"Lady Tsunade. Jiraiya and Naruto have returned." Sakura said with a smile.

Tsunade cracked a smile as well and straightened herself up. "Bring them in! I wanna see how Naruto has grown."

"They have two guests with them." Sakura said

"I see." Tsunade said with a look of contemplation. "What do you make of them?"

Sakura looked at Tsunade with a thoughtful stare. "They're fighters that much I can tell, but they aren't Shinobi from what Jiraiya and Naruto say. I don't think they pose a threat, but I can sense an enormous amount of chakra coming from the male. The girl also has a higher than normal chakra level and from what Jiraiya tells me, the man is a Ki user."

Tsunade was visibly shocked by this. "A Ki user? There hasn't been a Ki user in centuries. Bring them in."

Sakura nodded and made a gesture on the other side of the door to motion the group of 4 into the Hokage's office. Naruto and Jiraiya were the first to walk in, followed by the two strangers. Tsunade's first impression of the two was a petite teenage girl with an impressive amount of Chakra for someone not being trained in its use, and a tall and very muscular man with reserves greater than any shinobi ever recorded. Tsunade took hold of her pen and grabbed two forms and laid them out on her desk and looked up at the two newcomers.

"I want to get these two settled in and then we'll discuss your trip, Jiraiya." The latter nodded as Tsunade scribbled down something on the paper. "Can I get your names, please?"

Gohan took a respectful bow. "I'm Gohan."

Videl did the same. "My name is Videl Satan."

Tsunade nodded. "You ages?"

Videl was first. "I'm 17"

"I'm 18" Gohan said. (A/N: yes Gohan is 18. remember he was 11 when he fought Cell and spent a year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, making him a year older than Videl."  
Tsunade nodded as she wrote down their names and ages. "And where is it that you come from?"

Gohan and Videl flinched at that question. They knew that this was going to be hard to explain. Videl was the first to speak. "As hard as this is going to be for you to understand, what we are going to tell you is all true."

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork and noticed the nervous looks on the two teens. She nodded for them to continue.

Gohan gulped. "We are from a different universe and were transported here on accident." Gohan started. "Videl and I were going to my friends house. She is a scientist who deals with inventions of highly advanced technology, well, highly advanced compared to what you have. She created this machine that could allow a person to travel between dimensions. Videl and I were going to train before she called me to come to her lab to test her new invention, but right off the bat, the test went wrong."

Videl nodded. "We were sucked into a portal that the machine created and when we came to, we had no idea where we were or how we got there at first. It was Gohan who figured it out. That was three weeks ago and if there was a way to get back we would have by now. This dimension doesn't have the technology we have in our time and because of that, we can't replicate the machine that was used to send us here."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "What they say has some truth to it. We were on our way to the Land of Waves when a bright white light appeared out of nowhere and then the two of them were in the middle of it. Naruto and I thought at first it was some kind of new teleportation jutsu, but when we saw them unconscious we immediately thought otherwise.. We took them to a local Inn for them to rest and they woke up two days later. We also found some sort of devices on them that looked to be far more advanced than anything I have seen."

Tsunade had a far away look of shock on her face. Trans Dimensional teens? how could that be possible? She then remembered what Jiraiya said about the devices they carried.

"That story seems pretty far-fetched.. I'm going to need proof of what you say is true." Tsunade said.

Videl pulled out her Capsule case and took out a Capsule. "This is what we call a Capsule, or Dyna-cap. It can contain anything from a magazine to a large house. This one contains my Jet Copter, but its far too big to fit in this little room." Videl said.

Then Gohan pulled out his Capsule case and pulled out one of his capsules. He hit the button on top and tossed the capsule and exploded in a cloud of smoke. once the smoke cleared, a small fridge appeared. Tsunade and Sakura were stunned by this turn of events. Gohan walked to the fridge and opened it and it was full of drinks.

"Anyone thirsty? I have Cola, root beer, orange and grape soda and energy drinks." Gohan said.

"Toss me a grape." Naruto said and Gohan obliged and threw Naruto a purple can of soda, to which Naruto opened the tab and began drinking it.

"Root beer for me." Jiraiya said as he was handed a brown can.

"You know what I want, Gohan." Videl said as she received a tall can that said Red bull on the side and she started drinking it.

"You two want anything?" Gohan said to Sakura and Tsunade.

Sakura nodded. "I'll take a orange if you have it." Gohan nodded and handed a can of orange soda to Sakura. she opened the can and took a sip and found out quickly that the drink was really cold and refreshing. "Holy cow! That's good!" She exclaimed.

Tsunade was wide eyed at what was happening, but nodded and asked for a cola. Gohan handed her a red can on it that said Coca-Cola on it. Tsunade took a sip and was just as amazed as Sakura as she started to take a larger sip form the can. she set the can down as Gohan put away the fridge and looked at the two newcomers.

"Okay. I will admit that the technology used to do something like that is quite possibly decades if not centuries ahead of our own. I still find your story hard to believe, but evidence says otherwise. What are your intentions here?" Tsunade said.

"We don't really have a place to call our own. We were hoping we could have a citizenship here with your approval." Gohan said and Videl nodded in agreement with Gohan.

Tsunade nodded. "So you just want to live here. What about goals? Intentions for work?"

Gohan and Videl looked at each other and back to Tsunade. "Well, we really don't know what kind of work you have that would best suit our needs." Videl said.

Tsunade sighed. "The main job that I can see that would work for at least one of if not both of you is becoming a Leaf Shinobi. I get the sense you two are fighters, no?" Gohan and Videl nodded. "Then I want to see what skills you have as far as your capabilities of being fighters and see where you stack against some of our Shinobi."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "I have spared with Videl and her Taijutsu skills are well above average. She's Chunin level at least and Naruto spared with Gohan. Now this is where things get interesting.."Tsunade cocked an eyebrow in anticipation. "Gohan's Taijutsu is far higher than anything I have ever seen, even beyond my own. He possesses the ability to manipulate Ki in very large amounts and has a very unique form of Kekkei Genkai that gives him one hell of a boost in power. His speed is greater than even the 4th's which was nothing short of astonishing. He also can use his Ki to fly and at great speeds of which-"

"FLY?! Are you serious?!" Tsunade shouted as she shot up out of her chair. "The only one who can fly is the Tsuchikage! Jiraiya, are you sure these two are not spies for him?!"

"Calm down, Tsunade. They are not spies that much I do know. I already told you that they appeared right in front of us and knew nothing of our world. If I suspected for a second they were spies, we would never have brought them along." Jiraiya said.

"Lady Tsunade." Videl said with a pleading look. "I assure you, we're not spies. In our dimension, we were crime fighters who worked along side the police of our city to protect the innocent and provide aid to unexpected disasters and apprehend criminals. Is there any way we can convince you that our intentions are in no way hostile?"

Tsunade sat back down in her chair. She folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes as she mulled over her next decision. "Alright." She said and then opened her eyes and looked up at the two fighters. "I will have you escorted to the interrogation chamber and have one of my specialists probe your minds. This way here, I will know of anything that you may be keeping form me that may pose a threat to my people." Tsunade then snapped her fingers and two ANBU guards appeared. Gohan was not surprised, he had sensed them a long time ago. "Escort these two to the interrogation room and notify Ibiki and Inoichi. They need to be mind probed."

"Understood, Lady Hokage." The ANBU with a Bear mask said as he and the other guard walked towards Gohan and Videl. "Come with us please."  
Gohan and Videl nodded reluctantly and walked with the guards out of the office towards the interrogation chamber.

 _'Videl, are you sure about this? They will know everything about me.'_ Gohan said telepathically into Videl's mind.

 _'Yes, Gohan. We need them to trust us. We have no way of knowing when or if we will get back to our time so this is the best way I can think of gaining their trust, by trusting them. Besides, you're not the only one with secrets, Gohan.'_ Videl thought back to Gohan.

 _'The point I'm trying to make is that if they find out I'm a super powered alien, I'm afraid they would have even more reason to not trust us.'_

 _'Gohan. to them, we are both alien and not just by blood. We come from a time outside of their own and are unsure of what to think or do.'_

 _'You make it sound like you're as much of an alien as I am..'_

Videl didn't answer. She knew that there was something different about her from when she was young, but she didn't know what exactly and she didn't want Gohan to know about it just yet.

 _'Videl?'_

 _'Just focus on getting this over with.'_ Videl said and she didn't say another word.

* * *

Tsunade looked at Naruto and Jiraiya. "You can give me your report now. How did Naruto's training go?"

Jiraiya smiled. "He has learned a great deal, Tsunade. He has gotten far stronger than I would have thought. He is probably one of the most powerful Shinobi in the village."

Tsunade nodded and then turned to Naruto. "Its good to see you again, kid." Tsunade said with a small smile.

"There is something else, Tsunade." Jiraiya said, now with a grim look. "He heard a rumor about the Akatsuki as well as a few other things."

Tsunade nodded and turned to Sakura. "You may leave, Sakura."

Naruto held up his hand. "This concerns her too. It pertains to Sasuke."

Sakura was wide eyed at the sudden mention of Sasuke. Tsunade nodded and motioned for Sakura to take a seat. "Continue on then."

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "We discovered some reports of Sasuke going up against Itachi. The reports we heard was that Itachi killed Sasuke."

Tsunade and Sakura were both visually shocked to hear this. Tsunade was about to question Jiraiya about it, but Naruto held up his hand again.

"We had it confirmed by Itachi himself. We came across him during our travels and he had confirmed that he Killed Sasuke... With little effort from what he said." Naruto said.

"it was also confirmed by a collection office. Itachi pointed to us to where the body was and sure enough, we found him there. We tried to take him back, but the asshole who runs the place used a teleportation Jutsu and he and Sasuke's body were gone. The most noticeable part was that it looked like Itachi drove a blade through his heart." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade sighed with a downcast look. "If that's true, then we can remove him from the wanted list."

Sakura sat in her chair barely showing any emotion on her face. _'I somehow knew this is what was going to happen. Yet, why do I not feel anything except happiness?'_ Sakura thought. _'Perhaps it's because he's lived a life full of torment and hatred and now all of that is gone and he is now resting in peace. No longer under anyone's control..'_

"Sakura?" Sakura was pulled from her thoughts as Naruto said her name. She turned to look at the blond, only for the later to be shocked to see that she wasn't crying. "Sakura... Don't you feel anything about what happened?"

Sakura nodded "I know i should be upset, but in reality, I'm actually kinda glad." Naruto gasped at Sakura's response. "He's no longer suffering, Naruto. His life was full of hatred and depression for what Itachi did to the Uchiha clan and he was bent on revenge. Sasuke may have failed to avenge his clan, but at least he is resting in peace without any hatred or torment. Plus he is no longer under Orochimaru's influence. If anything, his death was a blessing for Sasuke."

"But, what about-"

"My feelings have changed, Naruto." Sakura said interrupting Naruto. "During the time you were gone, I realized that he never cared enough about me to even warrant continuing to love him. Thinking about it, the man Itachi turned him into, I never would have been happy with him. Ever since we became a team, he would always put me down and call me names and ultimately break my heart." Sakura said. Like she needed to get that off her chest.

"But still, Sakura I-"

"It's fine Naruto. Seriously just drop it." Sakura interrupted. Naruto looked down dejected.

Sakura walked up to him to lightly flick him across the forehead. "Come on you goof, wipe that frown off your face. You're taking me to Ichiraku's after this."

That got Naruto's attention.

"What? Ichiraku's? Why?"

"Cause I haven't seen my teammate in years and I want to catch up with him, you bonehead. Why else?"

"Oh right. Of course." Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head trying to disguise his disappointment, which made him miss the smile on Sakura's face.

Tsunade cleared her throat loudly. "Well, if that's all over with, is there anything more to report?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "That was pretty much it. Nothing really important left to tell, unless you wanna hear about my research."

Jiraiya suddenly found himself going through a wall and felt a searing, white hot pain going through his head. Tsunade with blinding speed decked the Toad Sage across the office and into an adjacent wall.

Sakura sweatdropped. "He never changes, does he?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "This surprises you, how?"

Sakura giggled. "I know it shouldn't, but it does."

* * *

Ibiki and Inoichi were with Gohan and Videl in the interrogation chamber. It was a dark and intimidating room with no windows and hardly any light, save for some dimmed lights that were spread around the ceiling. both Videl and Gohan were unconscious so Inoichi could probe their minds. He had finished probing Videl's mind 20 minutes ago and was working on Gohan's. He found nothing threatening in Videl's mind and had already confirmed the two teens' story. From her point of view, they were indeed from another dimension that was far different from their own.

Inoichi was about three quarters done with probing the demi-Saiyan's mind and already he found out about many things that this boy had gone through. Battles and witnessing death from an early age and fighting strange and overpowered creatures that would make a Tailed Beast seem like a joke. Gohan's bloodline and his Super Saiyan abilities as well as his ability to manipulate Ki. The Dragon Balls, Cell, Frieza, all of it.

It was at that moment that Tsunade, Jiraiya and Hiashi Hyuuga entered the room. "What have you learned, Inoichi?" Tsunade asked as the trio stopped a few meters away from the tables the two teens laid on.

Inoichi finished his mind probe and pulled away from Gohan and looked up at the Hokage. "Their story checks out. They're telling the truth from what I can tell. No mind seals, no knowledge of our world at all save for a few things, none of them to concern yourself with. The girl has lived a pretty normal life. Well, normal for her anyway.. But the boy.. His past is troubling and yet, remarkable."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Go on then."

Inoichi stood up and gathered his thoughts. "For one thing, this boy had been put in the line of fire from a very early age. I have seen his memories. He has been training and fighting since he was a toddler. He was kidnapped, damn near beaten to death by several different enemies in more than one occasion. He's fought aliens and strange creatures that have more power than even the strongest of the Biju. In fact, from what I have gathered of his memories, he's not completely human either. He is half human and half something called a Saiyan. Supposedly they were a race of alien warriors that look a lot like humans save for having a monkey like tail."

"He also possesses what I can gather as a Kekkei Genkai that only those of his race can use called Super Saiyan. He has witnessed first hand the death of his friends and his own father and his mentor. In a nutshell, this poor boy has seen far more than any Shinobi has. Most Jonin couldn't have bared witness to the things he has been through. But if you want to know if he poses a threat, then the answer is no. Neither one of them show any ill will towards our world or its people. They both have pure minds and hearts and the will to protect the innocent." Inoichi concluded.

Tsunade nodded and turned to Hiashi. "What do you make of their Chakra networks?"

"Which ones? they each have multiple networks. The boy has three, while the girl has two-no.. she has three as well, I just found the third." Hiashi said.

"Three each? how?" Tsunade said.

"The boy has a large Chakra network in the forefront, a much larger secondary network behind that one, and the third one resides at the base of his spine and I can see where there used to be an appendage at his tail bone. The girl is the same way, although her primary network is smaller than the boys. It's large by our standards, probably about the size of what you would find in a seasoned Jonin. Her secondary network is just as big if not bigger than the boys. But, her networks seemed to be untapped. There is circulation in them, but hardly noticeable. Whereas the boys is extremely developed and moving at a rapid rate. If I were a betting man, I would say that the girl has no training in Chakra, or Ki in this matter. She's basically a clean slate as it were." Hiashi explained.

"Then she could learn either Ki or Chakra. Judging by her performance with her Taijutsu skills when I sparred with her, if she was trained properly to use Chakra, she would make an excellent kunoichi." Jiraiya said.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "She would also make a good medical ninja if she chooses."

Everyone present in the room, save for the teens, nodded in agreement. "Gohan on the other hand, with his power and skill, he far out classes even us Sannin. He's even more powerful than any Kage in history." Jiraiya said.

"Now the big question is; if this girl is the same as Gohan and can get access to the Saiyan Kekkei Genkai, would she be able to achieve it without the use of Ki?" Hiashi asked.

"That's a good question Hiashi. I honestly don't know." Jiraiya said.

"From what I could gather from Gohan's memories, the transformation is triggered by a severe emotional event, such as an overwhelming amount of rage, or the pain if losing a loved one, or the need to protect those who are dear to them and require additional strength through shear willpower and determination. Any of those could be key factors in triggering the event. Looking into Gohan's past, his first transformation was the need and will to protect his friends and family and to do so, he called upon his latent energy to bring forth the transformation. Later on, he transformed into a more powerful form of this transformation from what him and his father refer to as the pain of loss. It seems that this Kekkei Genkai has more than one stage and each stage brings forth even greater power than the last." Inoichi explained.

Hiashi had a look of shock on his face. "How many stages?"

Inoichi shrugged. "From what I could gather, two. But I have no doubt in my mind that it could go further into more stages."

"But the question that needs to be answered is, can this Kekkei Genkai be achieved through the use of Chakra or can it only be used with Ki?" Tsunade said.

"Hard to say, Tsunade." Jiraiya said. "There hasn't been a Ki user in our world for over three thousand years, until now. very few if anyone knows anything about Ki these days, aside from the fact that its our life force and half of what makes up Chakra."

"I suppose you're right.." Tsunade said with a sigh. "Inoichi. Why don't you remove the sleeping Jutsu from our guests."

Inoichi nodded and pressed a finger to their foreheads. after a brief moment, Gohan sat up followed by Videl. The latter of whom groaned as she sat up.

"ugh... Did anyone get the number of that truck.." Videl said.

"Truck?" Tsunade said in confusion.

"I'll explain later." Videl said as she popped her neck and stretched her back.

"Its a type of freight transportation in their world, Lady Tsunade. They, like us, have trains and sea freight, but they also have these land vehicles that transport freight as well as air born vehicles that transport freight or people by the masses." Inoichi said.

"Hence the term-ouch!- truck." Videl said as she felt her knee pop in an uncomfortable manner. "How long have we been out?"

"A little more than an hour at best." Ibiki said

"Then why do I feel like I have been folded into a pretzel and laid out by a rolling boulder?" Videl said.

Inoichi chuckled. "One of the side effects of my clans jutsu I'm afraid. Makes you feel uncomfortably stiff."

"Yea I gathered that much." Videl said as she winced at a tight muscle in her back refusing to give into her demands.

"So, I take it you know everything about us now.."Gohan finally said as he got up from the table.

Tsunade nodded as she ran her chakra infused hand across Videl's back to loosen up her muscles. "We pretty much know everything about your lives."Tsunade then softened her face as she recalled the memories Inoichi got from Gohan. "Even all of yours, Gohan. I can honestly say that I'm sorry you went through of all that you did."

"Don't worry about it. If I hadn't gone through what I did, I wouldn't be the person I am now." Gohan said in his typical cheerful Son attitude.

Tsunade instantly got the feeling like she was standing in front of an older, taller, smarter and far better built Naruto. The thought of which brought a small smile to her face.

"So where do we go from here?" Videl asked.

"That's entirely up to you at this point." Tsunade said. "But, we need to clear the air of a few things first. Hiashi Hyuuga here scanned both of your Chakra networks and found that each of you have three. While due to Gohan's origins and the third being at the base of his spine, most notably in his tailbone, we expected that much from him. What we can't figure out, is why you have the same third network at the same location as Gohan." Tsunade finished.

This elicited looks of shock from both teens. Videl knew Gohan was a Saiyan due to the fact that during the three weeks they have been here, Gohan finally opened up and confessed pretty much his entire life story to Videl, which she accepted after much explaining. However, if what they were being told was true, that meant that there was more to Videl's past than either of them knew.

"What I saw using my clans Kekkei Genkai was that both of you have a Chakra source embedded at your tailbone and there is evidence there was once an appendage there. Judging by Gohan's memories, we have concluded that you both are either kin or of the same blood mixture. Cross-checking with Videl's memories, we have ruled out the possibility of being related. That being said, since Gohan's father was a Saiyan, that means either Videl's mother or father is Saiyan." Hiashi concluded.

"But, that's not possible! My mom and dad were both human.. I don't remember much about my mother, but what I do remember is that she had no interest in fighting while my dad is a martial arts master, at least he is in his mind." Videl said.

"Well, the evidence says otherwise." Hiashi stated, not convinced with Videl's story.

"Videl" Gohan said softly, still with a look of shock. "Are you really a Saiyan?"

"I can't be one... It just doesn't make sense.."

"It does to a degree." Gohan stated. "You have a far higher power level than what I could sense from everyone else on Earth, save for me and my friends. I know you have trained for a while, which would explain a few other things, but the fact that you have such a high level, if I were to put it to a number, I would say around 200 whereas the average power level of a human is 5. Your dads I would say was around 40."

"And what number would you give yourself, Gohan?" Tsunade asked.

"Somewhere in the low billions." Gohan stated plainly, earning gasps from everyone in the room except Videl. She half expected that answer.

"You said that the average power level on your Earth for humans is 5. What would you say it is here?" Jiraiya asked.

"From what I could sense of this world, I would say the average is around 120, with the highest being around 1000." Gohan said. His estimations were not that far off.

"Who has that power?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know, but I can sense that it doesn't belong to a good person. At first I thought Naruto was the strongest human here, but then sensed this other energy signal that was far higher. I would put Naruto around 600 for his maximum." Gohan stated.

"Could it be Orochimaru?" Hiashi asked to no one in particular.

"Orochimaru is strong, but he isn't that far ahead of Naruto." Jiraiya said.

"Could be the Akatsuki leader." Tsunade said. "Whoever that could be."

"Would make sense based on what Gohan said he could sense of this person's intent." Inoichi said.

"Can we get back on track here?" Videl shouted. "This is all very interesting, but I would like to know were Gohan and I stand in all of this."

"That is also something I would like to know." Everyone turned to face a newcomer in the room. It was an old man wrapped in bandages from head to toe with only part of his face visible.

"No one asked for you to be here, Danzo." Tsunade said venomously.

 _'I don't trust this guy. He's evil that much I can tell, but not very strong.'_ Gohan thought.

"You would just blindingly accept two strangers who merely say they are from another dimension and that they are not completely human? You are a bigger fool than I thought." Danzo said.

Tsunade was seething with anger at Danzo's comment. "Asshole" Videl said.

"You will learn to keep your tongue still, bitch, before I cut it out." Danzo said.

"What did you just say to me?!" Videl shouted.

Gohan phased directly in front of the man. "I don't care what kind of position you hold here or what you think you are to this world. If you value your life, you watch what you say to Videl in front of me." Gohan said with a cold and icy tone, his eyes flashing teal for a brief moment as he glared at Danzo. Danzo seemed to be unphased.

"Threatening me, are you? Just for that alone I could see to it that you are beheaded publicly.." Danzo said smugly

"Try it. Even Videl here is stronger than you and I wouldn't even have to lift a finger to knock some sense into you." Gohan seethed, his anger boiling.

"You will soon learn your place, boy." Danzo huffed and turned back to Tsunade. "If you were smart, you would either send these two to their graves or at least out of this village. We don't need their kind here."

"Who the hell are you to speak for everyone? Last time I checked, Lady Tsunade is Hokage of this village, not Danzo with his ROOT vermin." Hiashi said

"I have said my peace. The council will hear of this, Tsunade. It won't be long before these two are out on their rears. Mark my words and make no mistake of that." Danzo said before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Bastard couldn't even come here himself. He sent a clone to speak for him" Tsunade said her words dripping with poison. "You two don't worry about that asshole. Even the council can't stand him half of the time."

"What exactly is he to this village?" Videl said.

"He is the Captain of the ANBU Black Ops and suspected operator of ROOT ANBU who follow whatever order he gives them. We don't have sufficient evidence to prove this however." Tsunade said. "But enough about that. I'm going to work out some details with the council as to what the final word will be about your placement here. In the meantime, we would like to know if you would be interested in becoming a Leaf Shinobi? Gohan can train you in using Ki, or I can assign you to a team to train you to learn Chakra and Ninjutsu and Genjutsu."

"You can still learn to be a Shinobi despite the path of ability control you choose." Hiashi said

"I think she could use both." Gohan said earning confused looks from everyone. "You said that like me she has three energy networks, right?" Hiashi nodded. "Then she can have her primary network trained to use Chakra and I will train her to isolate her latent energy network to use Ki as well as to switch between the two of them at any given moment."

"Could that work?" Tsunade asked in general.

"In theory, its possible." Hiashi said. "Her primary and secondary networks are not connected and are independent from each other. It would take a great deal of training and meditation to learn how to control both Ki and Chakra, but the theory is plausible simply because she has more than one network. If she just had the one then no, It wouldn't be possible."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Once I get the green light from the council, I will assign you to Team 7 as their temporary replacement squad member. You already know two of its members; Sakura and Naruto, and is lead by Kakashi Hatake. For now, you two may leave and I will get a room at a local hotel for the both of you to stay until more permanent housing can be arranged. Would you two be comfortable sharing a room or do you want separate rooms?"

Gohan and Videl blushed at the idea of sharing a room, but before Videl could speak, Gohan contacted her mentally.

 _'What do you think?'_ Gohan asked.

 _'I would be lying if the thought of that idea never crossed my mind. I think for simplicity sake we should share a room. I just hope they have more than one bed.'_ Videl said.

 _'uh... Yea that would get awkward.'_

 _'What exactly does that mean? Are you saying the thought of sharing a bed with me is offensive to you?'_

 _'No no! I mean, it just wouldn't be right for us to do that since we're not going out or anything.'_

 _'...I think we need to have a talk later.'_ Videl said and looked to Tsunade. "A single room is fine."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll send someone to reserve a room for you. You can walk about the village freely and take in the sights for now. I'll send an ANBU to notify you of where you will be staying. Hiashi will escort you two outside."

Videl and Gohan bowed. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade." They both said in unison. They turned to the Hyuuga elder and walked away with him, leaving Tsunade, Ibiki, Jiraiya and Inoichi alone.

"Do you really think they can be trusted?" Ibiki said.

"They have the purest hearts I have ever seen and they have no malicious intent to anyone here, save for maybe Danzo." Inoichi said.

"That could be said for anyone who knows him really." Jiraiya stated.

"I trust them enough to at least stay here until I talk with the council. I think its safe to say that I can count on a positive vote from the Hyuuga and Yamanaka clans." Tsunade said and Inoichi nodded.

"The Nara and Haruno clans would be questionable. The Aburame clan I think will give them a pass. The Inuzuka clan would be the most difficult to convince as they trust no one. I think if the Akimichi clan saw Gohan's eating habits they would be convinced almost immediately." Jiraiya said with a chuckle, earning a chuckle from Inoichi and a confused look from Ibiki and Tsunade.

"How is that funny? Does he eat a lot?" Tsunade asked.

"A lot would be an understatement." Inoichi said, bringing up some of Gohan's memories. "He eats enough to feed an army, but from what I have learned, its part of his Saiyan physiology. Saiyans apparently have a very high metabolism and need to consume vast amounts of food to keep their strength up."

"I guess Naruto and Choji have competition then." Tsunade laughed and later joined in laughing by Jiraiya and Inoichi.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the middle of the shopping district of the Leaf village.

Sakura parted the flaps separating the interior of the Ichiraku ramen stand from the outside world. The smell of pan fried noodles, meats, and vegetables filled her lungs with their enticing scents. Immediately she was greeted by none other than the store owner's daughter, Ayame. Filling in for her father who had taken a rare day off.

"Sakura-san!" The noodle maiden cried in delight.

"Good afternoon Ayame." Sakura greeted in kind.

"Back for another quick bite before returning to the hospital?" Ayame inquired. "You're in luck, I just finished a piping hot pot of vegetable ramen."

"Not today, I'm off duty today. Actually I brought someone you might like to see."

Ayame glanced behind Sakura to see the silhouette of a young man. This got Ayame's attention. It wasn't often, or ever, that Sakura would bring a date with her. And the boy in question could hardly be called that. Even with the flaps obstructing his face, Ayame could tell that the young man was fairly tall, muscular build, spiky blonde hair, and if she was looking through the slits in the flaps right, cute little whisker marks on his-Holy crap is that-"Naruto?"

"In the flesh, ya know." The blonde smiled at the waitress turned chef before taking a seat closest to where Ayame was standing by the counter before Sakura could even sit down. "No time to talk, I need three bowls of miso ramen with extra pork to start with, and four more to come after that." The brown haired girl could only nod to confirm the order what with the now grown up Naruto leaning over the bar to get right into her face. Ayame took this time to appreciate how handsome the blonde had gotten over the last 3 years of being gone. The Toad Sannin's training had stripped the boy of all his baby fat, leaving hard angled jaws and cheekbones until only the face of a man remained. Although you could still see the twinkle in his eye of carefree youth and the smile of innocents on his face. So the remnants of the old cheerful Naruto was still there to enjoy. Something both ladies had picked up on.

Sensing that she was about to be caught staring, the ramen chef quickly turned around and began her favorite customer's order, not even bothering to ask for Sakura's order.

"You know something Ayame-chan? I spent three years roaming the elemental nations with Pervy Sage, and not one. Not one! Ramen stand had anything near as good as your old man's."

"Is that right?" Inquired Ayame. "I'll be sure to tell my Dad. He'll be delighted to know that our favorite customer proved that our ramen was the best in the world."

"That's right. When I become Hokage, its going into law that Ichiraku's has the best ramen in the entire world." The Hokage to be raved.

"Speaking of…where is your dad? I was looking forward to seeing the old man."

"Oh, he's under doctor's orders to take a day off once a week after I had to treat him for exhaustion." Explain Sakura, muscling her way back into the conversation.

The two ramen enthusiasts looked to Naruto's left at the pink haired medic who they both had forgotten was there. Both were embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. Was I interrupting a conversation between you two?" Sakura asked in a rather forceful way.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto stammered trying to ease the situation. "Its just that its been so long since I've had Ichiraku's ramen and seeing Ayame again…"

Sakura ignored the flustered blonde and ordered her own bowl of vegetable ramen. Giving the whiskered teen a taste of his own medicine. The two sat quietly for a moment before Naruto attempted conversation again.

"So Sakura-chan, you trained under Granny Tsunade right? That must have been tough, tell me about it."

"Oh it was, Naruto. She literally beat into me the ins and outs of all things medical. From assessing injuries and ailments in the field and in a hospital. To stabilizing allies and treating patients…" Sakura continued on with more detail about how exactly she used her mystic palm technique to heal people. While Naruto would normally find this interesting he was mostly distracted by seeing Sakura's face light up as she talked about being a medical ninja which she obviously took a great amount of pride in. Naruto hadn't seen Sakura get this excited about something since Sasuke.

Before that depressing thought could set in, Ayame brought them their ramen. Four piping hot bowls of goodness. Like a kid on Christmas, Naruto's face split into an ear to ear grin. He thanked Ayame and the ramen gods before splitting his chopsticks and diving in.

Sakura was halfway through explaining about how to heal chakra burns when their food arrived. She knew that there wasn't a force on this or any plane of existence that was going to keep Naruto from enjoying his ramen. So she let him chow down while she attended to her own meal.

Her vegetable ramen was as delicious as ever and Ayame even remembered that Sakura preferred it to be low sodium. She might have long been off a diet ever since starting Tsunade's Ass Kicking Training (her words, not Sakura's), but that didn't mean she had to partake in overly unhealthy foods. In fact, her medical training had made her even more self-aware of what foods she put in her body. Even if the long shifts at the hospital usually didn't allow her to make smart choices. Still, Sakura always chose to come here at least once a week. A little habit she got into after Naruto had dragged their old genin team to the small shop every time it was his turn to pick. When he left for his training with Jiraiya, it became a nice little reminder of him and of happier times.

By the time she was finished with her bowl, Sakura looked over at her reunited teammate surrounded by nine empty ramen bowls. A quick motherly scolding for over eating such unhealthy foods and the duo had paid for their meals and waved goodbye to Ayame.

The kunoichi and the ninja walked side by side with one another through the bustling streets of the Leaf. Naruto with his arms holding up the back of his head and Sakura with her arms draped across her back.

"So Naruto, tell me about your other two friends. They seem like they've got an interesting story behind them."

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you, Sakura-chan. They come from a world without chakra or jutsus. Everyone just uses Ki. They fight mostly with taijutsu. Kind of like Bushy Brows, but these guys can fly and shoot beams out of their hands."

"Now you're pulling my leg."

"It's true, I've seen Gohan do it. I sparred with Gohan and he flat out steamrolled me, even using the Kyuubi's Chakra, he still kicked my ass and he didn't even break a sweat! We got attacked by an armada of pirate ships off the cost of this one resort island we were staying at and Gohan flew up into the sky and rained energy blasts down upon them like some divine hand of God!" The blonde raved. "Pervy Sage Sparred with Videl. She is no where near as powerful as Gohan, but her taijutsu skills had the old pervert on his toes the whole time!" The pinkette had a look on her face of wonder, imaging someone being so powerful. Then she got an evil idea in her head.

"That reminds me. Naruto, do you know if Gohan is seeing anyone?" She asked, more interested in the reaction than the answer. The blonde stumbled at this one.

"Gohan?! W-why would you care if he's seeing someone? You barely know the guy!" The boy stammered.

"No reason, but I would like to get to know the guy. Like you said, he's an interesting character. Plus I just love strong guys."

"Hold on Sakura-chan. I'm a strong guy. Why don't the two of us go out on a date instead of you and this stranger?" Naruto was desperate that she listen to reason.

Unfortunately, Sakura was having too much fun teasing the blonde Baka to stop now.

"Who said anything about a date? Besides, he's a friend of yours. That hardly makes him a stranger in my eyes if you like him."

"I-I…" The Leaf's Most Unpredictable Ninja was caught completely off guard.

 _'He's so lucky that he looks cute when he's clueless. Which is most of the time.'_ Sakura thought.

Honestly, she had missed this. Teasing Naruto. You could always count on him to react in more interesting ways then you ever could with Sasuke. Looking back on it, Sakura was disappointed that she didn't take the time to hang out with Naruto more before he left on his training trip. It probably would have led to a lot more memorable moments for Team 7 and between the two of them. Too much time had already been wasted pining after Sasuke.

No matter, Sakura was determined to make up for lost time. Even without Sasuke being there to act as the carrot driving the two of them forward, there was still work to be done. And no doubt they would be called upon soon by her master to use their training to benefit the village somehow. As Sakura's mentor could attest, time was always short for a ninja.

For now, the duo had to reintroduce Naruto to Shikamaru and Temari.


	2. Chapter 2: The Talk

As Naruto and Sakura were enjoying their time together for the first time in three years, Gohan and Videl were wandering the village and taking in the sights. They would get odd looks from the villagers as the walked down the streets, checking out all the stores and other venues of sales as well as some of the housing areas. Most of the stares were focused mainly on Videl. She wore her long white t-shirt, black spandex shorts and green boots as she had always worn.

Gohan on the other hand was wearing his blue Gi that was based off of Piccolo's Gi with a red sash and red wrist bands and black shoes. Because of his chosen attire, he was receiving far less stares, other than women ogling his bulky build which annoyed Videl greatly.

Normally, Videl wouldn't care about women starting and ogling Gohan, not that it even happened much. But, due to recent events and the fact that Gohan and herself where pretty much the only ones of their species left in this universe, she grew closer to Gohan. She doesn't realize it yet, but she was falling for him hard. The way he encouraged her to be stronger. The way he comforted her when the realization hit that they may be trapped here forever. The fact that he was always by her side. The life they lived before they came here and how many times he had saved her as Saiyaman just added to her feelings.

She liked Gohan as a friend, but when she said to herself that he was only a friend, she felt like it was an insult to him. Like there was more to be said about how she felt about him. Sure, she thought of him as a nerd and a weakling at first, but after she learned about his identity as Saiyaman, she no longer thought that. Add the fact that Gohan told her everything about his life, including the real outcome of the Cell Games, Videl was starstruck around this boy. Anytime she saw Gohan, she felt her cheeks warm up and her heart flutter. These feelings she was having were completely new to her. She had never felt anything like this in her life, and strangely to her, it only happened while she was around Gohan. She had come up with several theories about these feelings, but there was one feeling that seemed to stick with her no matter how much she tried to deny it.

Love.

Every time that word came into Videl's mind, she immediately thought of Gohan. Not her father, not what little she could remember of her mother, not Erasa, Gohan. He was on her mind day and night since they came to this place, hell even before that. It was like they were drawn to each other from the start. She thought about the old saying, 'opposites attract' and thought that there may be some truth to that. But there was also something else that could be the root cause of all of this.

She is a Saiyan.

Videl had thought about what her Saiyan family had in connection to Gohan's Saiyan family. Were they close? Did they know each other? Were they like family? So many questions swam through her mind and she couldn't come up with a definitive answer.

"Videl? Are you okay?" Gohan asked, bringing Videl out of her thoughts. Videl looked up to see Gohan looking at her with concern in his eyes.

She blushed and nodded. "I'm fine, Gohan. Just thinking is all."

"Oh really? what about?"

'Should I tell him? Should I tell him about how I am feeling? He can be clueless sometimes, but he is the smartest person I know. Am I even sure what I'm feeling is right? does he fell the same way?' Videl thought. Little did she know, Gohan heard every word she said in her mindscape. He wasn't using his telepathic technique that he learned from Piccolo, he heard it plain as day, as if Videl was talking to him.

Gohan brought a soft smile to his face, and without even thinking, planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Videl's face lit up like a firetruck. Her emotions going into hyperdrive as she tried to process what just happened. Gohan had kissed her. he ACTUALLY KISSED HER! The warm feelings she had been having intensified greatly, as if to confirm that her thoughts about her feelings were right. She looked at Gohan with a stunned look, but Gohan just laughed.

"I heard your thoughts, Videl. I'm not sure how, but I did. I hope that answered any questions or doubts you had." Gohan said, now sporting a blush of his own.

"You... heard my..." Videl gasped in shock. Her shock now replaced with a feeling of joy and a warm smile crept to her face. "So, then you know how I feel now."

Gohan nodded. "Honestly, I have felt the same for a while now, even before we came here." Gohan said with a small smile, his face still blushing. Then he became slightly serious. "We are pretty much the last of our kind in this place, Videl. We have no one to relate to but each other. I would like for us to become a couple and then eventually-"

"Okay" Videl said interrupting Gohan.

Gohan looked confused. "Okay? Okay what?"

"I said Okay." Videl repeated. "You said you would like for us to be a couple and I agree. We both have the same feelings and as you said, we're the last of our kind. It's a shame that the future of our race has become dependent on the two of us to continue the bloodline we share."

Gohan's blush intensified. "V-Videl! W-what are you.."

Videl laughed. "I'm not saying we should strip down and fuck like a pair of jackrabbits in the middle of the street." Videl said bluntly, making Gohan's face turn completely red at the very thought. "I'm saying that the survival of our race is depending on us to continue it. We could be with whomever we choose, not necessarily with each other. But it seems fate has decided for us." Videl said as she held onto Gohan's right arm.

Gohan, his face still beet red, smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Yea I guess it has. I'm not complaining either."

"Good." Videl said. "Oh, and by the way, Mr. Saiyaman." Videl said as she grabbed Gohan by the collar of his Gi. "If you put on that ridiculous costume and start parading around here like a member of the Ginyu force that you told me about, I will beat the shit out of you and burn that damn thing you call a super hero suit. Understand?" Videl said sternly.

Gohan nodded nervously. Videl smiled happily. "Good." Videl released her grip on Gohan's collar. "Now, lets go get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Um.. We don't have any of this worlds currency." Gohan said.

"I can help you with that." Said a voice behind the couple. they turned around to see a man with white hair, a headband that covered his left eye and a mask that went up over his nose, dressed in the dark blue jump suit and a dark green flak vest. "Yo." He said and waved a hand. "You two must be Gohan and Videl, correct?"

The two demi-Saiyan's nodded. "Yea, who are you?" Videl asked.

"I'm Kakashi. Lady Tsunade sent me to tell you where you'll be staying for now." Kakashi took out a piece of paper with an address on it. "That is the Inn you'll be staying at for now. Lady Tsunade also said that the only room they could get was one with just a single bed and there is no couch, but there should be a chair in there. Go to the address and the lady at the counter will tell you where your room is. Later." And with that, Kakashi was gone, leaving two stunned demi-Saiyans.

* * *

In an empty hotel room at the East District Inn, the sound of a key unlocking a door was heard. the door swung open and two people walked in. Videl took in the relatively cozy room. In the middle of it was a queen size bed, a fairly plush chair, off to the side was a little kitchenette and a bathroom. There wasn't much, but they would be comfortable at least for a few nights.

Gohan placed the bags he carried on the floor next to the bathroom. They had picked up some more appropriate clothes. Gohan some casual attire consisting of a few t-shirts and various styles of pants. Videl, the same, but also some proper ninja attire that consisted of a dark blue top that covered here breasts and shoulders with a mesh net underneath that was long sleeve and covered her belly, dark blue skirt with her black spandex shorts underneath, fish net leggings and heeled open toe boots similar to what Sakura wore. She also wore her black finger-less gloves.

Gohan grabbed a blanket and an extra pillow from the shelf in the bathroom and positioned himself in the chair. They had been out shopping for a while and was now past dark, not to mention stunning the bbq restaurants owner by how much they ate. Videl had 3 orders of food, which is way more than she would normally eat, while Gohan nearly cleaned the place out.

Videl noticed Gohan settling himself into the chair and groaned. "Gohan, what are you doing?"

Gohan was stunned at the nature of Videl's question. "What do you mean? I'm getting ready to sleep."

"Not in the chair you're not. I'm not having my first boyfriend sleep in some uncomfortable chair." Videl said. She had shed her skirt and top, leaving her in her fishnets and shorts. She got into the bed and patted the side of the bed next to her. "Come sleep with me."

Gohan nearly fell on the floor. "W-what?!"

Videl rolled her eyes. "Gohan, we're just sleeping. Besides," Videl started as her face reddened. "I want to be held in the strong arms of the man who saved the Earth and me. Besides, this bed is too big for just me, so come over here."

Gohan sighed and did what he was told. He took of his Gi, leaving him in just boxer shorts and climbed into bed with Videl. From there, instinct took over and he wrapped his arms around Videl and pulled her close. The warm feeling of her body heat along with the warmth of the love he has for Videl set in and he was relishing in it all. Videl rested her head on Gohan's chest and started to doze off while Gohan had his head resting on Videl's as he did the same.

"Gohan! Are you there?" Said a voice. Gohan and Videl sat up looking around for who said that.

"What was that?" Videl said.

Gohan smirked. "I know that voice anywhere. Is that really you King Kai?"

They heard an excited laugh. "You know it is! I finally found you guys!"

Videl started doing back flips in her mind. One of the gods from their world that Gohan told her about had found them. The possibility of going home was alive again.

"I have been looking all over creation to find you two. How did you get into the 24th Universe I wonder?" King Kai said.

"24th Universe? Is that where we are?" Gohan said.

"Yup. Took a hell of a long time to find you. Going through each universe and searching you two out." King Kai said.

"Are you going to be able to bring us back?" Videl said at last.

King Kai shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. There is no way to bring you two back."

Gohan had expected this, but Videl had gotten her hopes up and for nothing. Once again, she was devastated and had started crying. Gohan pulled her in closer to comfort her.

"I'm sorry to say, but we had tried both sets of Dragon Balls to bring you two back. But the dragons don't have the power to bring you two back and Bulma can't make another machine like the last one which had exploded after you two were sent through." King Kai explained.

Gohan was stunned. "She can't?! Why?"

"Because as it turns out, she had used a rare and unstable material that isn't nomrally found on Earth. She used Red Matter which is found in an asteroid belt near the edge of the Galaxy. It would take her 25 years one way just to get there, nevermind the trip back home. I'm sorry you two, but you're stuck in that universe." King Kai said sadly. "However, I had gotten in contact with the gods of that universe and they told me they would keep an eye on you and alert you to any dangers that would come to pass. The Supreme Kai here is going to set up away for you to talk to your friends and family in a few days. For now, just try to make good of a bad situation."

Gohan sighed. "I guess we really don't have a choice." Gohan started rubbing Videl's back. "It's okay hun. We'll be fine here."

"Hun?" King Kai said. Then he realized who Gohan was talking to. "I see. So the Saiyan bonding has started, has it?"

This got the attention of both Demi Saiyans. "Bonding?" Videl said.

"Yes. During the Saiyan mating ritual, a Saiyan instinctively chooses a mate and the bond process starts. You can communicate to each other by thought and will eventually feel what the other feels emotionally. I would also expect to see your tails grow back by morning as well." King Kai explained.

"Huh.. Well, that explains some things." Videl said. Then a thought that she had earlier popped into her head. "Who was my real mother and what was her relationship, if any, with Gohan's family?" Videl asked.

"Hmm.." King Kai hummed as he looked through history records in his mind. "Your mother was a full blooded Saiyan named Fasha, who was close with a Saiyan named Bardock, Gohan's grandfather. They were on a 5 man squad that worked under Frieza. But that same squad attempted to start a rebellion, gaining quite a following. It would seem that in the heat of the battle, Bardock had Fasha escape the planet and had sent her to Earth in hopes of keeping the Saiyan race alive. She died giving birth to you due to unforeseen circumstances."

Videl nodded in silence. She finally knew the connection between her family and Gohan's, which explained why they were always drawn to each other.

"At any rate" King Kai continued. "You now know the situation you two are in. I'm sorry there isn't more we can do. Gohan, train Videl. Teach her what you know. Also, the full moon is the mating season for Saiyan's It will arrive in two months. There are more details to this, but I'll let someone else explain it then. Once the mating season comes, that is when you will have to decide to finalize the bond through intercourse. If not completed, the bond that you have already established could break. That being said, you have two months to decide how you want to proceed."

Gohan blushed and Videl coughed. "So, when the season comes, its either we fuck or find someone else.. No pressure there." Videl said sarcastically.

King Kai chuckled. "That's pretty much the short version if it, yes. I'm sure you two will figure it out. Anyway, good luck you two. King Kai is outta here!" and with that, the connection was gone.

"Well.." Videl said. "That was... enlightening."

"Y-yea... for lack of a better term." Gohan replied.

They had spent several hours trying to figure out how this was gonna go come mating season. Videl had decided that they would cross that bridge when they came to it. For now, she was drop dead tired and wanted to sleep. The couple returned to their previous position and almost immediately went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning came too soon for the couple as they were awoken suddenly by a knocking on their door. Videl was the first to hear it, so she put on a robe she had bought yesterday and walked to the door. She peered through the little eye hole and noticed that it was the same man from yesterday. She unlocked the door and opened it.

"Good morning" Kakashi said giving off one of his trademark eye smiles.

"Morning. Um, whats your name again?" Videl asked.

"Kakashi."

"Oh, right. Gohan is still sleeping at the moment so what can I do for you?"

Kakashi grinned under his mask. "Well, I thought you should know that early this morning, Lady Tsunade was able to convince the council to give you and Gohan citizenship in the Leaf Village and that your application to be a Shinobi has been accepted. Your placement and promotion will follow after we test the results of your training."

Videl smiled. "That's good to hear. We learned last night when one of the deities from our universe who contacted us last night told us that we're basically stuck here. So this works out for the best."

Kakashi nodded. "Also, I would like you and Gohan to come to training ground 7. I'm testing Sakura and Naruto to see where they stand now. Teams 8, 9 and 10 will be there as well to observe, plus you get to meet the rest of this generations Shinobi who you will eventually be working with."

Videl nodded. "Absolutely. Just let me get the lump out of bed and we'll be there shortly."

Kakashi chuckled. "Alright then." and in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

It took about an hour for Videl and Gohan to get ready. Gohan was wearing his blue Gi that he had been wearing and Videl in her new outfit and she decided to put her hair in a ponytail. Gohan thought it made her look even cuter. They ate a large breakfast and left the hotel room and locked the door behind had Videl follow him as he could sense a large amount of energy signatures gathered in one place. A few of them were quite strong. Gohan could have flown them there, but decided to walk. It took some time before they neared their destination. Videl and Gohan had just arrived at the training grounds when they heard to voices call out to them.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

The two half Saiyans drew their eyes towards the shouting. Two annoyed looking ninjas in orange and pink. Fully decked out in their ninja gear, ready for anything. When they saw that the duo was not who they were looking for their attitudes changed.

"Sorry, we thought you were someone else." Sakura apologized.

"Don't tell me you guys just decided to show up too." Naruto pointed to a small gathering of teenage Shinobi Gohan and Videl had failed to notice on their way there. All sitting on picnic tables and passing around bento boxes. Among the crowd, Gohan could spot a snow white dog the size of a small horse being fed beef jerky by wild looking guy in some kind of biker leather outfit. Who was chatting with a beautiful pale eyed girl with long hair so black it was almost blue and another figure who's every facial feature was covered behind dark sunglasses, a hoodie, and a high collar trench coat. Next to him was fat teen (said teen sneezed at that exact moment) with thick armor plating on his shoulders and thighs who was eating enough food to give Yajarobi a run for his money. Beside him was a platinum blonde haired beauty with blue eyes, fishnet stockings, and matching purple miniskirt and midriff top. She was chatting the ear off a pineapple haired youth wearing what Gohan had deduced was the standard ninja uniform vest and a bored look upon his face. Like he was three seconds from nodding off. Next to him were four other ninjas, two of which were standing up in matching Piccolo green jumpsuits looking fucking ecstatic and shouting about youth. The other two were trying to act like they didn't know the other two. They were a boy and a girl respectively; the boy bared such a striking resemblance to the pale eyed girl that they could be siblings. The girl wore a Chinese style outfit with brown hair buns. All the while absentmindedly twirling a pair of kunai in her hand.

There in the open field stood the three shinobi, standing opposite one another like a classic scene ripped straight out of one of the timeless westerns. Kakashi on one end, his students on another.

Naruto created 5 clones, one of which stayed with him while Sakura attempted to attack Kakashi head on, launching a punch that barely missed the Jonin and hit the ground, creating a huge crater in the ground.

Videl and Gohan were stunned by this attack.

"Holy shit! Gohan, did you see that?" Videl exclaimed.

Gohan nodded. "I felt that. She has a lot more power than she leads everyone to believe."

Videl tilted her head and looked at Gohan. "How much more powerful?"

"I would say around an eighth of my base form." Gohan said and Videl's eyes widened in shock.

Shikamaru cocked an eye brow at Gohan. "Base form? What do you mean by that?"

Gohan chuckled. "My race has a unique Kekkai Genkai that is in all intents and purposes, a transformation. Our muscle mass grows a little bit, our speed, strength, stamina, power and ability are increased by 50 times that of our normal. Mainly the only physical differences is that our hair becomes a golden blonde and stands up higher and spikier, along with our eyes changing to teal." Gohan explained.

"Sounds like one hell of a power boost." Shikamaru said

"I say you're full of shit, man. No human has that kind of power." Kiba stated.

"Well, Gohan and I are not entirely human." Videl said, earning confused looks from everyone there, except Shikamaru who looked to be deep in thought as his brain began to work on analyzing the two newcomers.

"That would explain the tails then." Shikamaru said as he pointed to what looked like brown furry belts around Gohan's and Videl's waist.

Gohan and Videl nodded, slightly surprised that this kid figured it out so quickly, while everyone else looked at the two completely stunned and shocked with mouths agape.

"No way! There is no such thing as aliens." Tenten said in disbelief.

"Actually, I don't know about here, but where we're from there is, and we're evidence of that." Gohan stated.

"I still don't buy it, even if you do smell like monkeys." Kiba stated.

"Not to get off subject here, but does anyone else think that Gohan and Kiba sound a lot alike?" Choji pointed out.

"Shut up Choji, nobody cares." Ino said.

"Anyway." Videl said. "We actually came here from another dimension and we have proof of it. Also Naruto and Jiraiya are witnesses." Videl explained. That earned gasps from everyone there.

"She's telling the truth." Tsunade then said. "Inoichi Yamanaka confirmed it with his mind jutsu. Everything they say is true."

"So, you're saying that not only are they from another dimension, but they are also of a different species as well?" Kiba said in shock and Tsunade nodded. Kiba then had a serious face. "Gohan, I want to fight you to test out your abilities."

"As do I." Lee said.

Gohan smirked and chuckled. "Sure. Later, after this."

"I'm personally curious to see this Kekkai Genkai you mentioned." Neji said.

Gohan nodded. "Of course."

"I still don't know if I believe all of this." Tenten said.

"Our tails are not enough evidence for you?" Videl said, frowning as she did so.

"How do we know they aren't just part of a costume?" Ino said.

Videl and Gohan unwrapped their tails from their waist and they moved about freely, earning more gasps and looks of shock and astonishment. To add to it, Gohan began balancing himself on his tail which earned more of the same reaction from the group.

"That answer your question?" Videl said with a hint of annoyance and a smirk on her face.

"This has to be some kind of Genjutsu." Kiba stated

Neji shook his head. "My Byakugan shows that there is actually chakra running through those tails. However, it's part of a separate chakra network from the rest of their bodies starting at the base of their spine. Their tail bones seem to come to a sharp curve past the L5 vertebrate and come out at nearly a perfect 90 degree angle. What has got me curious is that not only do their tails have their own chakra network, but they also have a secondary one that is many times larger than their primary." Neji informed with Hinata confirming it with a nod.

"So they have three Chakra networks total?" Ino said in Astonishment, receiving a nod from the Hyuuga cousins.

"That was another thing Hiashi Hyuuga confirmed as well." Tsunade said.

* * *

It was three hours into the bell test and the tension had only risen. Kakashi had fled deep into the forest forcing Naruto and Sakura to pursue after him. Thankfully, Tsunade had thought to bring her crystal ball to keep watch over the test takers from a distance. Now Tsunade, Videl, Gohan, Shizune, Gai, and the rest of the Konoha 11 were gathered around the glass ball watching the two surviving Team 7 students contemplating a plan of attack.

"Man I wish this thing had some audio." Gohan whined.

"You aren't the least bit impressed that this thing can spy on anyone anywhere in the world? Without power?" Videl snapped back. She was agitated that the fight had gone on for so long. As fascinating as it was seeing an entirely new fighting style fought between three experts, everything started to grow stale after a while.

"Not really. Baba's crystal ball always showed us anything we wanted with sound. Heck, she could even fly around on top of it." Gohan explained.

"And this one can only see things going on in the bounds of the Leaf village." Shino added.

"Exactly." Gohan replied

"Oh pipe down. We're trying to watch." Ino said in annoyance.

Begrudgingly Gohan dropped it. Inside the crystal ball he could see Naruto and Sakura crouching low behind a tree. Sakura seemed to be keeping on high alert, while Naruto seemed deep in thought.

Naruto's eyes shot open and everyone could swear that they saw a lightbulb appear over his head.

The whisker faced blonde was snickering at Sakura like he had just thought up the funniest joke.

"What's he doing?" Lee asked

"I think he came up with a plan…" Gohan replied

"Naruto? _The_ Naruto, came up with a plan?" Ino exclaimed

"This ought to be good." Videl said with a smirk that would make Vegeta proud.

Inside the crystal ball, Naruto was explaining whatever his plan was to Sakura, who paused for a moment before her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she got very excited.

"Seems like Sakura likes this plan of his." Tenten Said

"Maybe whatever Naruto thought up was unintentionally brilliant?" Choji said through mouthfuls of chips.

"That _is_ his thing." Shikamaru stated

Naruto and Sakura leapt from their hiding spot, making a beeline towards Kakashi.

The group of spectators could only wait and see what clever strategy the orange and pink duo would utilize. For now, the two only seemed to be looking for their prey.

"That's odd." Shikamaru voiced to no one in particular.

"What?" His best friend Choji answered.

"Naruto and Sakura have lowered their guard. They're bunched up and not even attempting to spread out. They're completely open to ambush, yet they're acting like their taking a stroll through the park."

"That's a pretty neat observation, Shikamaru." Gohan complimented.

"And accurate," Videl weighed in. "Look at them. The smirks on both of their faces. Like cocky punks who think they've already won their match."

"That's our Shikamaru." Ino praised. "The planning guy that never misses a detail when he gets off his lazy ass."

Shikamaru choose to ignore that insult because he was too busy fantasizing about the afternoon nap he was going to take later.

Back in the crystal ball, Naruto and Sakura had begun their master plan against Kakashi with a full frontal assault. They sprinted towards him completely out in the open.

"What the hell are they doing? Frontal assaults are wasted here, Billboard Brow!" Ino shrieked at the sphere.

The whole gang watched on bated breath as Naruto caught Kakashi's attention and shouted something they couldn't hear. Unbelievably, it seemed to work. Kakashi froze with a look of horror on his face. He clamped his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to block out whatever it was that Naruto was telling him. Then he shut his eyes tight to prevent his Sharingan from reading Naruto's lips. For whatever reason, the tables had turned. Now Kakashi was the sitting duck with two tigers in front of him midway through pouncing.

As fast as they came, Naruto and Sakura leapt back from Kakashi without landing so much as a punch.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen, certain that they had missed something. When the two ninjas in the magic sphere held up a little silver bell in each hand.

"Holy Sage of Six Paths…they did it." Someone said, nobody knew who for certain.

Moments later, Gohan and Videl plus the Konoha 11 were all gathered around blonde maverick ninja and the pink firecracker medic. Showering them with praise, hugs, and slaps on the back. One particular love tap from Gohan sent Naruto colliding with the dirt face first. Sakura had to untangle herself from her girlfriends group hug in a hurry to heal up the massive bruise formed on Naruto's back. Gohan desperately tried to apologize to Naruto before Videl could beat an apology out of him. Naruto took all of it good naturedly, he was too ecstatic at beating Kakashi with Sakura to care.

Meanwhile, the adults looked onward at the younger generation celebrating surpassing one of their own. Said concurred adult was busy getting healed by Shizune while trying to ignore Gai's insistence on having a rival match right then and there to lift Kakashi's spirit.

"So Kakashi, what exactly did that idiot say to you that made you freeze up like that?" Tsunade asked.

"Sigh. Oh nothing I'd like to mention without hurting my pride." Spoke the copy-cat ninja. Instinctively he reached into his back pocket for his newly acquired novel but thought better of it. For once he just didn't feel like reading the next chapter in his beloved series.

Tsunade snorted. Leave it to the brat to win an impossible fight by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Not to say that Tsunade's own apprentice hadn't put up a stellar fight as well. The two of them worked well together and it showed just how much of an inspiring force they had become to their classmates based on their reactions. Unlike the Third Hokage and now Kakashi, Tsunade had yet to experience the joy of having her underlings surpass her. Shizune, for all her mastery of the medical arts and science, could never go far enough to succeed Tsunade. Now she looked to two people to one day surpass her. Sakura as a medical kunoichi and Naruto as Hokage. They still had so far to go, but Tsunade could tell she was looking at Konoha's bright future. So she might as well help them along.

"ATTENTION!" Tsunade barked. Like trained solders, nine teenage ninjas snapped to attention. Save for the new comers, Gohan and Videl, who stood around dumbly, confused at the sudden shift of tone. And for Naruto and Sakura. The former of whom was still kneeling on the ground injured and the later whom was busy healing him.

"At ease." The Hokage barked again. The ninjas all spread their legs shoulder width apart while crossing their arms behind their backs. A small smirked crossed the Sannin's lips. Oh how she found it amusing that the tactless Uzumaki had the gall to not stand and ignore the Academy's conditioning. But more importantly she was proud at her apprentice who was prioritizing her patient over listening to her superior.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno." The Hokage announced.

"Outstanding job you two. You got the bells thanks to flawless teamwork and knowing your opponent. I hereby reinstate the both of you back onto Team 7, led by Kakashi Hatake." A chorus of whoops and hollers met with this news.

"Also, it has come to my attention that you, Naruto Uzumaki, are still a genin."

"You don't have to rub it in, Baa-chan." Naruto muttered to himself.

"This will not do. So I hereby promote you to chunin rank effective immediately. Congratulations."

Tsunade smiled. Seriously, it was worth promoting him just to see the look on his face. He lit up like a thousand watt bulb. Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one.

Sakura stopped her healing to wrap her blonde haired teammate in a big hug. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Even with him shouting in her ear, she couldn't help but smile. Sakura was so caught up in the moment she pecked Naruto on the cheek. The pinkette kept hugging the blonde in excitement, not noticing that her kiss had rendered him stunned beyond words. Not even Sakura seemed to realize what had happened, save for the one known Saiyan female in this universe, who couldn't suppress her inner girly girl at this new and interesting development.

 _'I knew it!'_ Videl shouted in her head. _'I knew they liked each other.'_

The next thing the group heard was a shriek of surprise coming from a very stunned and shocked blond Kunoichi. Ignoring the stares she was getting, Ino walked up to Sakura and Naruto in complete and utter shock.

"You...y-y-y-you just..." Ino stammered while Sakura cocked an eye brow in confusion.

"Spit it out Piggy. Whats got you so surprised?" Sakura said.

"YOU KISSED NARUTO!" Ino shouted.

It was at that moment that realization struck Sakura at what Ino said. Sure enough, when she looked at Naruto, he had the largest grin she had ever seen him with and then recalled the memory of her giving him a peck on the cheek. She blushed furiously, but it slowly gave way to a warm smile.

"I guess I did." Sakura said warmly as she looked back up to Ino. "Why is that an issue?"

"I KNOW I didn't hear that right! For the longest time you have been chasing after Sasuke and now all of a sudden you're on Naruto like shit on a shoe!" Ino shouted.

At the sudden mention of Sasuke, the looks of joy and happiness that were on the two remaining members of team 7's faces turned to that of sadness and regret. Ino picked up on this but didn't pay much attention to it.

Shino then stepped forward. "It would seem, based on their sudden change of emotion, that something bad happened to Sasuke." The only response he got, was a nod from Sakura and Naruto. But then they looked up with a light smile on their faces.

"He was killed by Itachi." Naruto said.

Now everything started making sense. Sakura's warm closeness to Naruto, Naruto's mood being one of great joy, the fact that neither of them were really all that sad that their former teammate is dead, everyone there knew that he had been suffering since the Academy. Now, with the knowledge of his passing, everyone felt relief for the late Uchiha that he was no longer in pain and no longer on the dark path that he let himself wander onto. Everyone in the group, save for those who already knew, were shocked at first, but most quickly came to terms with it and were happy that he no longer had any pain.

* * *

After a lengthy discussion by Naruto and Sakura as well as Tsunade explaining the details of Sasuke's death, everyone had parted ways, save for Kiba, Lee and Hinata as well as Gohan and Videl. Neji decided to stay. Kakashi wanted to stay, but Tsunade had just received an urgent message from the Sand Village, requesting immediate medical aid. This, in turn, put Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi on an extended mission to the Sand Village.

Kiba was the first to step up to fight Gohan and Hinata, after a long conversation with Videl, decided she wanted to spare with the latter. Lee would take on Gohan after he was finished with Kiba.

Kiba took up his fighting stance as he watched Gohan slip into his. Kiba gave a confused look to Gohan at seeing such a bizare figthing stance, yet for the life of him, he couldn't find a weak spot. Neji and Lee noticed this as well.

"His stance is flawless. there is no weak spot anywhere." Neji said.

"I believe you are right Neji. He is a true master of martial arts with that stance." Lee agreed.

Kiba smirked. "Never saw a stance like that." Kiba said.

"Its a mixed form of my fathers Turtle stance and my sensei, Piccolo's demon stance." Gohan explained.

Kiba shrugged like he didn't even care. "Whatever. I'm going to show you that it doesn't matter what stance you have, I can still break it." Kiba said with a smug smirk.

Gohan chuckled. "You can try, but it won't happen."

Without warning, Kiba dashed at Gohan at full speed, in hopes to get the half Saiyan off guard and land a devastating blow to his chest.

* * *

 **Sorry I took so long in getting the next chapter up. Still recovering from my surgery. However, due to a family crisis, the next chapter may be delayed a while. My great grandma is on her death bed right now and she doesn't have long to live. The next chapter may come in a week or two so be on the lookout. I will update later on.**


	3. Chapter 3: Training Begins

As Kiba launched his attack in hopes to land a powerful kick to Gohan's chest, Gohan quickly latched his hand on Kiba's leg, spun him around and slammed him on the ground. the two Byakugan users were stunned at how fast Gohan moved and Lee was down right impressed. Unlike Hercule in Gohan's time, Lee didn't think that was a trick.

Kiba grunted as he shot back up. His large dog, Akamaru, was by his side. Using hand signs, Kiba cast a Jutsu on Akamaru to turn him into a clone of himself. Gohan was shocked at first, but quickly recovered.

"This is my Man Beast Clone Jutsu. Now you will see the Jutsu that very few can stand up against. Fang Over Fang!" Kiba and Akamaru dashed towards Gohan, both spiraling in the air as their claw like finger nails became longer. They were essentially two human tornadoes of death. They soared through the air and were about to land their attack on Gohan, but to everyone's amazement, Gohan had caught the attacks as the assailants were in mid air.

Gohan smirked as Kiba and Akamaru looked completely stunned. "My turn." He simply said. Gohan delivered a sharp kick to one of the Kiba's launching him away. It turned out it was Akamaru as the clone jutsu dispelled and the large dog laid there unconscious. Then Gohan whipped his fist around and landed a direct hit to Kiba's forehead that launched him into a tree, knocking him out.

The Hyuuga cousins and Lee were completely stunned by this. He moved so fast and packed so much power into those attacks, they wondered if Kiba and Akamaru were even still breathing. Hinata ran to each one to check on them, noting that they were fine for the most part, but may wake up with a massive headache.

"Alright." Lee said as he walked up to Gohan. "I shall be your opponent now."

Gohan held up his hand. "Lets watch Hinata and Videl fight first. I'm curious to see this."

Lee nodded. "I agree." Lee turned to face the two women. "You may take your turn now."

Videl and Hinata nodded and got into their stances. Hinata took her clans stance while Videl used a mixed form similar to the turtle style. Again, no one could find an opening. Gohan did train Videl a little bit of the martial arts he knew. However, Videl has yet to learn either Ki or Chakra.

Videl was the first to attack, launching a barrage of punches at the Hyuuga girl, the latter barely had time to react to such a fast combo. Her Byakugan was active and still she had a hard time keeping up. Hinata was either dodging or blocking just about all of Videl's attacks using her Gentle Fist style.

"Looks like they are evenly matched." Lee observed.

Gohan shook his head. "Not by a long shot, Lee. Hinata is giving Videl everything shes got, but Videl isn't even warmed up yet."

"What, seriously? How can you tell?" Lee asked in shock.

"I can sense their energies. Hinata is struggling to stay ahead of Videl. Videl is basically toying with her. Hinata may get a couple of lucky shots in, but Videl's power is much higher. But what it really boils down to is skill. I don't know much if anything about Hinata, but I do know that Videl is quite skilled and can hold her own in nearly any situation." Gohan said as he watched the fight progress.

Videl, after getting a feel for Hinata's fighting style, finally found a weakness and exploited it. Upon Hinata's next attack of her gentle fist, Videl swiped away Hinata's hand and delivered a hard punch to Hinata's gut and then round-house kicked her in the ribs sending her flying across the field.

 _'How the hell did I do that?'_ Videl thought as she looked shocked at how far she launched Hinata, the latter of whom was slowly getting up.

 _'Videl. Your power has increased when our tails regrew. Your power has nearly tripled due to your tail.'_ Gohan said into her mind.

Videl nodded. _'I see. That makes sense.'_

Hinata walked back to position herself across from Videl and dropped into the palm strike stance.

"I will not lose here." Hinata said as she reactivated her Byakugan. "Eight Trigrams: 32 Palm!"

Hinata darted forward at new found speed and started sending strike after strike at Videl. "One palm! Two palm! Four Palm! Eight palm! Sixteen Palm!... Thirty two Palm!"

Videl dodged all but the last six attacks. the last six caused her to lose the use of her left arm and weakened her overall state.

"What the hell was that? Why can't I move my arm?" Videl stated in shock.

"I blocked off your chakra points and nerves to your left arm and I also partially blocked off the chakra points to the left side of your body. I'm actually quite surprised you were able to dodge nearly all of my attacks." Hinata explained. "That was the Eight Trigrams Palm strike jutsu. It is a Hyuuga clan jutsu that seals off your chakra and can sometimes block signals to parts of your nervous system. Although Neji is better at it than I am. He can go up to 64 strikes."

"I see." Videl said. Suddenly she started concentrating and she then had a white aura flaring around her, which everyone was shocked to see, even Gohan. "I'm going to try something that I have seen Gohan use." Videl said darkly.

Gohan knew that sound and look all too well. "She's pissed now." Gohan said.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

Gohan looked at Lee. "One of the abilities that those of us like myself and Videl is that if we are enraged to a certain point, we inadvertently gain access to our dormant powers. In this case, it would be our secondary chakra network as everyone calls it, but its actually a massive reserve of Ki energy." Gohan explained and then turned back to look at Videl. "It would seem that she has done just that."

Videl had use of her left arm again and dropped both hands by her side and cupped them together. Everyone besides Gohan had no idea what she was doing, but Gohan knew that stance all too well.

"Oh... Crapbaskets." Gohan said as he just realized what she was doing.

"What is it that she is doing?" Lee asked.

"You might wanna duck and cover. Shits about to hit the fan." Gohan said as he phased next to Neji to explain the situation, which resulted in Neji getting Lee and running away.

"Kaaa... Meeee... Haaa... Meeeeeee..." A blue ord of Ki farmed in her cupped hands and shone brightly over the sun that beat down on them. "HAAAAA!" Videl shot her hands forward and the blast erupted from her hands in the form of a long blue beam.

Gohan, with barely seconds to spare, Darted in front of Hinata and kicked the blast up into the air with everything he had. As the Kamehameha blast faded from view, Gohan looked over at Videl, who laid passed out on the ground. _'And just like me when I first used my power against Raditz, the use of that power knocked her out.'_ Gohan thought. Then he took a look at his leg, were his pants were ripped and his shoe was burnt. _'I almost couldn't deflect it. Videl had a lot of power behind that blast. It's a good thing I was here, otherwise Hinata and a large size of the area would be nothing but dust.'_

Gohan then turned to look at a stunned and frightened Hinata. "Are you okay?" Gohan asked. Hinata couldn't utter a single word. The shock and fear still evident in her eyes and she was shaking badly. She had just witnessed an attack that could have killed her had Gohan not saved her.

"Hinata!" Gohan shouted, bringing the former out of her stupor.

"Uh, y-yes?"

"Are you okay?" Gohan said.

Hinata nodded. "Yes I-I'm fine. Just shook up is all."

Gohan nodded and picked up Videl bridal style and carried her away from the field. Once far enough away, Gohan took out his Capsule case and pulled out one that was labeled "HOUSE." He pressed the top button and tossed it. The capsule exploded in a large cloud of smoke and there stood a semi-spherical shaped house. Gohan walked inside carrying Videl in his arms and laid her down on a nearby couch. Gohan then took out a pen and post-it pad and wrote a note explaining what happened;

 _Videl_

 _I laid you down to rest. You had accidentally accessed your hidden power and got knocked out. No one was hurt. I'm going to do my spar with Lee and then I'm going to go talk to the Hokage about a few things. Kurenai should be here around 5pm to start your Chakra training. The fridge is fully stocked so help yourself. Tomorrow we'll start training in the GR and working on controlling your ki. I'll explain more when I get back._

 _Love, Gohan._

Without thinking, Gohan took off to the air and landed just a few feet away from Lee. The latter of whom was shocked to see that Gohan could fly.

"GAH! How in the world did you do that?!" Lee Exclaimed.

"Did what? All I did was flyyyyyy... shit." Gohan said as he realized what he had done. "Um... I'll explain afterwords." Gohan said and Lee nodded.

"Very well. Give me one moment to make an adjustment." Lee said and bent down and untied the weights he had on his legs and removed the weights he had on his arms, letting them fall to the ground, leaving a small cloud of dust and a fairly good size hole.

"Impressive. How much weight is that?" Gohan asked.

Lee smirked. "600 pounds even."

Gohan laughed. "Is that all?" Gohan said as he removed his wrist bands and ankle bands. He tossed them across the field and landed hard into the ground, creating a huge crater. "Those weigh 2000 pounds each, totaling to 8000 pounds or 4 tons."

Lee stood speechless and his mouth agape. _'He walks around with 4 tons of training weights?! Gai-sensei and myself have a lot of training to do.'_ Lee thought to himself as he brought himself out of his stupor and took his stance with Gohan following Lee's example.

"Just so you know Gohan. I have no intentions of holding back." Lee said.

"That's good. I can sense a great deal of power from you so I wouldn't expect anything less." Gohan said.

Gohan was the first to attack launching himself at Lee with a punch. To Gohan's surprise, Lee countered it and landed a punch of his own to Gohan's chest, followed up by a kick to Gohan's ribs and another punch to the face. Gohan regained his senses and was on the defensive. Soon, but Taijutsu masters were throwing blows left and right only to be match, dodged or countered by the other. Their blows and attacks had gotten so intense that they were creating shock waves from the shear force of the blows. Lee used his leaf hurricane attack, only for it to be blocked by Gohan as he used his forearm to block the kick.

Gohan soon regretted doing that. That attack actually hurt his arm, but shook off the pain and countered with a kick to Lee's abdomen, knocking him away.  
 _'Lee is definitely stronger than Sakura. As he is now, he's about a quarter of my max base form. Yet, I can sense more power that he has yet to use.'_ Gohan thought as Lee stood up.

"You are indeed a very worthy opponent. But as I said, I will not be holding back and neither should you." Lee proclaimed.

Gohan nodded. "I'm at about a quarter of my base form right now."

Lee nodded. "Then I wish to see your full power."

Gohan shook his head. "I could seriously hurt you at my full power, Lee. I would rather that I didn't."

"Please show me your power. I want to know where I stand against a being such as yourself. I will not be satisfied knowing that I was not able to face your full power." Lee pleaded.

"Alright. However, I will not attack." Gohan conceded.

Nearby, Hinata and Neji activated their Byakugan and Neji was eager to see Gohan's Kekkai Genkai. Kiba and Akamaru came to and joined the Hyuuga cousins.

Gohan let out a battle cry as he focused his energy. His eyes changed from black to teal and his hair turned from black to a golden blond. His muscles bulged and he soon had a golden aura surrounding him, followed by blue static arcing around his form. With a final cry, his aura exploded, sending a massive shock wave that knocked everyone over.

Neji was the first to stand and when his Byakugan eyes met Gohan, he nearly fell over from shock. "Unbelievable... How is this possible?"

Hinata was the next to sit up and saw with her eyes what it was that Neji was seeing and gasped in shock. Lee and Kiba sat up as well and looked at Gohan. His hair and tail were now a golden blond and his eyes were now teal.

"Amazing..." Lee muttered.

"I guess he wasn't bullshitting us after all." Kiba said as Akamaru barked in agreement. "hey Neji, what do you make of his Chakra?"

"Where do you want me to start? His network expanded so much its almost like hes made out of Chakra." Neji said in shock.

"Ki actually." Gohan said. "I don't use Chakra."

"Ki?! But no one has used Ki in thousands of years!" Neji exclaimed.

"That just adds to the evidence that he is from an alternate universe." Lee stated as Gohan nodded.

Lee then darted towards Gohan and landed a punch on Gohan's face. The punch did nothing. Gohan didn't even flinch or budge. Lee's eyes widened and then attacked Gohan with everything he had, but it didn't hurt the power Super Saiyan.

"My attacks are doing nothing?" Lee said with a good amount of surprise.  
"In this form, I'm more than 100 times more powerful than my base. I am currently at Super Saiyan level two." Gohan said. "In this form, I can destroy an entire galaxy without breaking a sweat."

It was then that most of the villages Jonin and Tsunade came rushing to see what that bright light was, only to stare in shock at Gohan's form. Gohan then reverted back to his base form and smiled.

"Even in this form, no one can really do any damage to me. Save for Videl when she gets trained up." Gohan stated. "Lee, you really are a good fighter. You have a lot more potential than you lead yourself to believe. I have a room that increases localized gravity to a certain amount that you could use to benefit your training."

"You mean like gravity seals?" Neji asked.

Gohan scratched his head. "I really don't know what those do."

"Basically, once attached to a person, it activates and increases gravity to the wearer by up to 20 times gravity." Neji explained and Gohan nodded.

"It's similar to that, only this is a 20x20 room that several people can train in and it can increase the gravity by up to 1000 times." Gohan said.

Neji's eyes widened in shock at that explanation. So did Kiba's, Hinata's and everyone elses. Lee on the other hand, had a smile wider than anyone has ever seen. Gohan continued to explain the benifits of gravity training to Lee and everyone else there. Gai was there and he even wanted to give it a go sometime. Tsunade explained that for now, Videl would have to make the most use of it as her training is what would determine her rank as a ninja. Gohan explained that her training between himself and whoever was to train Videl in Chakra would taker roughly a week. Kurenai and Gai were the ones who volunteered. Gohan got information from both Jonin team leaders and would talk to Videl about it later.

* * *

After a while, everyone left, save for Gohan and Tsunade. Gohan had to talk privately with her about a few things.

"So what is it that you needed to talk about?" Tsunade asked.

"A few things. As you probably already know, mine and Videl's tails grew back." Gohan said and Tsunade nodded. "With these tails, our power does increase, making us stronger. However, there is a very lethal side to having these tails."

That got Tsunade's attention and her facial expression grew serious. "You best tell me now. Does this pose a threat to the village and anyone in it?"

Gohan sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. It can be a threat to the whole planet, especially with my power. However, the full moon is what the trigger is."

"Explain." Tsunade said.

"When a tailed Saiyan stares at the full moon, said Saiyan turns into a primal beast called an Oozaru. It is a 100 foot tall giant ape that acts purely on instinct and goes on a destructive rampage. The only way to stop it is to either cut off the tail or destroy the moon." Gohan explained.

Tsunade nodded. "Well, at least if it does happen we have a way to stop it. But why does the moon trigger this transformation?"

"The full moon gives of a certain type of radiation called Blutz Waves. It only affects Saiyans and the radiation is absorbed by the eyes and then a chemical reaction starts. The base of the tail releases a chemical that mixes with the absorbed radiation and triggers the transformation." Gohan explained  
Tsunade nodded. "So why not have the tails removed?"

"We're going to, after Videl's initial training." Gohan said. Then he let out a deep sigh. "There is also something else that I would like to explain to a doctor about."

"Gohan, I'm the lead medical expert in the village and trained Sakura as a medical ninja. I'm also a doctor at the hospital." Tsunade stated.

"Oh ok. I didn't know. Well, during the full moon is not only a risky time for tailed Saiyan's, but its also the Saiyan mating season." Gohan said as his face turned a deep red.

"Okay. So you and Videl would have sex. whats wrong with that?" Tsunade asked.

"It's more to it than that." Gohan said. "There is something called the Saiyan bonding process in which a Saiyan male or female's body instinctively chooses a potential mate. The bonding starts at the telepathic level, enabling both potential mates to hear each others thoughts. if either side accepts the bond, it deepens from there. Each side will eventually feel each others emotions and to seal the bond, the couple must complete the process by mating during the mating season. We talked to one of our worlds deities and he explained all of this. A family friend of mine, Vegeta, who is a full blooded Saiyan, said that during the mating season, a female Saiyan's fertility rate increases by 400%. Leaving almost all contraceptives useless."

"And that is where you find your problem, is it? You two are not sure you want to be parents yet." Tsunade concluded, to which Gohan nodded. "What were to happen if you don't mate during the full moon?"

"The bonding process doesn't complete and then our bodies will reject each other and we'll have to find other partners. Videl and I are going to discuss it. We have two months until the next full moon." Gohan said.

Tsunade nodded. "Well, let me know what you decide. What about the potency of the males sperm, does that get an increase?"

"I don't know for sure, but I would imagine it does get a significant boost nearly matching the level of the female's fertility." Gohan said.

"Well, I see how that could be a problem for our contraception jutsu. It looks to me that you two need to talk about this. If you two really love each other and want to complete the bond, then you have to decide for certain how you want this to proceed." Tsunade concluded.

"Agreed. Oh and another thing. As far as the Saiyan race is concerned, the mating that seals the bond is the Saiyan's form of marriage. When Saiyan's mate, they mate for life." Gohan added.

Tsunade nodded. "I see. This gives me more insight to Saiyan physiology. Was there anything else?" Tsunade asked and Gohan shook his head. "Very well. I expect a full report on Videl's training this time next week."

Gohan nodded and Tsunade left the training grounds. Gohan returned to his capsule house to check on Videl, to see that she was still asleep, or at least that's what he thought. The note he had written was moved to the table that was next to the couch, showing that Videl had been up. Gohan smiled as we went to go take a shower.

After a while, Gohan came out of the shower and put on some sweatpants and made his way to the kitchen, where Videl was cooking supper.

"I'm making roast beef. It should be ready in about 20 minutes." Videl said as she sat at the table. "Perhaps you can explain more about what happened earlier."

Gohan nodded and took a seat at the table. "Well, first, how much do you remember?"

Videl moved her head down. "Everything."

Picking up on her tension, Gohan placed his hand under Videl's chin and lifted her head up. "It's okay Videl. No one was hurt and I was able to deflect the attack before Hinata got hurt. She holds no grudge, you just scared her a little."

Videl started to smile as Gohan placed his other hand on her cheek, to which he leaned her head into. "I still want to apologize to her. What did you talk to Lady Tsunade about?"

Gohan then began to recap everything that he had told Tsunade. When he came to the mating portion, Videl was about to pound Gohan into oblivion, until he explained that Tsunade is a doctor, which made Videl ease up a lot. He also explained more details about the mating process that Vegeta had told him that she didn't know.

"And that's it in a nutshell." Gohan said.

Videl's face was beet red at the thought of her and Gohan starting a family so soon. She was nervous, happy, scared, she honestly didn't know what to think.

"You don't need to make a decision now. We have two months until the full moon. I want you to-"

"Gohan..." Videl started interrupting Gohan. Videl looked up with a warm smile on her face as her eyes sparkled in the light of the kitchen. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I have been thinking about how we would be together and what our family would be like. I know we've only just started dating, but I feel comfortable with the thought of being with you forever. Besides, it isn't like I know very many people here and we can't go back home. Even back home, the only other guy I really know is Sharpner and hes an ass."

Gohan laughed. "Yea that's true. He can be a dick sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Okay, ALL the time." Gohan and Videl both laughed. Gohan was pulled out of his laughter when he saw Videl staring into his eyes. His eyes met hers and they drew closer together. they could feel each others breadth on their lips as they grew even closer until Videl's lips brushed Gohan's slightly. From there, instinct took over and they pressed each others lips together in a passionate kiss that seemed to have lasted an eternity. They were like this for 5 minutes and they pulled away, smiling warmly.

"You just accepted the bond with that, Videl." Gohan said.

"I know." Videl said. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you Gohan. I have had these feelings for a long time."

"So have I. I love you too, Videl." Gohan said. They drew in for another passionate kiss and pulled away when the timer on the oven beeped. They ate their dinner in happiness as they discussed Videl's training.

"So during this week, when you're training with me, we'll be training in the gravity room. I'm more than certain that you can handle 100 times by the end of the week." Gohan said

Videl nodded. "Who are my choices for ninja training?"

"Well right now you have Gai who is the captain for squad 9, and then there is Kurenai and shes the team leader for squad 8. Gai mainly focuses on Taijutsu whereas Kurenai is a Genjutsu master and has extensive Ninjutsu skills with exceptional Chakra control. She would be your best bet honestly."

Videl nodded again and took a sip of her mango juice. "Alright, I'll have her train me. I'll go talk to Lady Tsunade tomorrow morning." Videl stood up and carried her several stacks of dishes to the sink and began washing dishes. Gohan followed suit and help by washing his load of dishes which was several times larger than Videl's. once dishes were done, Videl grabbed a change of clothes from when she went shopping and took them into the bathroom.

"I'm going to have a shower and go to bed." Videl started. Then a rather dirty thought came across her mind. "You can join me if you want."

Gohan nearly fell on the floor. _'Did she seriously asked me to take a shower with her?!'_ Gohan shouted in his head. But Videl heard it and laughed.

"You know, I can hear your thoughts." Videl said, causing Gohan to turn a deep shade of red. Videl rolled her eyes. "Will you stop being so shy around me? We're adults, we're boyfriend and girlfriend and with the bonding process underway we might as well be fiance's. So just relax, will ya?"

"But, I thought we were going to wait until the full moon to do this?" Gohan said.

Videl rolled her eyes. "We can complete the bonding process before the mating season. This is probably the safest time to do it without having to worry about me getting pregnant." Videl said. But then as she thought about it, having a child with Gohan didn't sound like a bad idea. In fact, she was smiling at the thought of starting a family with her mate to be. Whether it be tonight or during the mating season, she wanted to start a family sooner rather than later.

Of course, Gohan heard every thought she had and his embarrassment was replaced with joy and Videl noticed this. "You heard my thoughts again, didn't you?" Gohan nodded. "So, what do you think about that?"

"I would love to start a family and I would love it to be with you, Videl." Gohan said.

Videl felt herself well up with joy at what Gohan said. They didn't bother to say anymore and went into the bathroom to shower.

After a long and rather loud shower, Videl and Gohan were in their bed and sleeping without a care in the world. They decided to use a contraception method this time, simply because Videl has training ahead of her and she couldn't afford to be pregnant right now. They had both decided that they would conceive on the full moon. Tomorrow would be the beginning of Videl's training and she had no idea how hard it was going to be.

* * *

"This...is...ridiculous!" Videl huffed out as she struggled to walk in the increased gravity. "How can anyone stand in this pressure?!"

"Videl, its only set on 5 times." Gohan sighed.

"You may be able to handle it but this is my first time dickhead! How is it that you seem completely fine at this level?"

"Simple. I train in 500 times gravity. I can't even feel this level." Gohan said

Videl gasped. "500 times?!" Videl shouted. Then she chuckled and smirked. "Well that explains how you're so strong."

"And you can get there as well with enough training. I know it seems like I'm being hard on you, but trust me. It's worth it in the long run." Gohan said.

With renewed determination, Videl got up and resumed her training, working on getting used to the increased gravity. Gohan was impressed with how Videl got right up and started walking around and eventually started jogging, shadow boxing and then an all out spare with Gohan. It took less than an hour for her to get accustomed to 5 times gravity. Gohan had increased it to 10 times and again, Gohan was astounded by how fast Videl had gotten used to it.

Come late afternoon, Videl was now used to training in 30 times gravity and her strength had increased greatly. Gohan noticed that Videl was working harder than she ever had. Her technique was improving, her speed, stamina, strength, all of it was miles above what it previously had been. Gohan was proud of her. He was proud of how far she had come in such a short time and he expect that she would be training in 150 times gravity by the end of the week.

Videl was about to asked to increase the gravity again when Gohan shut it off.

"Gohan! What the hell?!" Videl shouted in indignation.

"It's time for a quick break. It's almost 3 in the afternoon and I'm sure you haven't had much to eat." Gohan said

Videl nodded and sighed. "Yea you're right, as usual. I could use a breather." Videl grabbed a towel and wiped her face off as she felt the gravity return to normal levels. Then she felt it. She felt lighter, like she weighed less than a feather. For a moment, she dropped her towel and darted to the other side of the room in blinding speed then back to the other side.

"Holy shit..." Videl gasped out. She was completely amazed at her new speed.

"Now you know the real benefits to gravity training, Videl." Gohan said.

Videl looked up at Gohan with a huge smile on her face. "I love you so much." Videl said and Gohan laughed.

"I love you too. But I had told you this would happen. Oh, when is Kurenai supposed to get here?"

Videl had stopped in her tracks and thought. "Um..." She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "That's probably her. Either that or it's Lee or Gai begging to use the gravity room." Videl said as she rolled her eyes.

Gohan opened the door and it was Kurenai. "Oh hey! we were wondering when you were going to come. I'm Gohan and this is Videl."

Kurenai bowed. "It's a pleasure. I heard a lot from Hinata and Kiba about your strength and power, Gohan. I also heard that Videl gave Hinata quite the scare."

Videl lowered her head. "I'm so sorry about that. I really am."

Kurenai waved off Videl's apology. "Don;t worry about it. Hinata doesn't bear a grudge and neither do I. If anything i have to thank you for putting her on the spot like that."

Videl looked up at her new teacher and cocked an eye brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Hinata has become more determined in her training. She is working harder than I have ever seen her. She's training with weights now and is training herself harder than Lee does. What you did was actually a blessing." Kurenai said.

Needless to say, Videl was stunned. She nearly killed the girl yesterday, now said girl is training harder than anyone has seen her train. Videl cracked a smile.

"Well, whenever you're ready, we can get to work on your Chakra control." Kurenai said.

"Sure. After we have some lunch and I get cleaned up a bit. Been training in increased gravity since 6 in the morning." Videl said.

Kurenai was stunned. _'Increased gravity for that long and she doesn't even look the least bit tired? Lady Tsunade was right. These Saiyan's really are unique.'_ Kurenai thought.

A short while later, Kurenai bore witness to the Saiyan eating habits and it stunned her. She didn't know whether to be impressed, disgusted or amazed. Aside from Naruto, she had never saw anyone eat some much food so fast. She thought that it was a miracle that these two were in such good shape.

"Where in the hell do you put all that food?" Kurenai asked, still stunned.

It took a minute for the question to register on both the demi-Saiyan's minds. They had eaten like this before and few if any really gave them a reason to think about it. Gohan cleared his mouth and explained to Kurenai about the Saiyan metabolism while Videl continued to eat. Gohan didn't notice that she took his last egg roll until he reached for it and it was gone.

"Videl! That was my egg roll!" Gohan said in indignation.

"Sorry, snooze you lose." Videl said with a smirk and a wink.

 _'Oh, just wait till bed time. You think you are sore from today, just wait until after I'm done with you.'_ Gohan said into her mind with a grin.

 _'Is that a challenge, Gohan?'_ Videl asked in a sweet and innocent tone into his mind.

 _'You know it is.'_ Gohan said.

The rest of the evening was spent in relatively easy training. Videl had learned the basics of Chakra and could manipulate a little, but not enough to form any jutsu's. However, she would train and build up her reserves and then start working on jutsu's and then work on Ki Control from Gohan towards the end of the week.

Gohan was still impressed by Videl's determination. he knew that she was no longer the same Videl he knew, but not by personality. He marveled at her strength and her will to get stronger. She had it set in her mind that she was no longer going to be the one who needs to be saved. She was going to protect this world by Gohan's side, come hell or high water.

That was another thing Gohan needed to talk to Tsunade about. He wanted to see about training a few select individuals in the art of Ki so that he can create a Z Fighter team in this world in order to protect it. But the problem is that people of this world lacked the ability for Ki control because they have used Chakra for so long. That's when he decided that his future children would be the ones to fight along side him and Videl in order to protect this world. He would put an age cap on them. His children would start training at the age of 5 and be fully integrated into his team at the age of 8. These were all things that Gohan was going to propose to Tsunade once Videl's initial training was over.

Videl's training... That was something that kept Gohan thinking. The way she drove herself to new heights in such a short amount of time and the determination she showed. It made him love her all the more. Their first night together was definitely one to remember. The bond they started was finalized and ended with the mate marks on their necks that they placed on each other by biting their mates necks. Gohan knew this much from what Vegeta said;

"Should you find a mate, the mark of your mate will be placed by you biting the side of her neck and she would do the same for you. If the mark stays, then the bond is complete and by instinct, you two will accept each other. If the mark is gone by the next morning, then the bond was rejected by either party. The mark is to show that you two have mated and that no one else can touch the other. Remember that, son of Kakarot. The survival of our race depends on you as much as it does me, Trunks and Kakarot's youngest. Don't fuck this up."

Those words were burned into his mind since he was 15 years old. Gohan remembered to check his neck that morning to see if the mark was still there and it was, same for Videl's. That meant the bond was complete and he didn't have to wait until the full moon to complete it. He was elated to know that and once he explained it to Videl, that was when she decided they were going to try for children during the full moon. Gohan didn't object, in fact he supported the idea and already started thinking of names. King Kai had contacted them that morning and they spoke with their families.

Videl was devastated to learn that her father, Hercule, committed suicide when he learned that Videl had been sent to another universe with no way home. He already lost his first wife during childbirth, then he lost his second to a car crash. Now he lost his only daughter and the grief was too much for him to bear. What started as a downward spiral of depression ended in him taking his own life.

Videl had this all explained to her from her father, her mother Fasha was also there, and her step mom who King Kai linked Videl to via otherworld. She was upset at first, but she calmed down when she learned that she could still talk to her family, deceased or not.

Gohan was able to talk to his father, Goku, as well as his Saiyan grandparents, Bardock and Gine. Later he talked with his mother, little brother and his grandfather Ox King. He let them know that Videl and himself were alive and well, but was saddened to hear his mother and brother cry when he told them that it was impossible for them to return. Gohan broke the news that Him and Videl had completed the Saiyan mating process and that they were essentially married in the eyes of a Saiyan warrior. This news had Chichi jumping for joy and started ranting about grandchildren, to which Gohan confirmed that they would eventually start a Kai was going to work with the other Kai's to see about linking a crystal ball to Gohan's family as well as one for Him and Videl so they could talk to each other at any given time.

It was the little things in live that had the biggest impact on Gohan. Him and Videl promised that they would live a long and happy life and said their goodbye's and had started Videl's training. That alone was enough to drive Videl to becoming stronger, then Gohan's constant encouragement kept her going.

As they lay there in their bed, Gohan just looked at the sleeping beauty he had lying next to him. A faint amount of sweat remained on her fully exposed body from their rather intense moment of passion and love. Her hair was a mess, but to Gohan, it made him feel like the luckiest guy in this world or the next. He was so happy that he had Videl all to himself and that no one would take her from him, not that anyone would be dumb enough even try.

* * *

100 miles outside of the Leaf village

At the border between the Fire and Wind counties, an orange clad ninja was frantically pacing back and forth. His sandals digging trenches into the sandy soil. Out there he could see the massive sand dunes looming in the distance.

Unknown to the blonde, a certain pinkette was watching him from afar. Which was totally not like what Hinata always does, or so Sakura had to keep telling herself. It was different because Sakura had intended to talk to Naruto from the outset. She always favored the direct approach when it came to Naruto (there was no other way to penetrate his thick skull). But as soon as she reached him she had to stop and orient her thoughts.

The last few days had been a roller coaster of emotions. First Naruto returned from his 3 year long journey with two super powered strangers from another dimension. Then Sakura learned that her former teammate and longtime crush had died at the hands of his brother. Leaving a hole in her heart that Naruto seemed to be quickly filling. Now the two of them were on a team again as equals sprinting off to save a man who had tried to kill Sakura in the past and meant so much to Naruto.

 **Flashback to a few hours ago after they had met up with Temari on their way to the Sand Village.**

 _"Do you know why I can't calm down? I can't calm down because were here resting up while somewhere out there," Naruto pointed at the dunes. "Gaara is being held hostage by those Akatsuki bastards and probably being tortured right this second. All because they want his monster. They want our monsters…" Naruto paused before summoning up the courage to ask Sakura this next question._

 _"Sakura, you're the Hokage's apprentice. You must know about…me, right? About the Kyuubi?" Sakura nodded her head and Naruto continued._

 _"They want us for these chakra monsters, for weapons. That's how they see us. As sheaths. Its almost worse than how our villages treated us. The hate and the loathing. But Gaara, he suffered for a lot longer. All alone. And now that he's in trouble I'm stuck here waiting to do something. Maybe the last person on Earth I could call my brother is in trouble and I can't seem to do anything for him right now. THAT is why I can't calm down!"_

 **Flash forward**

Sakura couldn't even take the time to process her new feelings for Naruto with all the stuff going on.

Oh how she wished that Ino hadn't seen her give Naruto that peck on the cheek. It had just felt so natural at the time with all the excitement going on. Yet Little Miss Piggy always loved to jump to conclusions and demanded an explanation. What was Sakura to do? Leave Naruto out to dry as she denied having any romantic feelings for him after such a public display of affection? The old her wouldn't have hesitated. Hell, the old her from four days ago might have hesitated. Yet seeing Naruto again after all those years made something click. And the news that Sasuke was gone for good just seemed to open the floodgates.

What this meant for Sakura and Naruto she didn't know. Was she just latching onto him to fill a void left by Sasuke? Or was Sasuke's death just the final barrier between her and Naruto being removed?

Sakura was so confused and what's worse, ever since Sakura had kissed Naruto he had been ignoring her. The guy who always wore his heart on his shoulder had chosen this exact moment to go tight lipped. Yes they were on an important mission and such conversations could wait. But Sakura needed something! A promise that when things calmed down the two of them would talk about where they would go from there. A sign that such thoughts were plaguing Naruto's mind as well.

 _'No.'_ Thought Sakura. What was she thinking? Now she just sounded needy. Naruto had more important things on his mind than dealing with their relationship or lack there of.

She would just have to talk to him about it later and focus now on the mission at hand.

 _Fuck that! You should run up there and glomp the Baka for all he's worth and then demand that he pays attention to us!_

"I thought I got rid of you." Sakura said to herself.

 _Guess again, Me! Inner Sakura is back and better than ever!_

"Better, yeah right. Why are you even back? I haven't heard from you since my training with Tsunade began."

 _We've been over this. I'm your Id, the unfiltered version of you. I only appear when you aren't being honest with yourself. And bitch you are one lying motherfucker right now._

Sakura had to massage her temples at this point. It was bad enough having to deal with this nonsense back during her preteen years, but now it was an even more unwelcome distraction.

 _I heard that._

"I didn't think anything." She thought.

 _I'm you, bitch. I can hear our subconscious._

"I thought you were my subconscious."

 _I'm part of it._

"Holy shit, what do you want?!"

 _To gazing into those piercing blue eyes with one hand raking through those golden locks and the other to trace down the peaks and troughs of that chiseled slab he calls a torso. All the while figuring out what else the Great Pervert Sage had instilled in his pupil. But for now I'll settle on you going over there and hugging our favorite idiot._

"Look, I don't need to add to the confusion. If I go over there-

 _Shut up. I'm you. I already know what you're going to say. The real reason you won't go over there is because you are scared. Scared of starting a relationship with Naruto for all the wrong reasons. Well you already have a relationship with Naruto. You're his friend, which is exactly what he needs right now and you know it._

"But…"

 _No buts. Whether you want to start a romantic relationship with Naruto or not doesn't matter right now. He doesn't need a new girlfriend right now. He needs a friend. And he's not going to get that if you're too scared to go and talk to him because you think that the only conversation you can have with him right now is about your love life. So go and hug him. No words, no romantic undertone. Just hug him._

It was hard to argue with yourself. Especially since you made the most sense out of anybody you know.

Deciding it was better to do it rather than hesitate. Sakura walk right up to Naruto who had yet to register her presence.

"Naruto." She spoke aloud. Naruto stopped in his tracks, rather shocked at the sudden appearance of his teammate.

"Sakura-chan?" He asked. Suddenly he found himself wrapped up in a strong hug. His teammate's face was buried in his chest with her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Too tightly. Oh God she was crushing his ribs!

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto wheezed out. Sakura opened her eyes, realizing what she was doing and quickly loosened her grip on the man.

"Oh Jeez! I'm sorry Naruto! I was only trying to-

"Break my ribs?"

"Idiot! I was trying to comfort you." She shouted back. Her cheeks glowing with a deep red.

"Ugh, why?" He gasped.

"Just…you looked like you needed a hug. That's all…"

Naruto stared at Sakura, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind her words. Sakura meanwhile had her gazed fixed on a nearby bush to keep from meeting Naruto's eyes.

"Well I wouldn't mind a softer hug if you've got one."

"Idiot." She smirked before re-wrapping her arms back around him. Albeit this time without accidentally activating her chakra enhanced strength.  
Slowly, Naruto returned the hug, wrapping his own arms around her back. He dared not go any lower than Sakura's mid back for fear of his intentions being misinterpreted. He rested his chin on the crown of Sakura's pink locks. For a few moments they just stayed like that. Sakura breathing in Naruto's scent as he breathed in her shampoo. Strawberries. He thought.

"Sakura-chan? About what happened after the bell test…"

"Shhh. Never mind that right now, Naruto. We'll deal with that after the mission."  
"But-

"No buts. We'll make it to the Sand village, save Gaara, then return home to discuss things. But for now, let the both of us just enjoy this friendly hug…please."

Naruto wanted to argue, but the desire felt short compared to the desire to keep this hug going for as long as possible. Naruto wasn't used to physical affection. It was different from the rough affection he got from his surrogate father figure in the form of slaps and pats on the back. This feminine touch was gentler, more lingering and warm in its own way. Who cared if it was romantic or friendly? It was lovely.

Moments turned into minutes and Naruto began to calm down. Sakura could hear his heartbeat slow to a more relaxed pace. It was soothing to hear. Sakura had heard plenty of heart beats from all kinds of patients over the course of her medical training with Tsunade. Most of the time they were quick. She heard just enough to diagnose the patient before moving on to other areas of interest. This was different, more intimate. This was her teammate's heartbeat. The rhythmic beat that kept the lifeblood pumping through his veins. It felt so strong, yet Sakura knew firsthand how delicate it could be.

When Sakura became a medic she swore an oath to always treat her comrades until their deaths. Now as she was being lulled into a kind of half sleep she felt inclined to make a new oath to herself. That no matter what happened between her and Naruto. She would always keep this heartbeat going until her own heart fell silent.

Like all good things, this moment had to come to the end. Both Sakura and Naruto inwardly groaned when Kakashi had called them both back for dinner. Wordlessly they broke apart. No words were needed, except for two. "Thanks, Sakura-chan." The two shinobi walked side by side back to camp, ready to dine on some prepackaged nutrition rations and purified water that tasted like liquid plastic.

Yum.

* * *

 **Got Chapter 3 done sooner than I expected. Chapter 4 on the other hand may take a while. So stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4: Hidden Talents

The sound of crickets and all other manner of nocturnal creatures could be heard from team 7's campsite at the edge of the forest. Above them a million stars twinkled in the night sky. All around them the silhouettes of trees framed the picture postcard view above them. While back on the ground, the embers of what was once their cooking fire gave off only the faintest of an orange glow. Off in the distance one such as Temari could see the outlines of the mighty sand dunes turned almost purple in the foreground of the midnight sky. Temari had volunteered to take the most difficult middle watch after Kakashi. In truth, she had not slept a wink since her and the rest of Team 7 had turned in for the night. Her thoughts always drifted to her younger brother and whatever horrible fate lay in store for him. Which became worse and worse each time Temari tried to imagine it. When that proved fruitless she welcomed the isolation of night watch. The peace and quiet of the tree branches gave her time to silently vent. The sight of the dunes also proved to be soothing. That idiot Nara boy might love to cloud watch, but she preferred to dune watch. She found it even more mesmerizing to watch, the sight of the wind's ever present force constantly shifting and swaying entire mountains of grains of sand was fascinating. It was subtle, so subtle you would never notice it. Not without spending a significant time on it. Something Temari could equate to a lot of things in her life. The beauty you had to keep watching in order to appreciate its value.

Like the Sand village; that seemed to be nothing more than a dusty city in the middle of a delicate country until you saw how much the people had learned to thrive with the limited resources they were born to.

Like Shikamaru; who seemed like nothing more than an unfathomably lazy boy at first glance, yet always surprised her whenever he displayed his brilliance in tactics and strategy.

Like Gaara; who started out as nothing more than a monster in her eyes, yet grew to become the Sand's most beloved Kazekage.

 _'To think.'_ Thought Temari. _'That the man who would forever change my brother for the better would be his enemy and a fellow Jinchuriki. And that he's sprawled all over his sleeping bag like a freaking child.'_

It was true, whenever her brother would bring up the subject of Naruto, you'd think he was talking about some divine angel that had descended from on high and showed Gaara the way to the promise land. Getting the psychopath beaten out of him by Naruto had no doubt been the best thing to ever happen to Gaara. With that kind of reputation preceding him, Temari imagined that the orange clad squirt she had last seen at the Chunin exams to be sleeping with some kind of dignity. He looked way too relaxed to be a ninja, but that might have been the point. Naruto was an innocent soul, incorruptible by the evil goings on of the world. He might have wept for her brother (whom he no doubt considered a brother himself) during the day. But at night, in his sleep, he was at peace. It was probably the reason he was able to reach Gaara in the first place. A man who always wore his shoulder on his sleeve had very little to hide.  
Now that pink haired one…she had somethings to hide.

Temari had seen her. Returning from her make-out session with Naruto or whatever, yet for the entire meal she kept a respectful distance from her blond haired teammate. The whiskered fool had made several obvious attempts at starring at her, all of which she did her best to ignore. Did they get into a fight? Temari was this close to asking Hatake if those two had started dating when she thought better of it. It was none of her business and there were more important things to think about.

Still, that didn't stop her from noticing Haruno's subtle body language betraying her true feelings.  
As the sun dipped behind the dunes, Temari noticed the pinkette scooching her seat closer and closer to her fellow chunin. Every time she thought no one was looking she would inch her butt nearer to his. By sunset, the tips of their fingertips were just ever so slightly touching. The fire pit could only illuminate part of their hands, leaving the rest concealed in private shadows. Temari wasn't even sure that Sakura knew she was doing it. Naruto had long given up trying to catch her gaze and resigned himself to watching the flames dance about, there was no way he noticed. If their jounin sensei had noticed he was doing a damned convincing job of looking indifferent.

Soon enough though, the silver haired squad leader had shut his orange book and order his men to turn in. He took first watch, with Temari volunteering for second as was said, and Sakura volunteering for the last watch. Temari observed as both Naruto and Sakura broke away from each other without uttering a word. They simply rifled through their backpacks and each pulled out their own sleeping bags.  
The sand mistress was about to question why the two of them seemed so cold towards one another when she noticed how they had positioned their sleeping bags.

In a wide open clearing, they had placed their make-shift beds side by side, barely an inch separating them. Without a word they crawled into their bags and drifted off to sleep.

Again, if the copy-cat ninja had any problems with this arrangement, he didn't share it. As for Temari, she couldn't help but find the whole set up adorable. She herself had been on countless missions with ninjas of the opposite gender (not just her brothers mind you). And you never saw two ninjas sleep so close together unless there was something going on between them.

Temari remembered when she and the rest of the Sand ninjas had attacked the Leaf, when Naruto had fought Gaara it was to save that pink haired girl whom Gaara had taken hostage. Thinking back on it, he must have had a crush on her to go that far. And if that was the case, then Temari couldn't help but be overjoyed to discover that those two had finally (or would finally) discover one another.

Sure, she often came across as a cold and calculating bitch. But she was still a girl damn it! And this was quality grade A gossip. Years down the line, the bumbling knight finally wins the heart of his princess. It was just so precious. God damn did Temari need to make some girlfriends! She had been forced to hang out with her brothers for far too long and the only real friend she had in the Leaf was Shikamaru. Another guy who would think the sacred art of gossip to be nothing more than troublesome.

Temari was mentally listing off the pros and cons of asking out that Matsuri girl who always seemed to glow red whenever she was around the Kazekage when some exciting new development…well, developed.

From across the fire pit, Temari could see Naruto spread eagle, his limbs sticking out of his sleeping bag like he couldn't be contained even when lying unconscious. His left arm had landed right on top of Sakura, smacking her in the cheek. Rather than knock the klutz's hand away (and then knock the klutz himself away) Sakura's hand snaked out of her sleeping bag and grabbed ahold of Naruto's. She held his hand against her cheek, while her fingers intertwined with his. Temari couldn't see it in the dark, but both Sakura and Naruto's thumb took this opportunity to rub circles in each others hand. Unknowingly, this had a calming effect on Naruto, preventing him from squirming around any further.

Temari thought she was going to squeal. This fluffy goodness was a welcome distraction from the horrible thoughts plaguing her mind about her brother. ' _In time'._ She thought. _'When all of this is over and things are back to normal. I'd give anything to have a boyfriend like Sakura's. To have and to hold. To keep me warm on a cold night. But definitely not that little boy, Shikamaru. That guy's a pansy…'_

* * *

Two days later, back at the Leaf.

Videl was going through various fighting stances as she had been training constantly in the gravity chamber. The current setting was 80 times gravity and she had all but mastered her Ki control and her Chakra control was nearly on par with Sakura's. She had learned that her elemental affinity was fire and she had learned various fire style jutsus and even came up with a few of her own. She mastered flying and can perform all of Gohan's Ki attacks with ease as well as one she came up with.

Videl flew through a set of hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Blast Jutsu!" An enormous plume of flames erupted from her mouth as the entire room filled up with fire. Videl did this on purpose to keep the room super heated so her body would have to work harder while training in increased gravity. Her Chakra reserves were almost as high as Naruto's after constantly performing jutsu after jutsu to get her reserves up to a level to where she would be comfortable at.

Her overall skill level would match that of an upper level Genin. She was still having trouble in the Genjutsu area, but Kurenai was helping her every step of the way. Her Ninjutsu had high marks and her Taijutsu was beyond everyone in the village, save for Gohan. Gohan had attempted to get Videl to try and transform into a Super Saiyan. However, she just didn't have the right motivation. She came close on a couple tries but failed each time. Gohan and Kurenai had a plan for it to work, however, they felt that she needed more training first before trying it again.

Videl was determined to get stronger no matter what. She wanted to spar with Gohan because she was itching to try a new jutsu she created. Today, however, she was going to get a visit from Jiraiya so she could learn a jutsu that only he, Naruto and Kakashi knew.

knock knock.

Videl heard someone knocking on the door to the chamber and immediately turned off the gravity machine and opened the door. As she had expected, the Toad Sage was there to teach her this Jutsu she had heard about.

"Hey Jiraiya." Videl said with a smile.

"Hey yourself little lady. How goes the training?" Jiraiya said.

"Great. I learned a great deal in these last few days. Kurenai-sensei says I'm upper level Genin right now."

"Upper level Genin in just a few short days? Impressive. How is your Chakra control?" Jiraiya asked, somewhat surprised that Videl had come so far in such a short time.

"According to Kurenai-sensei, my control is nearly as good as Sakura's." Videl said as she stepped out of the chamber and closed the door behind her.

"That is impressive. Anyway, I thought you could learn this Jutsu that the 4th Hokage created called the Rasengan." Jiraiya said.

"Oh that jutsu. The one that Naruto uses a lot. You really think I can?" Videl said.

"Not only do I know you can, but I'm sure with your fire affinity, you could create a version of the Rasengan that would make it even more powerful." Jiraiya said.

* * *

At the present time Naruto found himself torn between two worlds. On the one hand he and the rest of his team had finally arrived at the Hidden Sand Village, his first ever time stepping foot in another major ninja village. Where they had been promptly whisked away to the Hospital Emergency Ward where Kankuro, Gaara and Temari's brother, was being treated for poison. Doctors and nurses were rushing about, shinobi guards had been tailing them trying to find out more about these foreigners they had allowed to rush right into their village, and some old bat was attacking Kakashi; thinking he was responsible for the death of her son. All of this was new and exciting, but there was only thing that held Naruto's interest right now. Sakura.

Immediately as their group had been told about Kankuro's condition, Sakura volunteered to examine him. Without pausing for anything she burst through the doors, tied up her hair into a messy bun, and got to work. She asked a million questions Naruto couldn't begin to understand to the nearby doctors, all without taking her eyes off of Kankuro. Her hands danced over her patient's body; checking vitals and assessing anything she deemed necessary. The doctors and nurses responded to her commands promptly. No one questioned her. It was like she just ran in and took charge like she had done so a million other times in the past. Right here, in this foreign hospital surrounded by complete strangers.

It was mesmerizing.

During Naruto's travels, Jiraiya had tried to teach him the finer points of being a quote, "ladies-man." The one thing women found sexy above all else was confidence. Naruto didn't know it, but at this moment he learned that it went both ways. Seeing Sakura take charge of the situation, so in control and focused. She was going 3 days without a shower, during which she ran through forests and across bone dry deserts. Her hair was a mess, she had a slight sunburn going on parts of her pale skin, and was no doubt tired from running all day. Yet seeing that look of complete concentration upon her face as she perfectly extracted the poison from Kankuro's system. To Naruto, she looked incredible.

There was no one else in his own little world besides him and the woman who stood before him.

 _'Sakura-chan… You're amazing.'_

* * *

Over the next several hours, Videl was trying to get the necessary spin in her Chakra to form the Rasengan. It was already after dark and Videl refused to quit. She came close a few times, but she later discovered that her Chakra reserves are not high enough to form the Rasengan properly without it fading away. Jiraiya noticed how tired Videl look, her face was dripping with sweat and her breathing was fast and heavy.

"Hey Videl. I think you should take a break. You have been at it for nearly 5 hours now." Jiraiya said.

"But I can still keep going... I have to get stronger.." Videl wheezed out.

"You will get stronger, but not if you over tax your body like you are. I know Saiyan's get stronger after every battle but this is just pushing it. Besides, you could probably use some food right about now." Jiraiya concluded.

At the mere mention of food, Videl's stomach growled loudly, making her blush a bit. "Alright. you win."

It was at that moment, Gohan came back from the Hokage's office. "Hey Videl. How goes the training?"

"Fine, Gohan. Just finishing up for the day." Videl replied as Gohan pulled her in for a short, but tender kiss.

"Well, you two have fun. I'm gonna go do some more research. Haven't been to the hot springs in almost a month now." Jiraiya said with a perverted grin.

"Why do you write that smut? Can't you create something a little bit more respectable?" Videl said, her words oozing with annoyance.

"Hey! MY books are respected by the adult community all over the world."

"By people just as perverted as yourself." Videl finished.

A tick mark formed on Jiraiya's forehead showing that he was pissed. "Hey! Keep it up and I wont let you be in one of my books!"

"Why the hell would I want to be in one of your books? I'm not going to subject myself to such a low standard that every guy that sees me starts jerking off." Videl all but shouted.

"Whatever. I'm outta here." Jiraiya said and vanished.

"Gohan." Videl said.

"Yea?"

"If someone were to tell me that he was the one who wrote Fifty Shades of Grey... I'd believe'em." Videl said as Gohan started laughing uncontrollably, followed soon by Videl after she realized what it was she just said.

Suddenly, Gohan stopped laughing. "Wait, you read that crap?"

"What? NO! Erasa told me about it. I wouldn't be caught dead reading that shit." Videl said with a slight hint of a blush.

"You seem to know enough about it to know that its smut. Makes me think you actually read it." Gohan said with a smirk.

"NO! I never touched one of those books! Erasa would always talk about it." Videl shouted, her blush deepening. _'The last thing I need for him to find out is that I actually read one of those awful books.'_

Gohan chuckled. "Your thoughts betray you, sweetie. I heard what you said."

 _'DAMMIT!'_ Videl screamed in her head as her face was completely red. "If you tell ANYONE about that I'll-"

"Videl. We're in a time line where that doesn't exist...yet. Knowing Jiraiya he has the ability to conjure up something like that." Gohan said calmly. "But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna bust your ass about it." Gohan said with a Vegeta like smirk.

"I hate you." Videl said.

Gohan chuckled. "I love you too."

* * *

Meanwhile with Jiraiya.

"You know what might make a good story?" He thought to himself.  
"A teen love story between a teenage girl and a 100 year old immortal demon that erotic-ly sucks her blood and sparkles in daylight. No scratch that idea it's stupid."

* * *

Meanwhile elsewhere.

"There were two things I was certain of. One, Edward was a vampire. And two, I was helplessly in love with him..." A blonde haired woman typed on her personal typewriter.

A knock at her office door had the busty kunoichi scrambling to hide her new found hobby before her assistant walked through the door.

"Enter." She called.

In stepped Shizune with another mile high stack of papers for her to sign.

"Lady Tsunade, the Academy needs all these signed in triplicate before..." Shizune looked upon her mentor to notice a deep blush forming on her face.

"Lady Tsunade, have you been drinking on the job again?!"

"...yes."

* * *

Back with Gohan and Videl.

"I just got a strange sense that something from our world is about to make us miserable here." Gohan said.

"Yea I get that feeling as well." Videl said. "Well, let's not worry about it right now. Why don't you tell me how things went with the Hokage?"

"It was a pretty straight forward meeting." Gohan said as he recalled the moments during the meeting.

 **FLASHBACK**

 _Tsunade was doing her usual thing, signing her life away on countless stacks of paper. Part of being the Hokage was to do seemingly endless paperwork. In all of her life, Tsunade never thought she would ever be in this position._

 _She was brought out of her musings when she heard someone knocking on her door._

 _"Enter" Tsunade said and Gohan walked into the office closing the door behind him. "Gohan? What can I do for you?"_

 _"Well, I wanted to give you an update on Videl's progress." Gohan said._

 _Tsunade nodded. "I assume she is making good on her training, no?"_

 _Gohan nodded. "Very good. In fact, she has been training at 80 times gravity most of the day."_

 _Tsunade looked confused. "Is she wearing gravity seals or something?"_

 _Gohan chuckled. "No, nothing like that. One of the pieces of technology we brought was a Gravity Room that simulates higher levels of gravity to a localized area. One of the ideas we had was to allow all of the villages Shinobi use this room to get stronger."_

 _"I see. Besides strength, what other benefits or concerns would this gravity training have?"_

 _"After a time of using it for a while, not only does your strength increase, but so does your stamina and speed by great amounts. There really isn't any concerns so long as the gravity is increased in small intervals. Videl and I can take more because of our Saiyan genes." Gohan explained._

 _"And you say that Videl is training at 80 times gravity. I'm assuming that is 80 times our planets normal gravity, yes?" Tsunade asked and Gohan nodded. "how far can you go up to?"_

 _"Right now I train at 500 times gravity, but the room goes up to 1000 times. I doubt anyone here, save for me and Videl and our future children, would be able to handle that much gravity."_

 _Tsunade was wide eyed at that statement. "500 TIMES?!" Tsunade shouted in shock, to which Gohan nodded. "Amazing... No wonder you're so strong. I could really use someone like you as an ANBU."_

 _"That would put me under the command of Danzo wouldn't it?"_

 _"No, you would be serving me. Danzo has no influence with ANBU and I make sure of that.." Tsunade said._

 _"Ah… Well, still. I would rather help out on a far larger scale than just the village." Gohan said flatly._

 _"Understandable. That being the case, I'll talk to the council about having you as a Marshal of Fire Country. You will be in charge of keeping the peace throughout the country as well as aiding our Ninja in battles and during war time." Tsunade explained._

 _"That's essentially what I did back home, except it was on a global scale and that is what I would prefer to do instead of serving just one spot. If you have something like that, then I'm all over it." Gohan stated._

 _"I will have to talk to the council and then the other Kage's and Nation leaders. Since you reside in the Leaf Village and I am responsible for your actions. Also, you were in charge of safeguarding an entire planet?" Tsunade said in shock_

 _"Not just me, but my friends Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Vegeta and my sensei, Piccolo. My dad as well before he..." Gohan paused, gathering his composure before speaking his next words. "He was killed during a crisis that happened on our planet 7 years ago."_

 _Tsunade nodded. "I seem to recall Inoichi saying something about that. I'm sorry to hear about your loss."_

 _Gohan looked at Tsunade with a bright smile. "I'm not sad about it anymore. I talk to my dad when I talk to King Kai, one of the deities of our universe."_

 _"You can talk to your father from the afterlife?" Tsunade said with a hint of shock. "Does anyone from any universe go to the same place?"_

 _"I'm not really sure. But there is someone I can ask." Gohan looked towards the ceiling. "King Kai! Are you there?"_

 _"Yes I'm here. Whats up kid?" King Kai said and Tsunade heard him._

 _"Lady Tsunade here wants to know if people from this universe go to the same place as people from the 7th do when they die." Gohan said._

 _"Well of course they do. Doesn't matter what universe you're from, there is only one otherworld. They all come to the same realm, but its divided into sections. There is a Heaven for each Universe all in the same realm I'm in. Even warriors such as yourself get to have a chance to train and keep their bodies." King Kai explained._

 _Tsunade stood up. "So that means, if I wanted to talk to the previous Hokage's of our universe, you can arrange something like that?"_

 _"Once I talk to the Kai's for that section and the check-in master then yes. It would be a simple matter." King Kai said. "Was there anything else you needed?"_

 _"Once you talk to the powers that be, contact me again. There are two people that I need to talk to someone. I need Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." Tsunade said._

 _"The 4th Hokage and his wife? Any particular reason why?" King Kai asked._

 _"That is classified for right now." Tsunade said._

 _King Kai grunted in dissatisfaction. "Very well. I'll see what I can do."_

 _"Also, I want to talk to my little brother and boyfriend. I lost them many years ago." Tsunade said with a pang of sorrow welling up inside her._

 _King Kai nodded. "Of course. What are their names?"_

 _"Dan Kato and Nawaki Senju." Tsunade said as she tried to fight back tears from the memories of seeing her lover and brother die._

 **END FLASHBACK**

"After that, I told Lady Tsunade your current skills and what areas you still need training in. She said that as soon as Team 7 returns, you will be field tested." Gohan said.

Videl nodded. "Cool. I think I'm more than ready. So Tsunade wants Naruto to talk to his parents, huh?"

"What? That's who they are?"

"Gohan, even you can't be that stupid." Videl stated. "Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki. Also the fact that Naruto is nearly a spitting image of the 4th Hokage and that Kushina is Minato's wife? Come on. Even I can put that together and I don't know much about this place." Videl explained in annoyance.

"Well since you put it that way, I can't believe I didn't notice." Gohan replied.

Videl sighed in exasperation. "Well, whatever. Come on, I'm hungry." Videl said as she and Gohan made their way to their house to get working on dinner.

The rest of their night was spent in relative silence. Little did Videl know, Gohan could sense Naruto and his team perfectly as far away as they we're. He could also sense other energy levels that seemed to be several times stronger and they are. But there was one thing that Gohan couldn't shake. When he sensed Naruto, he sensed a great deal of evil power hidden within him and that another power was right next to him that seem to radiate a great deal of energy as well.

 _'Sakura.'_ Gohan thought. _'Why is it that she seems so strong? Also, why does Naruto have this evil presence within him? It doesn't make sense. Yet, it seems Sakura's energy is having a calming effect on Naruto's like Videl has with me. I would almost bet that it's a Saiyan bonding process, but I was told that the Saiyan's in this universe were wiped out nearly a thousand years ago. But, who is to say that there weren't any survivors.'_

Gohan shrugged off his thoughts for the moment. He will confront his musings in time after they return. In the meantime, he settled down to sleep, wrapping his arms around Videl and pulled her close, like a child would do with their favorite stuffed animal. Gohan found comfort in Videl ever since he opened up completely to her and broke down in front of her the day they were transported here. Gohan didn't want to bring up that memory, at least not right now. It always made him cry and now that Videl is in tune with his emotions, she would sense it and it would wake her up. So he cleared his mind and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 finally up! Sorry that took so long. My great grandma passed away last Friday and been working on funeral arrangements and such. My co-writer will be working on Chapter 5 while I'm away for the weekend and will try to have it done and up sooner than this one.**

 **Also, me and a friend of mine who is pretty good at animating are going to see about bringing this fanfiction to an animated series on youtube. We'll be working on an opening scene and then a trailer for the series and plan on each episode to be released when a Chapter is uploaded. It wont be anything solid for a while so stay tuned. will need voice actors in the near future so after the opening is made, I'll post it below one of the chapters for anyone who is interested with an email to contact me.**

 **Have a good one all and stay safe!  
**


	5. Chapter 5: A Stroll Through the Market

Birds chirped and Videl fluttered her eyes open. The orange and pink sunrise greeting her to a new day. Through the window of the Capsule House she was sharing with Gohan, she could tell it was going to be another beautiful day in this strange new world.

As she tried untangling herself from the covers she felt being held down by what her pre-morning brain thought was an insanely warm and heavy pillow snaked around her torso. She groped the mysterious object notice it was rock solid with many peaks and troughs, yet soft and slightly hairy. Videl turned her head to get a better look at the strange pillow and- _'Oh right, I slept with Gohan.'_ She realizes.

Behind her was a shirtless Gohan snoozing away, his arms wrapped protectively around her. Videl couldn't help but notice how cute Gohan looked with that innocent expression on his face. Especially considering the body he had below that innocent face, it almost made her giggle. All his muscles were so defined, he looked like he was carved out of marble. With faded scars found here and there, no doubt battle scars from intense bouts of training or equally harrowing life and death battles. Plus he was just so warm. Videl couldn't help but scoot backwards into his chest and abs. She pulled his arms closer to her own chest and with her free hand brought the covers in snugger. The morning could wait.

SNORT! Went Gohan, enough to stir himself awake.

 _'No no no!'_ Thought Videl. _'Five more minutes, come on. Let me enjoy this.'_

It was no use, the half-Saiyan yawned while assessing the situation. Imagine his joy when he realized he had awoken already holding his favorite full sized

teddy bear. "Morning Videl." He sleepily said.  
"G'morning." She replied, trying to fight back her own yawn.

 _'Damn you God. You couldn't have given us ten minutes?_ ' Videl bitterly thought.

 _'Hey don't blame me. I had nothing to do with this.'_ King Kai defended.

 _'Oh piss off!'_ Videl snapped back irritably.

Gohan chuckled at his girlfriend's stones, talking back to God like that.

"Come on Videl. Time to face the day and start training, my Dad always said."

Videl groaned as Gohan untangled himself and let the cold in.

"You Saiyans are just training freaks." She fake spat.

"What're you talking about Videl? You're half Saiyan too." He chuckled.

"Well you were Saiyan first!" She retorted before forcing herself to stand up and face the day. Satisfied that she had won the argument, she took the shower as her prize. Gohan smiled as he took the conciliation prize of getting to watch his girlfriend's well toned ass bob up and down on her way to the bathroom. Her hips swaying back and forth in a hypnotic trance.

Gohan entered their kitchen to get started on breakfast, a skill he had developed after years of helping his mother in the kitchen. Normally Chichi would insist of doing most of the chores around the house so that Gohan could focus on his studies. After Gohan's little brother Goten was born and Goku had chosen to remain dead, things changed. Chichi had allowed Gohan to step up more with remeneal chores while she attended to Goten. More than once she had gotten sick taking care of Goten as all mother's tended to do from time to time and Gohan had to force her to relax and let him cook for them. One time his mother had gotten so sick he didn't even have to twist her arm. His little brother had wanted to help him make chicken noodle soup and ended up destroying half the kitchen. But before their mother could scold Gohan, Goten intervened by saying he just wanted to help out his mommy. Chichi had broken down right there and neither of them got punished.

Thinking back on it made Gohan sad. He missed his family terribly. His mother was no doubt worried sick and his brother was probably doing his best to comfort her while he no doubt was torn up about it inside. What's worse is that he could never return home. He would never see his old friends and family again. Not in this life anyway.

Gohan shook his head. Dwelling on such things wouldn't do him any good. Maybe one day they would find a way home and be reunited with their loved ones. But if his childhood adventures had taught him anything it was that death was not the end. One way or another he would see everyone again. His mother, his brother, , Krillin, Master Roshi, and all his friends again. Even his Dad.

Reassured in himself, Gohan opened the fridge ready to whip up the best eggs Videl or himself had ever tasted. Only to find the shelves comically barren.

 _'Ok, no eggs, no toast, no milk, or juice. No matter, I could go for a cold breakfast anyway.'_

He rifled through the cabinet above to find them equally as empty.

"Videl!"

"Yeah?" She shouted back from the shower.

"Where's the food?!"

"In the fridge?!" Had her boyfriend not woken up yet?

"Yeah, but there is nothing in the fridge!"

"Is there? I thought it was one of those self-refilling fridges you said Dr. Briefs had made!"

"That's just for his space ships! This is just a regular fridge!"

"What?! Oh right, now I remember! Ino and her team had dropped by! I said help yourselves to the food and the big one, I think his name is Choji, took that quite literally!" She shouted while massaging shampoo into her scalp. "I thought it would just refill itself so I didn't mention it!"

 _'Ah geez.'_ Thought Gohan. _'Guess it's a shopping day.'_

"Hey Videl! Do you have any local currency?!" He asked.

* * *

After explaining their plight to the Hokage, the duo left with 5,000 of something called Ryo. Which the Hokage said she would take out of Videl's future paycheck and should be more than enough to hold them off for a month. Gohan suspected that she was unfamiliar with the anatomy of a Saiyan but kept his grateful mouth shut.

The half-Saiyan couple walked hand in hand to the village center. All around them was a sight to behold after sight to behold.

Tiny shops made of mixes of wood and concrete sold their wares both in the shop and outside the door. People chatted with one another, wearing old fashioned clothing for the civilians and ninja vests for-well the ninjas. Children were playing with wooden kunai in the streets and genin were leaping from roof top to roof top chasing a dark haired cat with a red ribbon. Videl was in awe of her surroundings.

Already it had been over a month since the two had arrived here and Videl still had trouble wrapping her head around it. Unlike the adventurous Gohan, she had rarely left her continent back on Earth, much less to another planet entirely. Her first few days upon arriving in this dimension she probably would have been unable to cope if not for Gohan acting as her rock. Not she would easily admit that to anyone, less they think her weak and underestimate her.

Sure enough though, within days they had met Naruto and Jiraiya who they instantly befriended. The student master duo had taken them to their Hidden Village where they were welcomed with open arms. Truly, things could not have gone smoother for the most foreign people in this universe.

Still, neither of them would have made it so long without one another. So it was nice to take time away to act like an actual couple.

"That's a pretty cool sword." Videl said as she was window shopping at a weapons shop, not knowing it belonged to Tenten. The store was closed due to Tenten being out on a mission.

"Why would you need a sword?" Gohan asked.

"I didn't say I wanted one, I just said it looks cool." Videl said with a hint of annoyance. Videl then bushed her hair out of her face for what seemed like the 19th time today. "Damn this long ass hair."

"Maybe you should cut it?" Gohan said.

Videl blushed a bit. "Cut it? Are you saying you like girls with short hair, Gohan?"

Gohan blushed. "Well, mostly I thought about it being a good idea to shorten it so that it wouldn't get in your way so much."

Videl's blush got stronger and her anger began to rise. "So, no other reason why then...?" Videl said coldly.

Gohan looked confused. "What other reason would there be?"

In almost in an instant, Gohan felt a white hot pain in his gut and was bent over Videl's fist. He gasped and gagged from the hard hit he recieved.

"Idiot..." Videl said as she walked away.

After Gohan recovered, they continued to walk down the road and Gohan thought about what it was Videl was getting at.

 _'Why would she be mad over something like that? I really don't understand.'_ Gohan thought.

"You know I can hear your thoughts, jackass." Videl said out loud as she stopped and turned to face Gohan. _'Are you really that dumb when it comes to girls that you can't recognize certain signals?'_ Videl said into Gohan's mind.

Gohan sighed. _'Look, I'm sorry about whatever made you upset. You gotta understand, I lived a very sheltered life and the only time I actually had contact with "Normal People" was when I first went to Orange Star. So when you talk about signals and stuff I have no idea what you're talking about.'_

Just then, Videl spotted at least 3 familiar faces coming towards them.

 _'Tell you what, you make it up to me after I get my hair cut and I'll forgive you for not being properly educated in this matter. But right now, team 8 is coming to say hi'_ Videl said.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Videl yelled, gaining the attention of the group as she waved at them.

"Did Videl just say 'Kurenai-sensei?'" Kiba asked.

"Have you been training Videl, Sensei?" Shino asked, to which Kurenai nodded.

"I taught her to use Chakra as well as a few fire style jutsu's and some minor genjutsu's. She is a very fast study." Kurenai said. "She absorbs new techniques like a sponge. I wish all my students were so dedicated." The genjutsu Mistress teased, hoping that it would inspire her present students to work harder.

Kiba for sure would take it as a challenge. Shino might just brush it off, not for laziness, but that he knew what his sensei was trying to do. Hinata on the other hand might take it too personally and sulk. Kurenei wasn't sure. She had gotten better over the years, but with what had been going on recently her confidence had taken a hit.

Gohan and Videl caught up with Team 10 and started to converse about their day.

"Hello Videl, great to see you out and about." Kurenai greeted. Her students likewise exchanging greeting with the newcomers to the Leaf.  
"Hello..." Hinata meekly replied.

Videl sensed Hinata's apprehensiveness and then remembered the events that took place nearly a week ago.

"Hey Hinata. Sorry if I hurt you the other day. I hope you weren't too scared." Videl said politely. Videl was pretty tore up when Gohan told her that she had launched a very powerful blast attack that would have vaporized Hinata if he hadn't kicked it away.

"I was scared shitless to say the least, but no harm was done. I accept your apology though." Hinata said politely with a smile. "How did you do that attack, by the way? I never saw a jutsu like that."

"Oh, the Kamehameha? that wasn't a jutsu, that was a Ki attack. I'll tell you about it later." Videl said and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"So what brings you guys here?" Gohan asked

"Kurenai sensei thought we could use some team bonding after our last tough mission. So she's making us go to the market together to pick out ingredients for a stew." Shino said.

"What about you two love birds? We thought you two would be training." Kiba said.

"We decided to take a break from training for today and enjoy the sights. We really haven't had the opportunity to go out and enjoy the sights until now." Videl answered.

"We were just going to stop somewhere and grab a bite to eat. You two wanna join us?" Kurenai asked.

Gohan and Videl exchanged looks. "Thank you, but I don't think we should burden you with additional expenses." Gohan said.

"Oh I insist! You can get to know my team better." Kurenai said.

"We'd love to, but we've gotta get our shopping done first." Gohan said.

"Oh, your shopping can wait. I know of a great place to get-" Kurenai was suddenly interrupted by Videl.

"Kurenai-sensei, you have seen how I eat. It's a Saiyan trait. Do you really think your wallet is big enough to handle the appetite of two half Saiyan's plus you four?" Videl stated blankly.

Kurenai sweatdropped. She had forgotten about how much food Videl packed away and she was almost sure that Gohan would be the same if not worse.

"Okay, I see your point. I honestly forgot about that. That being the case, I will respect your wishes and won't keep you any longer." Kurenai said sheepishly.

"Well, we're kind of lost... all of this is new to us. We don't even know how much money we have." Videl said.

"Oh then let us help you." Hinata suggested.

From there, Hinata had divided the money in half, giving Gohan 2500 Ryo and Videl 2500 Ryo. Videl went with Hinata and Kurenai while Gohan went with Shino and Kiba to do their shopping.

"So..." said Kiba.

"So...?" Replied Gohan.

"You're an alien from another dimension?"

"Half alien."

"Hmmm...that's neat."

"Yeah, it is pretty neat when you think about it."

* * *

With the girls.

"So any difficulties adjusting to our universe?" Hinata asked

"It's strange not seeing every other person being a walking talking animal." Videl commented.

"What?" Both Kurenai and Hinata said in unison.

Videl giggled. "There is so much about our universe I have to tell you about."

* * *

With the Guys.

"So how are you adjusting to this universe, Gohan?" Shino asked.

"For once, I'm happy to be in a place free from people who would destroy it or enslave its people." Gohan said

"Do you miss your home? What was it like back there?" Kiba asked.

"I miss my friends and family terribly, Kiba. You have no idea how much I miss them. But after being here for nearly two months, this place has grown on me. I think in time, Videl and I may not want to leave. It's far more peaceful here than home."

"What was wrong with your home?" Shino asked as the three walked into a grocery market.

"Aside from either an intergalactic tyrant or Bio-engineered Android trying to kill me and my friends and family to either take over the world or destroy it, not much." Gohan said with a hint of sarcasm.

Kiba was wide eyed at that statement. "Holy shit man! You make it seem like it's not that big of a deal."

"I was being sarcastic." Gohan deadpanned.

"Oh..." Kiba sweat dropped.

* * *

With the girls.

"So you've got summons living side by side with people?" Kurenai asked

"Summons? No, they're just regular people." Videl said.

"How is that even possible?" Hinata said in shock.

* * *

With the guys.

"You have talking dogs?" Kiba asked excited.

"What about talking bugs?" Shino inquired.

"There was one talking bug. I hate bugs." Gohan said.

Shino felt dejected. Another potential friend slipped just out of reach.

"To be honest, my life has been an absolute hell." Gohan said as he picked up 4 cartons of eggs and put them in a basket he held in his hand. "The last threat I had to face was an android called Cell. I beat him in the end, but it cost my father his life."

"Shit man... Sorry to hear that." Kiba said with sympathy.

"It was my fault he died. At the time I had recently acquired the pinnacle of the Super Saiyan form and I let that power go to my head, resulting in my dad attempting to sacrifice himself to save our planet. When the bastard came back I killed him. I was only 11 at the time." Gohan said.

"Woah, wait. You were 11 when this happened? How fucking strong are you?!" Kiba shouted.

"Strong enough to demolish a solar system with a single attack." Gohan said.

Kiba whistled in astonishment. "You could go take out those Earth ninja bastards for us." Said Kiba.

"We are technically at peace with them." Shino commented.

"Yeah, but they've been giving us the stink eye ever since the last war. You just know that they're gonna try something sooner or later."

"I believe your judgment is being clouded by your clan's own prejudices. Why? Because the war ended before you were born."

"I'm not here to start fights, Kiba. If someone threatens my friends, or in my case, the start of my new family, then I will step in." Gohan said firmly.

"Well, there is this one guy that is pretty rotten that you need to be wary of." Kiba stated.

"Oh yea? Who?" Gohan asked.

"Orochimaru." Kiba and Shino said at the same time.

* * *

With the girls.

"Orochimaru?" Videl asked.

"He was once a Leaf Ninja but he had a very twisted agenda. He was caught doing illegal DNA experiments to find a way to immortality. The really bad part is that he is one of the three legendary Sannin." Kurenai said.

"So he's bad. I kinda gathered that when you said he was illegally performing experiments." Videl said.

"That's just the abridged version. He was actually using the bodies of the dead and some kind of reanimation jutsu to give him a longer life."

"Okay, now that's just fucked up." Videl said with disgust.

"Indeed." Kurenai replied. "We have been trying to stop his madness for years but with little success. 3 years ago, he led an attack on our village and killed the Third Hokage."

Videl growled in anger. "Filthy bastard."

* * *

Back with the guys.

"The guy who Sasuke left for?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah that's him. That snake in the grass is a cold blooded psychopath who experiments on little kids and tricked the Sand into attacking our village three years ago. He's the whole reason team 7 is as messed up as they are. Trust me, there would be no love lost if Orochimaru were to just-PUUTH-die." Kiba said as he spat.

Gohan growled. "He sounds like a demented mix of Dr. Gero and Freeza." Gohan said.

"Who?" Shino asked.

"I'll tell you later. If I do see him, rest assured that he won't be bothering this world anymore." Gohan proclaimed.

"That is a pretty bold statement to make. Many have said that but none have lived up to it. Why? Because they all were killed before they could lay a hand on Orochimaru." Shino said.

"Shino, you weren't there the other day after Naruto's and Sakura's bell test. Gohan practically one shot me and toyed with Lee. We even got to see his Kekkei Genkai and according to Hinata and Neji, it was almost like he was nothing more than pure Chakra, or whatever it is Gohan called it." Kiba said.

"Ki." Gohan corrected.

"Yes that. Gohan is without a doubt far stronger than Orochimaru. If he says he can lay him out then I have no doubt that he can do it."

"Well, then I hope you are right, Kiba." Shino said.

As the boys were about to catch up to the girls, Gohan suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the west like a compass.

"Yo man, what's up? Your super hearing pick up anything?" Kiba joked.

"I'm sensing a massive power level." He stated. This made Kiba and Shino pause for concern.

"How massive?" Kiba asked.

"Nothing I'm not used to, I just never expected to feel something like that here. No offense."

"…Soooo…"

"Well, from what I can tell, the average shinobi in this village has a max power level of 150."

"Ok…"

"What I'm sensing is over 1,000,000." Gohan stated. The other two shinobi felt a shiver run down their spines.

"Holy-how far away is it?" Kiba was on the verge of freaking out.

"Its not close by any means…but it is powerful, and incredibly menacing…Its Naruto." Whatever the two shinobi were expecting it certainly wasn't that.

"Naruto? No way. Now I know you're pulling our leg." Kiba chuckled, the tension gone now that he realized that Gohan had just pulled a fast one on them. "I mean, I'll grant you that Naruto's powerful, but not that powerful. And what's more, no way in hell he could ever be considered menacing. The guy's too happy-go-lucky for that."

"I'm telling you it's him. It's not his usual energy, but he is definitely in the center of it."

"Yeah right. Even if that were true, he's in Wind Country right now. You'd have to sense him a country away."

"I could sense him a world away if I needed to." Gohan stated.

"Geez, you're just all kinds of overpowered aren't you?" Kiba muttered to himself, not knowing that Gohan heard him clear as day thanks to his Saiyan hearing.

"Do you think we need to send back up?" Shino asked, always one to get right down to business.

Gohan pondered this for quite a while. He was a newcomer in this world. Despite what he said about becoming its protector, was it really his place to intervene in every crisis that arose. He had spared with Naruto during the few weeks that they had traveled together. He knew how capable Naruto was.

"No. I can only sense one power level and its calming down somewhat. It'll be fine…"

"Sage alive man, you tell us about some God like monster roaming around and then you just tell us to forget it. Whatever." Kiba mumbled, completely annoyed.

"Gohan!" Videl yelled to get her boyfriend's attention. Behind her were the ladies of Team Kurenai. "Did you just feel that massive power level?"

"Yeah, I just got finished explaining it to these guys."

"Do you think we should go check it out?" She asked.

"No, it won't be necessary, it's just Naruto."

"Naruto?" The two kunoichi said together.

"Yeah, but its fine. Trust me." Gohan reassured. The group went silent after that. Apparently hearing that your friends on a mission were near a massive spike in energy did little to calm one's imagination.

"How do you think their mission is going?" Hinata asked.

"Knowing those guys, they're probably in deeper shit than we could possibly imagine." Kiba replied.

* * *

Meanwhile with Kakashi.

 _'This mission has been going tits up since the beginning.'_ Thought Kakashi.

 _'First we get stalled by an Itachi duplicate. Then Gai's team gets separated and forced to fight their own doppelgangers on their own. Our high value target was killed before we could get to him. God willing this doesn't spark an international incident when we get blamed. My little ball of sunshine and ADHD decided to give chase to an S-ranked criminal who wants to capture him too. While my other student and our only medic is left to fight another unknown S-ranked threat with the help of one old lady._

 _Can this day get any-'_

"Incoming!" Naruto shrieked. A massive explosion rips through Kakashi's line of sight. Nearly blinding him with shrapnel. On instinct, he takes cover behind the sturdiest thing he can find, a boulder, and hunkers down.

 _'Of course it can. Where ever you are Obito, I'm sure you, Rin, and Minato are getting a chuckle out of this.'_

Miles away from anything plot related, a masked man was watching the whole fiasco while softly giggling to himself. "Teehee."

* * *

Meanwhile, even farther away from the plot…

"Kiba, don't say such things." Kurenai said, smacking her cocky student upside the head.

Kiba then tried to reassure them, "Oh come on, I was joking. Seriously though, I wouldn't worry. It's Naruto. I bet they're having the time of their lives."

* * *

Elsewhere…

BOOM!

One after another the explosions went off. The noise was impossible. All around them trees were shattering into shrapnel flying off in every direction. All the two ninjas could do was hold on.

"AOE Spamming Fucktard!" Naruto shrieked from behind what little cover he could find. He crouched low and held his head beneath his arms. There was nowhere else to move and no opening for him to retaliate.

Across from him, hiding behind his own rock, was Kakashi. Who couldn't understand whatever hip young lingo Naruto was using (much less hear him) could agree with his student's frustration. This explosive game of Grandmother's Footsteps was getting them nowhere. Every time they got near the blonde bomber he would just fly back around and bombard them for twenty minutes.

If it came down to an endurance test, the odds weren't in their favor. More likely, one or both of them would get taken out by a stray bomb before their prey ran out of ordinance.

No choice, Kakashi would have to whip out his newest technique.

Kakashi waited for a respite in the explosions before shouting to get Naruto's attention. Not wasting a moment, Kakashi signaled to Naruto via hand gestures to stay put while Kakashi tried out his super weapon. The enraged jinchuriki looked half a mind away from jumping back out to pursue his prey like a bloodthirsty tiger, but the rational side of Naruto listened to his Jounin leader and kept his cool.

The Copy Cat ninja closed both his eyes in concentration. Focusing most of his chakra into his borrowed Sharingan eye until he could feel the eye jutsu was ready to go. Satisfied, Kakashi peeked over the boulder to pursue his target again. He moved so fast that Naruto could only catch a glimpse of the new Sharingan.

Deidara looked back at his pursuers from atop his clay bird. The two of them had been chasing him for the better part of an hour. However much fun it may have been to share his art with two new fans, his patience was growing short. Just when he thought he had finally finished them off for good, the grey haired masked one pops up again. But instead of running after the Akatsuki member, the Leaf scrub just stood there staring at him.

 _'Giving up are we, hmmm?'_ The self-proclaimed artist thought.

Back on the ground Kakashi had locked on to his target and clapped his hands together into a tiger seal.

 _'Mangekyo Sharingan!'_

* * *

Back at the Leaf…

"Besides," Kurenei added. "Sakura is with them. She's always been a smart girl and from what Shizune has told me she has turned into quite the capable kunoichi."

* * *

Meanwhile at the destroyed Akatsuki lair…

"SUCK MY CHAKRA ENHANCED CLIT! YOU GINGER DOLL BOY FREAK!" the pink haired firecracker screamed. Slamming her monster strength fist right square into the Puppeteer's chest cavity. The force of the blow embedded itself in his torso.

"GAAH!" Sasori coughed out. The girl had managed to shatter his puppet body with a single blow.

 _'No matter.'_ He thought. _'It's all a ruse. I'll just sneak up behind her and finish the job.'_

Sasori's hidden puppet lunged at Sakura's blind spot with his poisoned blade ready for the kill.

"SAKURA, BEHIND YOU!" Lady Chiyo screamed. Sasori's last attack had knocked her to the other side of the room. She could never reach Sakura in time. _'Unless…'_

Sakura twisted around to look behind her, but it was too late.

SLICE! The sickening sound of metal slipping through flesh pierced the room. Followed by silence.

* * *

Back at the market…

"She'll keep Naruto in line." Kurenai sensei reassured.

Not exactly brimming with confidence, the group silently agreed that it was best not to dwell on such matters. Instead they opted to head over to the BBQ place ("Not a very creative name." Gohan said. Although Videl suspected that that was the point.) for lunch.

"With any luck we should run into Team Asuma and we can turn this into a party." Kurenai stated. Feeling rather carefree at the thought of surprising Asuma with a visit.

"Yeah, we'd need about as much luck as we would to find Naruto at Ichiraku's." Kiba commented. To which Hinata promptly smacked him upside the head for all his sarcasm that day.

Despite all the hectic nature, both Gohan and Videl couldn't help but think how lucky the two of them were to have found a new family in the Leaf.

* * *

Hours later, out in the desert…

It was a humbling march to say the least.

Naruto and his team had done it, they had saved Gaara from the clutches of the Akatsuki and were on their way back to the Hidden Sand Village. Surrounded by an entourage of Sand Shinobi who had all come running to save their beloved Kazekage. That itself was no surprise. What was surprising was the fact that they had running to save a jinchuriki. Now they were alternating between carrying the red headed Kazekage and walking beside him, always surrounding him in a protective manner.

To Naruto, who grew up knowing first-hand how a village normally treated its jinchuriki, he knew how unbelievable it must have seen for Gaara when he woke up, but there they were. Genin, chunin, jounin, and even a few ANBU of varying age groups had come to rescue the man they had once collectively feared. Although as Naruto looked around he noticed a lot more Shinobi around his age had come along more so than the older generation. Naruto figured it would still be some time for the adults to let go of their prejudices, something his master Jiraiya had firmly tried to impart to him over the last 3 years.

 _'Whatever.'_ Naruto thought. _'This is still major progress in the right direction.'_

The thought made the blond knucklehead look to the group in the front of their parade and the hero that they were carrying.

Lady Chiyo, the kind of old bat that Naruto would have normally associated with any other out touch elder dead-set in their old ways, had forever earned Naruto's respect. Using some special jutsu, she had sacrificed her own life to bring Gaara back from the dead. The very woman that had been partially responsible for forcing the One Tailed Tanuki inside of Gaara had paid the ultimate price to give the young Kazekage a second chance. It almost made Naruto regret the harsh things he had said to her.

 **Flashback…**

 _"SHUT UP! It was YOU! You people did this to him!" Naruto pointed at the corpse of his jinchuriki brother._

 _"You put a monster in him and turned him into a weapon for the village! And then you let them hate him for it! Did you ever ask him how that makes him feel? Do you even care?!" Naruto stuttered off after that, it wasn't Gaara he was talking about now. But Gaara had just made Kazekage, he had achieved Naruto's dream. Things were supposed to be different._

 _"I couldn't save Sasuke. I couldn't save Gaara. No matter how hard I train it is just never enough…" He spoke to himself. Years of abuse and neglect finally broke through. He hadn't cried like this since Iruka-sensei had said he was an excellent student. Lady Chiyo didn't respond, she just walked past Naruto, crouched next to Gaara's body, and activated some unknown jutsu._

 _"That jutsu…Lady Chiyo, wait!" Sakura shouted._

 _"What? What is it?!" Naruto asked._

 _Sakura looked at the smile in Chiyo's eyes and grew still. "…She's going to bring Gaara back."_

 **Flash forward…**

Later, Naruto had learned that Old Lady Chiyo had sacrificed her life energy for Gaara and had played a pivotal role in helping Sakura defeat one of the Akatsuki members, Sasori the Puppet Master.

 _'Sakura-chan…'_

Naruto looked to his pink haired teammate, who was closely trailing behind the group carrying Chiyo's body back on a stretcher. Sakura had grown close to the old medic/puppet master in the short time that Chiyo had been a part of Team 7. A life and death battle against an S-ranked criminal will do that to you. As amazed as Naruto was for Chiyo's act of selflessness, the feat she had pulled off with Sakura had him even more in awe for the both of them.  
For years, ever since they had first come knocking on Naruto's hotel door, the Akatsuki had seemed like unstoppable boogiemen to Naruto. Rouge ninjas who could give even the Pervy Sage a run for his money had Naruto quaking in his sandals in ways he would never admit to anyone.

Never before had they felt so real as when they attacked Gaara in the middle of his village and taken him hostage. Even fighting them after all these years had served to remind everyone of how powerful an enemy they were facing. But at the same time, the Akatsuki had finally been brought down to Earth.  
Of all people, it had been Sakura who first defeated a member of the Akatsuki. To Naruto, who would agree but never admit that Sakura was once the weakest link on their team, hearing that Sakura had killed one of the agents of Naruto's nightmare had been unbelievable. His heart swelled with pride at how powerful his pink firecracker had become. Her monster strength was enough to make him fear her, her medical prowess was enough to be in awe of her, but her victory against Sasori- Well Naruto was already in love with her so there wasn't much higher his opinion could go for her.

 _'She's amazing…'_ Thought Naruto.

 _ **You're damn right she is.**_ The Kyuubi answered back.

 _'Ah geez, what do you want you damn Fox? I'm not fighting anyone so you can't tempt me with your chakra.'_

 _ **Shut it brat, I'm not here for that.**_

 _'Then what do you want? You never talk to me unless you want to tempt me. And no, I won't release the seal for an ocean of ramen. There is no ramen down in the abyss of my psychosis. Pervy Sage told me so.'_

 _ **I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the Pink haired Vixen.**_

 _'Pink haired-You mean Sakura-chan? What do you want with her? Don't think for a second I'll let you hurt her, you shitty Fox!'_

 _ **Calm down Brat, I don't want to hurt her. I just want you to mate with her…**_

 _'Mate…'_

"YOU MEAN HAVE SEX WITH HER?!" Naruto shouted out loud, drawing in all the eyes of every Shinobi to stare at his outburst. Sakura in particular was looking at him with a look of rage and disbelief.

A gust of sand blew by.

"Heh heh, sorry." The awkward blond apologized to the crowd, doing his trademark neck rub. Unknown to Naruto, at the time Kankuro had been trying to strike up a conversation with the orange dork. Something about showing him and his team a night on the town in gratitude for saving his younger brother. He had mentioned hooking Naruto up with some dates (Kankuro knew some bachelorette kunoichi that just loved foreign ninjas) when Naruto had made his outburst. Sensing the end of their conversation, Kankuro quickly shifted over to see Lee and Neji wanted to take him up on his offer.

 _ **Idiot.**_ The Nine Tails thought.

 _'I am not going to…do…that…with Sakura-chan. We're just good friends and teammates and I don't want to-'_

 _ **Oh Sage's sake, spare me! Brat, I've known you for all but 30 minutes of your life and you have been in love with that vixen for longer than even I can remember!**_ The Demon Fox bellowed.

 _'Wait that doesn't make sense, 30 minutes-what?'_ Naruto thought, trying to put two and two together.

 _ **The point is that you love her and anyone half paying attention will tell you that she loves you back. So just mate with her already and stop fucking sighing about her all the God damn time!**_

 _'I'm not just going to walk up to her and say, "Hey Sakura-chan, lets fuck!"'_ Naruto screamed, his embarrassment showing both in his psyche and on his physical cheeks.

 _ **God, fine! You wanna play the long game? Delay what we all know is coming over and over again until it stops being fun? Fine, then go hold her hand.**_ The Bijuu instructed.

 _'What?'_ Naruto asked, scandalized like the Fox had just asked him grope the 5th Hokage.

 _ **'You heard me. Make like that Tanuki bastard and grow some balls, then go hold the vixen's hand.'**_

 _'Why?'_

 _ **What do ya mean why? She looks like she's taking the death of the old crow hard, so go and comfort her. That's what any potential mate worth his chops would do.**_ The Kyuubi explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 _'Well she does look sad but-'_

 _ **But nothing! She's overly emotional right now and needs a rock. So go be that rock.**_

 _'How can you be so sure?'_

 _ **I've lived a thousand years, but more importantly I've had two hosts before you, both female. So I've got a better estimate of what females are thinking rather than most.**_

 _'You're right. Thanks Fox.'_ Naruto's mental projection smiled.

 _ **Less talking, more rocking.**_

Naruto pretended not to have heard that and found himself back in the real world, now in sight of the Hidden Sand Village's massive walls. He quickly jogged over to where Sakura was walking and positioned himself right next to her. Sakura was focused on the stretcher ahead of her and didn't notice Naruto. Even with the caked on grime and sweat she still looked beautiful in Naruto's eyes. The way her hair shined in the afternoon sun left a golden streak across the top of her hair leading to her cute forehead. The way her legs swayed back and forth even while trudging through the sand was a sight to behold. How her pink mini-skirt bounced off the front of her thighs and her butt made other parts of Naruto want to say hello. Forcing himself to focus on his target, Naruto noticed that her gloves had since been removed, meaning Naruto would have no choice but to initiate skin to skin contact.

 _ **Fucking do it already!**_

Summoning up his courage, Naruto reached out and intertwined his fingers with Sakura's, pulling her hand out to meet his own halfway. Now all he could do was wait for the hammer to drop.

Inside Sakura's mind…

 _'He touched me!'_

 _'I know!'_

 _'He's holding my hand!'_

 _'I KNOW!'_ Inner Sakura squealed in delight.

 _'What do I do?! He touched me without permission, should I hit him? But it feels so nice, and Lady Chiyo is dead, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FEELING!'_

 _'Calm down Sugar Tits. Let me just pop on down to Master Control and ask the girls what you're supposed to be feeling. In the meantime, don't let go of that hand. And don't even think of trying to punch him in here. Our body might take that as a command.'_

 _'Master Control? Wait, what?!'_ Sakura cried out, but her inner thoughts were silent.

Deeper in Sakura's subconscious…

 _'Hey girls.'_ Thought Inner Sakura. _'What's the status?'_

One of the multicolored personas untangled himself from the slap fight going on over the control panel. Inner Sakura recognized her by her purple skin, Fear.

 _'Well we just word from the Nerve center that Naruto was holding Sakura's hand. Sadness had been manning the controls for a while, but then Joy and Anger knocked her aside. Joy wants Sakura to focus on enjoying the hand holding, while Anger is upset that Naruto didn't ask Sakura's permission first before touching her. Then Disgust got in on it when she remembered that Sakura is still all dirty and smelly from the battle she just had. And so is Naruto. Sadness thinks it's too soon to stop grieving for Lady Chiyo. And I am too scared to do anything.'_

 _'Ok, why don't you three take five and leave Joy and Sadness to man the controls. Then Disgust can take over once we get back to our hotel room or whatever with a shower.'_

 _'What about Anger and Me?'_

 _'You two will be on standby. Let's see where this hand-holding takes us.'_

 _'Gotcha. Thanks Inner. You always know just what to say.'_

 _'That's what I'm here for.'_

 _'Did you guys get all that?!'_ Fear yelled over all the commotion. Not that it was needed, since Joy had apparently already won the slap fight and was manning the controls with Sadness off to the side.

 _'You freaking bitch, you slapped me right in the ear.'_ Anger said.

 _'Ugh, whatever.'_ Disgust said. _'Have Sakura hold sweaty palms. See if I care.'_

Satisfied, Inner Sakura returned to Sakura's conscious mind.

 _'Hey there Me. How ya feeling?'_

 _'…Oh what was that? Sorry, I'm just enjoying holding Naruto's hand. Its almost like we're a couple…'_

 _'Great great, just don't over think it. Enjoy it. We've still got to confess to the Baka when we get back to the Leaf.'_

 _'What?'_ Sakura thought dreamily, not really paying her Inner thoughts any attention. _'Yeah sure whatever… mmmmm…'_ Sakura's thoughts went into a pleasant haze when Naruto traced circles on the top of her hand with his thumb.

 _'My work here is done.'_ Inner Sakura thought as she faded into the background of Sakura's subconscious.

* * *

 **Wow, that took a while. I wanna thank my co-writer, samuraipanda85 for the majority of this chapter. He did just about all of this chapter while I took care of some personal shit. Next Chapter is going to be a filler and the start of the Tenchi Bridge arc. SPOILER: Videl transforms in this next arc, but not the way you think. We have already done quite a bit for that chapter so I hope to have it up by Friday evening or sometime this weekend.**


	6. Chapter 6: Confessions

_**WARNING! MATURE CONTENT PRESENT!**_ (No, not a lemon.)

 **This chapter is huge. so grab a cup of coffee, you might be on this one a while.**

* * *

3 days later.

"Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!" Hinata shouted as she took after Gohan, who dodged every strike she had. Hinata was stunned. She had just gotten the hang of the 64 palm strike and Gohan made the Hyuuga girl look like she was standing still.

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba yelled as he turned into a twister of pain aim right for Videl. Videl phased out and reappeared behind Kiba and kicked him to the floor.

"Fire Style: Scatter Pack Jutsu!"(1) Videl shouted as she rained down a volley of small fireballs around Kiba to which detonated upon impact, creating blasts about as powerful as a low level paper bomb.

Shino and Choji were in an intense Taijutsu spar while Ino and Shikamaru were in one of their own. Everyone's Taijutsu had increased dramatically since Gohan and Videl had the 6 Chunin train in the gravity room. The setting was at 20 times and everyone was excelling greatly. Even Ino, who Videl thought wouldn't amount to much, was showing remarkable progress.

"Expansion Jutsu!" Choji yelled as he expanded his left arm and hand, creating a car sized fist and aimed it right at Shikamaru. Shikamaru dodged the attack, but the attack kept going and landed on Videl, sending her crashing into Gohan.

They were all training since the early morning hours of the day and it was now around 1 in the afternoon. Gohan and Videl had taken a moment to create an energy beam struggle between two low powered Kamehameha's. The Leaf Shinobi watched in awe as the two attacks collided, creating quite the spectacle of a light show. The blast ended with the two attacks canceling out each other and the two Saiyan's blew apart from each other.

"Holy shit! Wish i could do that." Kiba said in shock.

"Yea, no kidding." Ino said in agreement.

"Sadly, that attack uses Ki and we can't project our Chakra out like that." Shikamaru said.

"So we learn to use Ki. Whats the problem?" Kiba said.

"We can't use Ki. Why? Because we have learned to use Chakra at such an early age that we would have to unlearn everything we've learned to use Ki, making our ability to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu disappear." Shino explained.

"Shino is right." Shikamaru said. "Unless we had a second Chakra network that we could use to utilize Ki, it's impossible for us to use it."

"Well that just fucking sucks." Kiba complained.

"Personally, I think Ki is just too destructive." Hinata said to which Choji nodded.

"Yea I agree. Chakra is a little more controlled." Choji said.

"Wait a minute.. Videl can use both so what's the deal with that?" Kiba said

"She can use both because she has a primary and secondary network. She can conjure up Ki with her secondary network and use Chakra with her primary and switch between the two of them at will." Shino explained.

"What would happen if she mixed the two?" Ino asked.

"One of two things;" Shikamaru started. "One, she mixes the two and creates an attack so powerful that it could wipe out all of creation in a 100 mile radius or bigger. Two, the two types of energies don't mix properly and makes her into a time bomb, killing herself and creating a massive blast that could incinerate everything in its path. There is a reason why our people abandoned the use of Ki, its far too volatile to be controlled on a large scale without extensive training and understanding of it. Videl is somewhat new to it, but thanks to Gohan training her, who has been using Ki since the age of four, her control is near flawless and her Chakra control is just as good."

"Good God.." Ino breathed out.

"Sage of Six Paths..." Kiba gasped out.

The group was brought out of their musings as they heard a knock on the door to the chamber.

"Computer: Return gravity to normal levels." Gohan said and the gravitron whirred down and everyone felt the gravity return to normal. "It's open." Gohan said and the door opened revealing Tsunade and Asuma.

"Glad to see everyone training so hard." Tsunade said. "I just received word that Teams 7 and 9 will be arriving within the hour if you want to meet them by the main gate to welcome them."

Everyone nodded and teams 8 and 10 walked out, feeling lighter than they ever felt. Gohan and Videl trailed behind until they were stopped by Tsunade.

"Gohan, I was able to send out messages to the other Kage's to put forth your request as protector of our world. I will let you know when they want to meet." Tsunade said.

Gohan bowed. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"Videl, once Kakashi has returned and rested up, You will begin your test for placement as a Genin. I have no doubts that you will pass. Your skills are beyond that of a Genin and you could almost instantly become a Chunin, but to be fair to everyone, You'll be a Genin to start." Tsunade explained.

Videl nodded and bowed. "Thank you." she said.

* * *

From there, Gohan and Videl went into their house and washed up. Videl put on a pink T-shirt with a long white tank top over it, she put on her bike shorts and wore the typical Shinobi sandals. Gohan dressed in a Gi almost exactly like Goku's. Blue T-shirt, orange Gi top, Orange pants, blue wrist bands, blue sash and blue boots.

The two Saiyans then made their way to the fron gate to meet the arriving shinobi. There they met with Teams 8 and 10, except for Hinata. Gohan could sense that their power levels have risen immensely after training the last few days. their power levels were definitely in the thousands range, which was a huge leap from being in the low hundreds before they started training.

Asuma, the leader for Team 10, had used the gravity room as well from time to time. He was only at 10 times gravity simply because he was a busy Jounin with little time to himself. Gohan had offered Kurenai to take part in the training, but she respectfully declined.

Gohan extended his senses and found that there were several power levels coming at relatively high speed. He guessed they were about half an hour away at best. Gohan looked to Videl and she nodded to confirm his assumption.

"So how long do you think until they get here?" Kiba asked.

"I extended my senses out and they're about half an hour away. Two of them are right on top of each other. One of them has a fairly high power level compared to average, the other seems to be very weak. I would say around 20 or so. I can't tell who it is though." Gohan said.

"I sense it too." Videl said. Then her eyes went wide. She looked to Gohan and spoke into his mind so as to not alarm the others.

 _'That weak signature is Kakashi. He seems to have taken a beating.'_ Videl said.

Gohan nodded. _'That's what I thought. Glad I brought senzu beans.'_

Videl cocked her head to the side. _'What kind of beans?'_

Gohan chuckled mentally. _'Basically they have healing abilities. I'll get into more details later.'_

It wasn't long before the group of warriors would see a dust cloud on the horizon. in just a few short moments, a green jumpsuit clad Jounin came to a screeching halt as he slid through the gates

"FIRST!" He announced with a semi conscious Kakashi on his back.

"Ugh... Get me down before I puke.." Kakashi said.

Soon after, Lee came barreling down and stopped next to Gai, followed by Tenten, Neji, Sakura and Naruto.

"Good god man!" Naruto wheezed out as he and Sakura tried to catch their breath. "Slow down once in a while, will ya?"

"We needed to get Kakashi here as fast as possible to give him the medical aid he needs." Gai said with a bright smile.

"Yea, but we don't need him in worse shape just because you wanna race." Sakura said with indignation.

"What's wrong with him?" Gohan asked.

"Chakra exhaustion for the most part." Sakura said as she finally caught her breath. "He just needs a few days in the hospital to-"

"No he won't." Gohan said, interrupting Sakura.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what Gohan pulled out a small brown pouch and pulled out a light green bean.

"Here Kakashi, eat this." Gohan said as he brought it to the Copy Ninja.

Kakashi eyed the object in Gohan's fingers. "What is it?"

"It's called a senzu bean. It'll fix you right up." Gohan said genuinely.

Shrugging, Kakashi took the bean and quicker than anyone could follow, lowered his mask and ate the bean and covered up his face again.

'Damnit...' Naruto and Sakura thought collectively. They, along with Sasuke, had been trying to get a peek under the mans mask for years now and have yet to succeed.

Kakashi chewed the bean and swallowed it. not a moment after it hit bottom, his one visible eye widened and pushed himself off of Gai's back. Kakashi flexed his arms and stretched his legs, threw a couple of punches and started laughing like crazy.

Everyone there, aside from Gohan, were wide eyed in shock. Kakashi could hardly move before, and now there wasn't a scratch on him and he was feeling like a billion Ryo.

"WOW! That's some bean, kid!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"HOW IN THE BLUE FUCK?!" Sakura yelled in shock.

"What?" Gohan said, to which Videl faceplamed.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT?!' HE COULD BARELY MOVE AND NOW HES PICTURE PERFECT!" Sakura yelled. "What the hell did you give him?!"

Gohan laughed. "I gave him a senzu bean." Gohan said as he pulled another one from his pouch. "This bean can heal any injury and restore your energy. My friends and I have gone through a number of these babies during our battles."

Sakura took the bean from Gohan's hand. She closely examined it with utmost scrutiny. "Looks like an ordinary bean to me.." She said.

"Eat it and you will be fully recovered, Sakura. Trust me, it works wonders." Kakashi said.

Sakura shrugged and ate the bean. soon after her fatigue was gone and she felt fantastic. She also felt a surge of power running through her that, for a brief moment, made itself noticed by Gohan and Videl.

"I gotta take a few of these to Lady Tsunade! Think of all the possibilities for medicines we could use this for!" Sakura said with unbridled joy.  
Gohan passed around the pouch of senzu beans and each of the members of Team 7 and Team 9 took one and ate it, except for Lee and Gai for whatever reason.

After welcomes and other greetings of the like were exchanged, Sakura was pulled aside by Ino and Videl. Tenten took off to go get cleaned up and Gohan with the other guys took off to do some training in the gravity room after biding their farewells. Sakura wanted to stop Naruto so she could talk to him, but Ino was persistent in getting her and Videl away from the guys to what she liked to call, 'Female bonding.'

Ino already had good relations with Videl. 3 days ago, Videl had Ino cut her hair and she shared all kinds of stories from her dimension with the blond Kunoichi. Ino dragged them along until they came to a local dumpling shop. Sakura protested as she wanted to get cleaned up and make her report to Lady Tsunade, but Ino was insistent. Sakura figured Kakashi and Gai would handle giving the report and she would tell Tsunade about the information she got from Sasori later, preferably when Videl was accepted onto the team.

* * *

A little while later, the 3 girls walked out of the dumpling shop. Videl had eaten a great deal, but was still able to help pay. She was still hungry, but what Ino had on her mind she didn't know and it seemed like every time she tried to bring up the subject, Ino dodged her questions.

 _'That's it.'_ Videl thought and opened a telepathic link into Ino's mind.

 _'Ino! Will you listen to me please?'_ Videl said through the link. Ino looked at Videl in shock. She was about to say something but Videl shook her head. _'Just talk to me by thought.'_

 _'Like this?'_ Ino asked mentally.

 _'Yup, that's right.'_

 _'This is too weird.'_ Ino said.

 _'I'll tell you about it later, but for now, why are you dragging us around like this?'_

 _'It's simple. Sakura has feelings for Naruto and she is suppressing them. We have to get her to come clean about her feelings for that blond idiot.'_ Ino explained.

Now everything was making sense. Videl finally understood and nodded, deciding to go along with Ino's plan.

 _'I agree. I noticed this the day Gohan and I came here. What do you want me to do?'_

 _'We're going to the local bath house and perform an intervention. She has to come clean with her feelings this time.'_ Ino said.

Videl had gotten a sudden sense of dread from Ino. _'This time? Why do I not like the sound of that...'_

 _'I'll explain later.'_

Videl followed Ino and Sakura to the most infamous bath house in the Fire Country. Infamous for its tendency to attract the most notorious perverts known to kunoichi. Well they say perverts, but it's mostly just the one. His smug face was plastered all over the walls of the front desk with captions reading:

Watch out for self-proclaimed Super Pervert.  
He is old, creepy looking, with white hair, and a constant nose bleed.  
He is a master of stealth and disguise.  
Report all sightings to the Fifth Hokage.  
By order of the Council of Mothers

Unfortunately, the Burning Leaves Bath House was also the largest and most luxurious bath house in the Hidden Leaf Village. So kunoichi and civilian woman alike tolerated it while keeping an ear to the ground on any news that Jiraiya was in town.

The building itself had an old rustic charm to it. Wooden cabin exterior with a modern interior for the lobby and changing rooms, nothing special. It was the actual bath that kept people coming back.

An entire warehouse converted to look like a five star hot springs you would find out in the mountains. The outside gardens were set up to block the customer's view of everything urban. Stones built into the Olympic sized bath and the wooden floors all reinforced the atmosphere that once you stepped into the bath house you were miles away from all the hustle and bustle of the ninja village.

The girls paid for their locker key and entrance fee (with the kunoichi discount knocking off 25%) and stepped into the changing room.

"Oh my Kami! It feels so good to get out of these sweaty clothes!" Videl proclaimed as she peeled off her black spandex shorts. Giving her thighs and her, ahem, lower regions so much needed air.

"I swear I've been training nonstop since I got the Leaf." She added as she threw aside her loose white top before going after her purple jumper.

"Tell me about it." Ino added while undoing the zipper to her purple skirt. Letting it fall carelessly to the floor. "You know, some of us take days off in this dimension. I don't know if that's a social faux pas in your universe, but we promise we won't tell."

This got a laugh out of Videl and Sakura.

"Oh trust me, even before I met Gohan I was constantly doing training. Mostly martial arts and conditioning or what you guys would call taijutsu training."

"Really?" Sakura inquired. Her fingers undoing her bootstraps to free her little piggy toes. "Were you a warrior tasked with defending your entire planet like Gohan was?"

"Oh no, I was just a high school student who occasionally fought criminals with the local police force and I guess I was also the daughter of the man who saved the world."

"You guess?"

"It's a long story. But basically, this horrible monster named Cell was terrorizing the Earth and my Dad got the credit for killing him. So they turned him into a world famous celebrity."

"Wow." Sakura and Ino both gasped.

"Yeah. Eventually though, I learned the truth, that it wasn't my Dad who defeated Cell, but Gohan. Back when he was still a teenager."

"Geez, that must have been shocking. To learn that your Dad lied to the entire world." Ino said, pulling off her fishnet stockings around her knees and elbows.

"Not really. To be honest I had my doubts that my Dad really defeated Cell for a while. As strong as he is, Cell took the world hostage by blowing up entire cities. No way my Dad could ever hope to match that." Videl spoke as she stripped off her sports bra and matching panty set.

"Sage of the Six Paths; I'm glad we won't ever have to deal with anyone that overpowered." Ino foolishly jinxed.

The girls finished stripping down in ways that I'm sure will make the pervy-er readers wish this was a doujinshi and not just written fanfiction, and entered the bath with their towels and toiletries in hand.

"Ino! Sakura! Over here!" Came a cry from across the room. There by one of the many man-made waterfalls was Tenten and Hinata. Already finished in lathering themselves up and were enjoying the steamy bath. Tenten leaped up to wave at the girls and get their attention. Her—hair buns bouncing back and forth as she moved. Something Sakura was quick to notice and then pretend like she wasn't looking. Hinata remained sitting in the pool, her arms below the surface to keep certain assets from floating up.

The girls exchanged greetings before the three new comers took a seat by the actual washing up stations. Once that was done, they all slipped into the water and released a collective, "Ahhhhh…"

Sakura could feel the tension in her muscles releasing. Even days after her fight with Sasori she could still feel the sprains in all her limbs and joints. That fight had forced her to move in ways she hadn't thought possible. When it came down to it, Tsunade's training just couldn't equal the real thing. Nevertheless, it had made Sakura prepared. More so than she ever would have been by herself.

She had stared down an S-ranked ninja and defeated him. By her training and her own two hands. With the help of Lady Chiyo, they took down the rouge ninja that had killed one of the Kazekage.

Now whenever Sakura put on her headband, she did so with pride. She had proven herself to herself.

 _'Now we can be proud.'_ Inner Sakura stated.

For once Sakura could only agree with her inner self.

Until she opened her eyes and got an eyeful of all her friends' assets of various shapes and sizes. Then she looked down at her own figure and immediately lost her confidence.

"This is actually really nice, different, but nice." Videl said. "We don't have anything like this back in our dimension."

"You don't have bath houses or hot springs?" Tenten asked in shock.

"Not public ones like this. You gotta understand, I come from a place that is easily several hundred years more advanced than here so we just have a bathroom in our own homes with a tub and shower. Some places, like my dad's mansion, has a sauna or steam bath and hot tubs." Videl explained.

"That is something I could be happy with. While I enjoy the company of friends, sometimes I just like to have some privacy when washing up." Sakura said as she looked at all of the girls there and was reminded quickly on how flat chested she was compared to everyone.

"Forehead, if this is about you being embarrassed about the size of your boobs, its not really a bad thing." Ino said.

"Ino is right." Videl said. "I'm a size 34 and these damn things get in the way when fighting. Most of the time I have to wrap them up tightly so my fighting isn't limited."

"Isn't that extremely uncomfortable?" Hinata said.

Videl nodded. "Yes, but when in a battle, what's more important? Comfort, or functionality?" Videl stated.

The other girls nodded in agreement. Videl had a very good point and the girls, namely Ino and Hinata, were going to take that as a helpful tip in the future.

"Sakura, we brought you here for an intervention." Ino stated as she would to a friend in denial about her drinking problem.

"For what? My boobs?" Everyone else deadpanned at this.

"No! We're not here for your billboard chest, Billboard Brow! We're here to talk about Naruto!" Ino yelled, loud enough to attract the attention of every other woman in the building. All eyes were on Ino as she quietly sank back into the bath.

"W-what about Naruto?" Sakura stuttered, worried that this was going to be exactly what she thought it was going to be about.

"Don't play dumb. I mean you and Naruto. What's going on with that?" Ino pressed.

Sakura sighed, typical that her best friend the gossip queen would have to bring this back up so soon. She could see all her other friends closing in to listen up. Except for Hinata, who had the sudden desire to rewash her hair.

"Nothing. There is nothing going on between me and Naruto." She firmly stated. Hoping in vain that Ino would just drop it.

"Bullshit." Videl and Ino said simultaneously. Sakura was about to protest but Ino held up her hand.

"During yours and Naruto's bell test, we all saw you latch onto Naruto and kiss him and you held onto him for quite some time. Regular friends don't just do that." Ino stated.

Sakura blushed, remembering that moment. "I-I was just really happy for him for getting promoted! That was just a friendly gesture and nothing more!" Sakura shouted.

"Really, Sakura.." Ino deadpanned. "Ever since Naruto got back to the Leaf, you have been on him like white on rice."

"I haven't seen him in 3 years!" Sakura defended.

"Neither have most of us here Sakura! Granted, he is your team mate and your friend, but he is obviously something more." Ino shouted back.

"We all believe this, Sakura." Tenten said.

"Well, you're wrong. We're just friends-" Sakura started but Videl interrupted.

"Sakura, who are you trying to convince here? Us, or yourself?" Videl said flatly. "In my dimension I was somewhat of a detective as well as a crime fighter. I know when people are lying. Plus, thanks to Gohan training me, I learned to sense energy levels and every time you try denying your feelings, I can sense your energy fluctuating. That tells me you are lying." Videl stated sternly.

"While I find that skill to be very cool and useful, Videl." Ino said and she turned back to Sakura. "Don't forget, my dad works in the interrogation section and I have worked with him from time to time. I have learned to read peoples body language enough to know when they are lying and your body is screaming to me that you are not being truthful." Ino then switched to a very serious look. "Now, either you cut the bullshit and come clean, or Videl here will pin you down and I will fucking mindwalk your ass until I find the truth!"

Sakura was visibly shocked at Ino's brashness. She looked at Videl, who was cracking her knuckles to confirm Ino's threat. She shivered at the thought of Videl pinning her down and holding her there. She knew how strong Videl was and knew that she had no hope of breaking free from the grasp of a Saiyan. Sakura also knew of Ino's mind Jutsu's and swore to herself never to be a victim of said jutsu's. She sighed as she relented to defeat.

"Alright..." Sakura said. "The truth is, I really don't know how I feel about him."

"It seems to me that you like him more than a friend. I got that much since Gohan and I came here." Videl stated.

"My feelings for him have been slowly growing stronger, Videl. That much is true, but for the longest time, I have been in love with Sasuke. Or, at least I thought I was..." Sakura said, her voice trailing off.

Ino nodded. "I was the same way, until he turned on us and the village."

"Gohan was the only one I ever wanted to really be with, even the moment I met him, though at the time I wouldn't admit it." Videl said.

"I have been growing feelings for Neji." Tenten said. Sakura nodded.

"The truth is, when I found out that Sasuke was killed I was more happy than upset. Not happy as in 'God I'm glad that traitor is finally dead,' but more like 'I'm glad he is finally at peace and can enjoy the afterlife.' But then, something sparked in me when we completed our bell test. Something is there, but I don't know if its love. I mean he's been there for me more times than I can count. He's saved me countless times more and had vowed to make me happy no matter what. The real issue I'm having is forgiving myself for all the shit I put him through. I think that is what's holding me back." Sakura said, confessing every thought and feeling she had about the blond idiot.

"Well then maybe you should just not date Naruto until you're certain of choosing between him and a traitorous dead man!" Hinata spat. The girls all looked at her with shock. Scandalized by the ever gentle Hinata's harsh words.

The Hyuga heiress didn't wait for a reply and stormed out of the bath.

"Hinata, what the shit?!" Tenten shouted. Now all eyes were on the kunoichi of the Konoha 11.

Sakura could only stay frozen in shock. Like she had been blindsided by her brunette friend's cruel words. Likewise, Ino was speechless and could only comfort her best friend on instinct.

Tenten had gotten up and given chase to Hinata, trying to convince her to apologize outside of the public eye.

"What's her problem?" Videl asked dumbfounded. Of all the things to say, she did not expect that from such a quiet girl.

She looked upon Ino and Sakura for answers. "Shit... I completely forgot." Ino said.

"Forgot what?" Videl inquired.

"Hinata has had a thing for Naruto since their academy days." Sakura said.

"And we... were...Oooooohhh...Shit..." Videl said as realization caught up to her. "Will she be okay? I'm sensing a lot of rage coming from her, which is odd for her."

Ino nodded. "Just let her cool off. She thinks that Sakura is now her competition."

"From what you told me, it sounds like she thought that way of Sakura since the beginning. I'm no expert on love. Far from it. It took Gohan and myself getting sent here to realize my feelings for him. Before that, I was a complete bitch trying to pry into his personal life like he was some kind of criminal." Videl explained.

"What are you saying?" Sakura said.

"Gohan forgave me for trying to pry into his personal life because he had always liked me more than just a friend and did his best to protect me. I can tell that whenever you are around Naruto, its obvious that he loves you. My point is, Naruto more than likely forgave you for everything you have done up to this point and continues to love you unconditionally." Videl explained.

"Yes, so stop beating yourself up, forehead, and ask out that blond idiot already." Ino said. "Before Hinata grows a pair and asks him out before you get the chance."

"No." Sakura stated.

"No?" Ino and Videl asked, perplexed. Sakura stood up and wrapped her towel around her torso.

"I'm not gonna let another stupid crush ruin one of my friendships." Sakura stormed off to the changing room, leaving Ino to explain to Videl her past with Sakura.

Sakura waltzed through the changing room doors to see Tenten forcibly trying to stop Hinata from leaving.

"Tenten, please! Give me my bra back!" Hinata begged, not noticing Sakura had enter the room.

"Not until you go back out there and apologize to Sakura." Tenten held the double D bra just out of reach of the Hyuga mistress. It would be hilarious if the situation wasn't so serious.

"I'm not apologizing to that bitch for what I said." Hinata made a pathetic grab for her bra strap but was easily countered by Tenten's expertise in weapons that somehow applied in this situation.

"Ahem." Sakura got both girls attention. Tenten looked like she had gotten her hand stuck in the cookie jar. While Hinata just had a look on her face that read what-does-this-bitch-want.

"Tenten. Could you give us a minute." Sakura demanded. Tenten was hesitant to leave these two hell cats alone but Sakura's insistent look convinced her to trust Sakura's judgement.

"Sure." She threw Hinata her bra before retreating back to the baths. Leaving Sakura and Hinata alone with one extremely nervous civilian who felt the need to get a rush on with changing.

 _'Alright bitch, listen up! Naruto is my man. He loves ME and I love him and I had better not be seeing you anywhere near him. If I hear that your pale fish eyes have been spying on my blonde fox I will gouge out your eyes and rip off your fake ass mammories!'_

Sakura ignored her Inner self. She needed to do this right.

"What do you want Haruno?" She asked in her most authoritative voice, one her father would have proud of if he ever heard it.

"I want to talk."

Hinata paused, trying her best to keep her composure. "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Then when will be a good time?" Sakura demanded. "A day from now? A week? A month? A year? No, this needs to happen right now."

"Why? So you can start your new relationship with Naruto with my blessing?" Hinata sarcastically asked.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Hinata, I love Naruto." Sakura said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. "In what way, I don't know yet. I started off hating him, it's true. I treated him like crap for years and only recently have I realized how important he is to me. He's my teammate, my best male friend, and maybe something more. I don't know if these feelings I have for Naruto are romantic like what I had for Sasuke or even more powerful than that. But I want to figure that out."

"I see, and while you figure out your feelings for Naruto, I'm supposed to just stand by the sidelines and pretend to be all happy and supportive for you?"

"No, see that's what I don't want. This rift that has already formed between us. Back when I started pining after Sasuke, Ino and I broke off our friendship because we both had a crush on the same guy. It tore apart our friendship for years. That is the one thing I definitely do not want to happen between us over some guy."

"But its not just some guy, its Naruto-

"And I know for a fact that he wouldn't want us to tear apart our friendship for his sake."

"So why can't you just back off and let me be with him? I've loved him longer than you, you know that." Hinata sobbed.

"You can't change how a person feels, Hinata. Its not my fault that Naruto has had a crush on me since forever. And I can't change that I was too preoccupied with Sasuke to ever give him the time of day before. Things have changed though. Now I want to do everything I can to help Naruto achieve his goals. He inspires me. He makes me feel safe. I will stand beside him until the end. And I will not back off just to give you a window of opportunity." Sakura finished.

Maybe she was too harsh, but it needed to be said. She loved Naruto, Naruto loved her, and she was going to see how far this would go.  
Hinata on the other hand was damn near bawling her eyes out. The dam was let loose and all her worries that things were getting serious between Naruto and Sakura were coming true.

"Its just not fair. I've always loved him. He's always loved you. I thought…given enough time…eventually he would come around…but here you are just turning around and sweeping him off his feet…"

"Hinata, do you love Naruto?"

"Yes of course."

"Do you love him for your sake or do you want to see him happy?"

"I…"

"Because if it's for his sake, then you need to let him and I try to be together. Its what I want and its what Naruto wants."

At that, Hinata grew quiet. Sakura could only wait and see if her words had any impact. She was by no means an expert on love. The only couple with a stable relationship that she personally knew about was her parents. Kakashi was a bachelor, Tsunade needed no introduction, and Shizune had been hanging out with Tsunade for too long. All of this was knew and unfamiliar territory. Sakura's hope, was that she wouldn't have to traverse it without all her friends. Hinata included.

Hinata was never one to drag out a fight, she hated conflict altogether. So rather than press the issue, she might as well just go along with it. No matter how much it hurt. Naruto and Sakura were still her friends. Destroying those bonds wouldn't make anyone happy. Not now or in the long run.

"…Ok." Hinata gave in.

"Ok, you're serious? You are ok with this?" Sakura couldn't believe her ears.

"No I'm not ok with this…but you are right. I can't change how Naruto feels about me. I…I want him to be happy. And if being with you makes him happy then I'll let him go. I'd rather have his friendship and yours than nothing at all…" Hinata finished sadly.

"Oh, Hinata…" Sakura felt like crying tears of joy. The two girls walked up and gave each other a hug. Now the both of them let out tears, dripping down their faces onto the shoulders of one another.

"Just so we're clear, the second he dumps you I'll be on him like the orange on his jacket."

"You'd better. We wouldn't want that idiot going out with the first skank that walked by."

The two kunoichi giggled at their understanding.

 _'We had better make sure to change Naruto's fashion sense so there won't be any orange to cling on to.'_ Inner Sakura evilly smirked.

 _'All in due time.'_ Sakura thought back.

 _'You do realize that the two of you a hugging buck naked in a public changing room right?'_

 _'What's your point?'_

 _'Oh nothing…nothing…just feels nice is all. Thought I'd put an idea on the back burner for now.'_

 _'Where are you going with this?'_ Sakura questioned.

 _'Threesome.'_ Inner Sakura made the imagine-this-gesture.

 _'Damn it Inner! I'm not gay!'_

 _'I'm not saying we're gay, I'm saying we're bi.'_

 _'Bisexuals don't always have threesomes!'_

 _'Thanks for the insight PC Patty. I'm just saying it's a win-win for everybody. Hinata gets a taste, Naruto gets a fun little evening, and we get to be the filling in a Sakura sandwich.'_ Inner waggled her eyebrows at that last suggestion.

 _'Out of the question. When I get with Naruto, it's going to be exclusive. Besides, were not going to just give Hinata what she wants and then take it away._

 _That would be cruel.'_

 _'Cruel is not getting a chance to see those gams work.'_

 _'I said no!'_

 _'Fine! What about Ino?'_

 _'WHAT ABOUT INO?!'_

 _'I'm just saying, you've thought about it, don't even try to deny it. I wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't already.'_

"Sakura?" Hinata asked, bringing Sakura back down to reality.

"Hmmm?" She could only reply.

"Ummm, you can let go now. People might talk." Hinata said with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"Oh right! Sorry!" Sakura backed up, equally as flustered. The two turned their backs to one another. Sakura readjusted her towel while Hinata finished strapping her bra and slipping on a fresh pair of panties.

"Glad to see everything worked out." Videl said as she and Ino walked in.

Hinata turned to the curtain and saw a towel wrapped Ino and a stark naked Videl getting ready to change into their clothes.

"No towel, Videl?" Sakura asked.

"No. I'm just comfortable enough that I don't see a reason to wear one. It's not like this is a unisex or anything." Videl said as she took a small towel nearby and dried off her tail. "Not that any guy around here would be dumb enough to peep on me, unless they wanted their life to end tragically and painfully." Videl said coldly, almost as if she was warning a potential peeping tom.

The girls all finished getting dressed and left the bath house all completely relaxed and refreshed. Videl looked at her watch and noticed it was around 4 in the afternoon.

"Hey guys. Gohan told me that he and the guys were going to be at the hot springs around 6 after they finish their outing. How about I take you to the gravity room for some light training?" Videl said, which earned looks of shock and confusion.

"You want us to do MORE gravity training?" Ino said in near protest.

"Why would we do that?" Sakura asked.

Videl smirked. "It tones up our bodies more and makes us faster, stronger and the best part is, it increases your stamina for many... activities." Videl said with a seductive grin.

That was all the reason Ino needed and took off running to Videl's and Gohan's house. Tenten and Hinata followed closely, but Videl hung back with Sakura.

"So, when and how are you going to talk to Naruto about this?" Videl asked.

"I don't know yet. I may talk to him later tonight, but I still have to talk to Lady Tsunade about some information I acquired from an Akatsuki member I killed. Not to mention you have your Genin exam soon, don't you? If you pass, Naruto and I will be your superiors." Sakura said with a grin.

Videl chuckled. "You may out rank me, but I out gun you, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei put together." This earned a chuckle from Sakura.

"That's true you might be the strongest Shinobi we'd have, but that's no excuse to get cocky." Sakura said. "But to answer your question, I really don't know how I should tell him. I don't want to blurt it out and scare him, but I also don't want to take a long time explaining it to him. He isn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch." Sakura said.

Videl nodded. "I can understand where you're going with that. If you need me to, I can be there for support."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Videl." Sakura said with a small smile.

Videl nodded with a smile of her own. "Anytime, Sakura. Come on, lets catch up to the others."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the guys were relaxing at the local hot springs. Gohan, from years of traveling the Earth and beyond, never really visited a hot spring before. He, along with Naruto, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee and Neji relaxed in the hot water after 3 hours of relentless gravity training.

"Ahhhh... This is what my body needed." Kiba said.

"I don't know how you do it Gohan. That gravity was intense." Naruto said.

Gohan cocked and eyebrow. "You were training at 10 times gravity, Naruto. Lee was the one doing the best out of all of you guys and Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji were training in 20 times gravity earlier." Gohan said.

"Not all of us train with 600 pounds of weights, ya know." Naruto grunted.

"Oh come on guys. You'll get used to it in time. Videl got up to 100 times gravity in a week." Gohan said with a grin.

"You and her are from an ancient alien warrior race, we're not." Shikamaru said.

"And Videl and I are also half Human. What's your point?"

"Come on guys." Choji said. "You gotta admit that training did make you feel stronger."

Everyone looked at Choji and smiled. "You're right, Choji. We have gotten stronger and we can get even stronger the more we train." Lee announced.

"I will admit, I feel faster than before." Naruto said.

"That's what I want to hear. Who knows? You all might get to my level." Gohan said.

"Where is your level?" Asked Neji.

"I have been training at 500 times gravity."

Looks of shock and astonishment were shared around the men's side of the hot springs.

"Well shit, no wonder you look so freakin ripped." Kiba said with a smirk.

"And judging by the fact he looks like he lost a fight with a meat grinder, I would say he has had his fair share of battles, right Gohan?" Shikamaru asked. Gohan merely nodded. "Got anything interesting to share about those battles?"

Gohan shook his head. "None that I care to share right now. They bring up bad memories and would rather save it for another time."

"Fair enough." Shikamaru said.

"Hey, how about after this, we go get something to eat? I'm starving." Choji said, to which is friends nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. You owe me for cleaning out my fridge the other day." Gohan said.

"Hey, Videl said we could help ourselves." Choji defended.

"Yea, but I don't think she meant for you to eat everything in our house. 5000 Ryo doesn't go very far with two half Saiyan's." Gohan countered.

Shikamaru widened his eyes. "How far does it get you?"

Gohan shrugged. "About two or three meals worth."

Shikamaru's jaw dropped. "How in the hell?!" He shouted in shock. "5000 Ryo would be enough to keep a couple in food for over a month and you say its only good for a few meals for the two of you?!"

"Saiyan's have a much higher metabolism that requires us to eat very large amounts of food. We consume in one meal that you would normally consume in a month." Gohan explained. "It's a good thing I remembered to bring my senzu beans, otherwise, we'd be in trouble."

"Senzu beans?" Lee asked.

"That's that green bean you fed us when we got back isn't it?" Neji asked, to which Gohan nodded.

"It not only heals you of your injuries or any physical ailment, but it also provides enough nutrients that you can go without food for a whole 10 days. For Videl and myself, about 3 days." Gohan said.

"You need to grow some more of them. We could use something like that in case shit hits the fan." Shikamaru said.

"I know. I gave a few to Lady Tsunade and she's going to try and extract its healing properties and make a new type of medicine from it. In the mean time, I have a senzu bean plant in my house. It takes a while for them to grow." Gohan said, to which everyone nodded. "But as far as shit hitting the fan, that's why we are training. I'm already at a point where the only other person who could put a dent in me around here is Videl, and when she becomes a Super Saiyan and is training at 500 times gravity, we'll both be the strongest here. I'm training up you guys so that when a major problem does come around, You can handle it without our help."

Naruto nodded. "Then what are we doing wasting our time here for?" Naruto said as he got up and wrapped a towel around his waist.

"Woah, chill out Naruto. We have plenty of time to train." Gohan said. "you can't rush this kind of training."

Naruto turned and looked back at Gohan with a serious look. "You may have been the hero of your time, but I intend to be the hero of mine. This gravity training is the only way for me to achieve my goals and become the greatest Hokage there ever was." Naruto said with determination. _'It may also get Sakura to go out with me.'_

Unknown to Naruto, Gohan heard his thoughts using his telepathy. _'Little does he know that Sakura already loves him. She's just too nervous to admit it to him just yet.'_

 _'So, our suspicions were confirmed then?'_ Videl said in Gohan's mind.

 _'More or less. It's evident that Naruto has a crush on Sakura. Did she say anything while you guys are at the bath house?'_

 _'Sakura all but admitted to loving him, which pissed Hinata off, which revealed a massive love triangle involving another guy named Sasuke.'_

 _'I still don't know how you talked me into this. You know I'm an idiot when it comes to this.'_

Videl giggled. _'Maybe, but if these two love each other as much as we think they do, they need to get over their shyness and come clean with each other.'_

 _'We can't rush this, Videl. It may end up being detrimental to our desired effect. Let them sort all of this out on their own.'_

 _"Humph... Fine. But don't forget that tonight is our date night.'_

Gohan chuckled. _'I won't. Oh, and it seems we're heading back to the gravity room shortly.'_

 _'Okay, thanks for the heads up.'_ Videl finished as she cut the mental link off.

* * *

"Man this gravity is nuts!" Sakura yelled as she struggled to get used to 10 times gravity. She had been at it only for a few minutes and even Tenten was struggling. She wasn't exactly thrilled that Ino and Hinata weren't even phased by it.

"Come on forehead! This isn't so bad after a while." Ino said with a smirk.

"How is it you aren't struggling with this, Piggy."

"Easy, Hinata and I were training in 20 times gravity earlier. This is a cakewalk for us now." Ino gloated.

 _'That means Ino is stronger than us now! We can't have that now can we?'_ Inner Sakura said.

 _'No we can't.'_ Sakura thought back.

Sakura then channeled her Chakra the way Tsunade taught her, and with renewed determination, Sakura stood up straight and started going through various Katas and improving her Taijutsu. Her form slowly started getting better and Videl took notice of it. Videl looked as Sakura was slowly getting faster with her movements. Videl was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Gohan's thoughts.

 _'Little does he know that Sakura already loves him, she's just too nervous to admit it to him just yet.'_

 _'So, our suspicions were confirmed then?'_ Videl said in Gohan's mind.

 _'More or less. It's evident that Naruto has a crush on Sakura. Did she say anything while you guys are at the bath house?'_

 _'Sakura all but admitted to loving him, which pissed Hinata off, which revealed a massive love triangle involving another guy named Sasuke.'_

 _'I still don't know how you talked me into this. You know I'm an idiot when it comes to this.'_

Videl giggled. _'Maybe, but if these two love each other as much as we think they do, they need to get over their shyness and come clean with each other.'_

 _'We can't rush this, Videl. It may end up being detrimental to our desired effect. Let them sort all of this out on their own.'_

 _'Humph... Fine. But don't forget that tonight is our date night.'_

Gohan chuckled. _'I won't. Oh, and it seems we're heading back to the gravity room shortly.'_

 _'Okay, thanks for the heads up.'_ Videl finished as she cut the mental link off.

"Okay guys. I just spoke to Gohan. The guys are coming back for some more training" Videl said.

"Good, I could use a workout." Ino said. "Just standing here watching these two get used to the gravity is boring."

"I would check Sakura again, Ino." Videl said.

Ino looked over at Sakura to see that her determination hadn't wavered in the slightest. Her form and speed and been boosted significantly as she flew through her stances. Ino was shocked to see that Sakura had gotten used to the gravity so quickly. She looked over to Tenten to see that she was still struggling to just stand let alone move.

 _'Hmm...'_ Videl thought. _'Sakura is getting more and more interesting. There has to be something about her that we are just not seeing.'_

"I quit. I can't hack this." Tenten said.

Videl nodded and turned off the gravitron.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just holding you guys back. I'll come back later and train on my own until I get to your level." Tenten said sadly.

"That's fine, Tenten. Work at your own pace, no one is rushing you." Videl said.

Tenten smiled and left to leave the gravity room. As she did so, Videl walked back over to the gravitron and before she could turn it on, Sakura spoke.

"Put it to 20 times." Sakura demanded.

"Are you sure? I don't want you getting hurt." Videl said with concern.

"Yes I'm sure."

Videl nodded and turned the machine up to 20 times. Sakura nearly fell onto the floor, but she channeled more of her Chakra and then got to work going through her katas again. She was improving greatly, far faster than either Videl or Tenten anticipated.

Now Tenten would never admit this to anyone, but secretly she held a great envy of Sakura. Not for her more girlish looks or skills as a ninja, but the fact that she had all but stolen one of Tenten's dreams. Sakura was the star pupil of Tenten's greatest idol Lady Tsunade. The bun haired weapons mistress had always dreamed of being an amazing kunoichi like Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf. Until Naruto had brought Tsunade back the village Tenten could have only dreamed of meeting her and becoming her apprentice. Instead Sakura had beaten her to the punch and was accepted as Tsunade's pupil. When Tenten had finally summoned up the courage to request the same honor, she had failed in the simple fish test because her chakra control was too poor. After weeks of attempts she finally gave up and resigned herself to perfecting her art in weapons and earning recognition through her own merits. But maybe this was the actual reason that Sakura had been selected as the Slug Sannin's student over Tenten. Not because of chakra control, but because of her tenacity to never give up. A trait she shared with Tsunade if the Lady Hokage's ever increasing gambling debt was anything to go by.

 _'Well no more!'_ Thought Tenten. _'I'm not about to quit just because it seems insurmountable now! Neither Neji nor Lee would quit and Gai sensei would scoff at the mere suggestion. Fuck it! If Sakura can do it then so can I! The Rookie 9 girls aren't gonna leave me in the dust!'_

With that, Tenten through her weighted weapon scrolls to the side and began with the basic taijutsu conditioning that Gai sensei had beaten into his genin students until he wept tears of pure youth.

Across the room, everyone, including Sakura, smiled when they noticed that Tenten had decided to stay with them.

A half hour had passed and Sakura was in her own world. She was flying through her stances like the increased gravity was nothing to her. Videl had noticed that her Taijutsu skills have nearly tripled since she entered. Something was driving Sakura to reach new hights and Sakura would be damned if anyone was going to stop her.

Sakura was going to ask if she could increase the gravity again when they heard a knock on the door.

Videl shut the gravity machine off and the guys entered. once the door was closed, Videl turned the machine back on. Neji, Naruto and Lee fell on the ground at the sudden increase of gravity. Lee almost immediately got to his feat and started shadow boxing. He was used to training with a lot of weight and to him, this was no different.

Naruto channeled some of the Fox's Chakra making his blue eyes slitted. He was strong enough to stand and start sparring with a shadow clone.  
Neji had the hardest time getting up, but eventually he was able to start training, albeit much slower than the others.

At this point, Sakura was losing her concentration. As soon as Naruto had entered the gravity room he had gotten right to work. His dedication would be admirable if he wasn't such a jerk for not bothering to say hi to Sakura. Then the dumb blond had the nerve to take his shirt off and make Sakura forget why she was angry at him. The boy was a regular Adonis with his tanned abdominis and pectoralis major and over a dozen other muscles Sakura now knew the medical terms for. Clearly his training with the Super Pervert had paid off. Watching the sweat run down his back was far too fascinating for Sakura's own good. And to top it all off, that idiot had summoned a shadow clone to spar with him so now there were two sets of torsos bobbing around.

Sakura wasn't the only one struggling with distractions. Unknown to her, Ino was treating herself to extraterrestrial eye-candy by watching Gohan practice aerial combat with Videl. Whom Gohan was trying very hard to convince (via mental link) not to splatter Ino across the training floor.

Likewise, Tenten was assisting Neji to get the hang of gravity training while Lee did his own exercises off to the side and shouted encouraging scripture from Gai-sensei. The high gravity meant that Neji pretty much had to relearn his gentle fist stance, which meant that Tenten had to physically correct his limbs back into place when they dropped out of place. But really it was just an excuse for Tenten to feel up Neji's sweaty muscles.

Last but not least, Hinata was dealing with a different kind of distraction. While she was off on the other side of the Gravity Room trying not to meet Naruto's gaze, she felt another set of eyes on her. A quick scan of her Byakugan revealed it to be two sets of eyes on her: her teammates Shino and Kiba. Both of whom were just barely concentrating on their own conditioning and seemed to be solely focusing on her.

 _'What are they doing? They're watching me, but why? Do they think I'm going to faint and they'll have to catch me like they always do?'_ Hinata thought. The idea actually made her blood boil. While it was true that the two of them had always looked out for her in the past, things had changed. She was no longer the weak and helpless little princess that she was. She had all but mastered 20x gravity for Rabbit Goddess's sake, something neither of them had managed to accomplish. Maybe it was because she had spent all those years perfecting the art of stalking-no, observing Naruto instead of perfecting her fighting capability. And since that Haruno…girl had just declared Naruto off limits…

 _'Well then, fuck it.'_ She thought. _'To Hell with it. I'm not gonna be the one holding them or anyone else back anymore.'_ She declared to herself and continued practicing her techniques with a renewed vigor.

 _'Well said.'_ Came a voice in her head.

 _'Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate!'_ Hinata mentally bellowed before resuming her base stance.

 _'Oh jeez, I'm damn near insane.'_ The voice thought before fading into the background.

Over on the boy's side of the room, Hinata's teammates were unknowingly having similar thoughts that went as such. _'Damn girl…'_

They couldn't help it. More often than not they would only see their female counterpart wearing frumpy jackets to hide her more…appealing curves. Now that they were trapped in a high gravity, high temperature environment, their shy little princess had to strip herself down to more form fitting work-out clothes and may the Gods forever bless the man who invented nylon.

They're fantasy was quickly brought back down to Earth when a training drone zoomed by and clonked Kiba on the back of the head at just the right angle so that he would head butt Shino squarely on the nose.

While the bug user and the dog trainer reoriented themselves, Sakura had completely stopped her training to watch Naruto and his "twin" wrestle each other to the ground.

The two blonds had been exchanging kicks, jabs, and counters for some time before things got even more close-quarters and they resorted to grappling. Each trying to get underneath the others center of gravity. One of them had succeeded in slamming the other onto his back but was quickly pulled down with him. Now they were just a tangled mass of torsos, limbs, and blond hair as far as Sakura could tell.

 _'So did Naruto pin his clone or did his clone pin Naruto?'_ Inner Sakura asked.

 _'Does it matter?'_ Sakura retorted.

 _'No, I'm just curious as to when you and I switched places?'_

Sakura didn't register that last remark as one of the Naruto's had managed to pin the other from behind, allowing them both to take a moment to catch their breaths with deep pants that Sakura could feel tingling up her spine for here.

WHAM!

Out of nowhere, the same drone that had decked the other two onlookers now left a sizable bump on Sakura's pink head.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, immediately dispersing his clone and rushing to Sakura's side. Before she could even finish her first stumble, he had cradled her form in his arms in a way that felt so natural for the both of them. Not that Sakura was very dazed mind you, she had taken worse hits from Tsunade almost daily before mastering the sacred art of dodging. Still, they didn't call her the smartest kunoichi of her generation for nothing and quickly utilized another sacred ninja art: Subterfuge; the art of playing up your injuries so that your potential boyfriend will hold you close.

 _'Oh jeez.'_ Thought Gohan, who had been observing the whole time. _'Maybe we do need to intervene.'_

 _'What are you talking about?'_ Videl thought back. _'They're doing great on their own.'_

 _'Their canoodling is interfering with their training. Especially in here.'_

 _'What 'canoodling'? They haven't even started making out!'_

 _'Videl…'_

 _'Oh fine. What do you suggest?'_

 _'Oh you'll see.'_

An hour had passed and everyone had gotten used to the gravity. Videl and Gohan walked up to the machine and gathered the others attention.

"Alright, now let's pair some up and do some sparring. Kiba, you fight Neji. Lee, you fight Shino. Naruto, you fight Sakura. Tenten, you'll fight Hinata. Choji, you fight Shikamaru. We'll do this for another hour and then we'll be done for the day." Gohan instructed.

"Right." Everyone said.

"What about me?" Ino asked.

"You'll be fighting with Videl." Gohan explained. Videl cracked her knuckles in anticipation for a chance to wail on the girl who thought she could ogle at Videl's man. Ino gulped.

 _'Wait a minute, that's your plan?'_ Videl thought. _'Have them spar with one another? I thought we didn't want them distracting one another?'_

 _'They won't, they'll be forced to pay attention or get creamed. Besides, my Mother always used to rave about her and my Dad's first date, and they spent the whole afternoon sparing. Hell, they got married after my Dad beat her in their match during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.'_

 _'So fighting is love to you?'_ Videl teased, already imagining herself in Chichi's shoes and Gohan in Goku's.

Gohan, in turn, thought of all the important people in his life back on Earth and how often they were associated with violence. _'Yeah pretty much.'_

"Alright then. Begin."

An hour had passed and everyone in there was about ready to collapse, save for a certain blond bonehead and a certain pink haired firecracker. Once they started going at it, they haven't stopped. Sweat was rolling down their faces and their breathing was labored from fatigue. Gohan had dismissed the other Shinobi and he and Videl kept watching Naruto and Sakura fight it out, neither one of them giving the other any quarter.

Sakura eventually shed her top and was left in her sports bra. This at first had cause Naruto to blush, but remembered that it was quite hot in the gravity room as he had shed his shirt as well. Videl on occasion used a fire jutsu to get the room to heat up more, explaining that intense heat causes the body to work harder during an intense workout. Sakura agreed completely with Videl and continued her spar.

Gohan, the sneaky devil, had set the gravity machine to increase the gravity by 2 every ten minutes, but Naruto and Sakura barely even noticed. They were too caught up in their training to even care. Both of them were going at it using various forms of Taijutsu. Their movements were fast and flawless. Anytime one would throw an attack, the other blocked or dodged it and countered.

This went on for hours as more and more of their fellow shinobi with more humane levels of stamina called it quits for the evening. Even Lee eventually had to give up and return home to begin his pre-sleep workout.

It wasn't until it was very late at night, around 11PM, that Sakura finally found an opening and delivered a chakra enhanced punch to Naruto's abdomen and sent him flying across the room into the wall hard.

Gasping at what she had done, Sakura ran over to Naruto to check to see if he was okay. That was when she was starting to feel it. 5 hours of continuous sparring finally caught up to her and she collapsed on top of Naruto. At this point, the gravity machine read 50 times gravity. Videl and Gohan were proud at the fact that these two had accomplished so much in just a day, even after just getting back from a mission.

Videl shut down the gravity machine and Gohan vented the heat out of the room. Gohan brought out two senzu beans and carefully fed the two teens the beans. They slowly stirred and Sakura was the first to regain consciousness. It didn't take her long to notice that she was laying on top of Naruto and blushed madly. She moved to get up, but a part of her didn't want to. It was almost like her brain was telling her body to move, but her heart was overriding that command. Either that or it was Inner taking control over the situation.

 _'Don't bring me into this, I have nothing to do with it and neither does master control.'_ Inner Sakura thought in response to Sakura's musings. That was a one off joke anyway.

 _'Yea I bet.'_ Sakura responded back. _'But I'll let it slide this time. I kinda don't want to move away from him.'_

 _'And yet you say you don't have feelings for him.'_ Inner shot back.

 _'I do, alright? You win. Now shut up and let me have this.'_

 _'Hold on their Slick. We still haven't yet confessed to his abs yet, and thereby the rest of him.'_

 _'Well that will change tonight. I will make him mine tonight, come hell or high water.'_ Sakura thought back. Sakura finally found the will to roll off Naruto as he stirred awake.

"Ugh... What happened?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

"To be blunt, Sakura delivered a knock-out blow and you collapsed." Videl said. "You two have done an awesome job. You have been at it for 5 hours straight and in 50 times gravity no less."

"50 TIMES?!" Both Naruto and Sakura shouted.

"I had set the machine to increase the gravity by 2 every ten minutes. You two were so enthralled with your spar that you didn't even notice the gravity increasing." Gohan explained.

Naruto stood up and threw a few punches and jumped a few times. Gohan was right, he felt lighter, faster, and just overall stronger. Sakura felt the same as she repeated Naruto's movements. Sakura picked up one of Naruto's shoes that he had shed when they were fighting and threw it as hard as she could. She suddenly phased out and caught it before it hit the wall. She was stunned to say the least… Her speed had increased by leaps and bounds. Naruto did the same thing and his speed matched Sakura's.

"Holy shit..." Sakura breathed out.

"My God..." Naruto said in shock.

"Now you two see the true benefits to gravity training. I train at 500 times gravity, so imagine how fast I am." Gohan said with a smile.

"I wanna see that." Naruto said

"As do I." Sakura responded.

"Me too." Videl chimed in.

Gohan looked around the room and saw the looks of excitement from the 3 shinobi. Gohan sighed in defeat.

"Okay, but you all need to bring your power up so you won't get crushed by the sudden increase."

"No problem." Videl said. "I had been saving this for a while." Videl suddenly had a red aura surrounding her as her muscles bulged slightly. "Kaio-Ken Times 5!"

Gohan was stunned. "When did you learn the Kaio-Ken?!"

Videl laughed. "King Kai taught it to me using image training while you were at meetings. This is as high as I can go without putting too much strain on my body."

Before Gohan had a chance to properly absorb that new development, he felt a familiar aura permeate the room. It was the same menacing energy he had felt days ago back at the market and sure enough it was coming from Naruto. The knuckle-headed ninja had dropped into a horse stance as red chakra had begun to emit from his pores and swirl around him. Gohan could equate the air pressure to a wall of stinging bees. It was fowl and unstable, yet Naruto managed to wrangle it through sheer willpower. Looking closely, Gohan could see the whisker marks on Naruto's face growing darker and his pupils turning into blood red slits. The bubbly, blood orange chakra wrapped around the Maverick Ninja and Naruto transformed into the Three Tailed Kyuubi Cloak, surprising the two Saiyan's there but scaring the hell out of Sakura.

"Naruto! What are you-"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. This is what most of my training with the Pervy Sage was about. Mastering control of the Nine Tails' chakra. So long as I stay under four tails I can stay in control of my body." Naruto explained. He gave her his typical ear to ear smile, albeit this time with added fangs. "Besides, the Kyuubi wants to observe Gohan's full power too."

This calmed Sakura down greatly, but still kept an eye on him. Sakura channeled as much chakra as she could muster into her body to compensate for the soon to be sudden increase in gravity.

"We're ready." Sakura said. Gohan nodded and turned to the control panel and increased it to 500 times gravity.

The machine hummed with a low tone as the gravity was set. Videl and Naruto were completely composed. They felt it, but it was tolerable. Sakura struggled for a minute, but regained herself.

"Alright." Gohan said and instantly flashed into Super Saiyan. Naruto and Sakura had yet to see this form and stood with their mouths agape.

"So that's his Kekkei Genkai." Naruto muttered under his breath.

 _'His power is far beyond anything I imagined kid. Even as you are, there is no way you could put a scratch on him.'_ Kyuubi said into Naruto's mind.

 _'I agree with you, Kyuubi.'_ Naruto replied.

With Gohan in his Super Saiyan form, he went through some different fighting Katas and stances for a few minutes and then powered down the machine. Videl and Naruto returned to their normal form and Sakura powered down her Chakra levels to normal. Gohan eventually powered down as well.

"So, that was your Kekkei Genkai, Gohan?" Sakura said.  
Gohan nodded. "It's called Super Saiyan. With each transformation, it increases our power by 50 times that of our base form. Speaking of which." Gohan said as he pulled out a scouter. He didn't normally use this, but figured it was the best way to judge their base levels. Both Naruto and Sakura registered at 30,000, which was a huge step up from where they were.

"Your base levels have gone up considerably. You both are sitting at 30,000 even." Gohan said.

Naruto and Sakura shared smiles of accomplishment. They had done it. They were now stronger than any Shinobi in history and could hold their own against any opponent, or at least, that's what they hope.

"Alright, that's enough for today. You guys can head home now." Gohan said.

Naruto dried off his sweaty face and put his shirt back on, but left his jacket to drape on the back of his shoulder. He watched as Sakura put her top back on and walked up to her. _'It's now or never.'_ Naruto said.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Mind if I walk you home?" Naruto asked nervously.

Sakura turned and faced Naruto. She noticed how flustered he was in asking that and couldn't help but smile softly. _'He really has it bad for me, doesn't he?'_ She thought.

 _'You know it girl, now accept his request or I'm taking over.'_ Inner Sakura said.

"Of course you can, Naruto. I need to talk to you about a few things anyway." Sakura said, now sporting a blush of her own at the thought of what it was she wanted to talk to Naruto about.

"About what? Did I do something wrong?"

Sakura giggled. "No, it's nothing to do with anything you did. Come on, we'll walk and talk." Sakura said as she motioned Naruto to follow her, which he did.

Videl and Gohan watched as the two soon-to-be couple walked off. They couldn't help but smile at the thought of them getting together. Videl hoped this would all work out and then remembered she was going to tail Sakura to make sure she went through with her plan.

"I'm going to go with them, Gohan. Sakura asked me to make sure she went through with this." Videl said.

"Okay. I'll cook us up something. What, I don't know yet. May go out fishing while you're gone."

"Okay, be back soon." Videl said and planted a soft kiss on Gohan's cheek and left.

* * *

Videl landed on the rooftops and took off after Sakura and Naruto. Utilizing all the shinobi training she had absorbed over the past month to remain completely undetected. It wasn't hard really; stick to the shadows, be mindful of your background in relative to the angle at which your target could see you, and roll your heels with each step. Simple.

Adding chakra to the soles of your feet to soften the landing and muffle the sound help out too.

 _'You know you can just fly, right?'_ Gohan deadpanned.

 _'Shut up, this is more fun.'_ Videl stuck out her mental tongue at Gohan.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura had been wondering if they should call out Videl on her subpar tailing skills. Super powered alien or not, the two chunin were not so green that they couldn't notice a stalker with only a month of shinobi training under her belt.

No sense beating around the bush. They silently agreed. Even in a large ninja village like theirs, word would get around fast beyond their control. Better to get it out of the way.

In the middle of the park by the entrance of the village they stopped. The crescent moon shinned down upon them like a spotlight. The trees were just tall enough to block out the city night lights and the path they were on curved just so that no other hints of civilization could be seen. If they moved even ten feet down the stone path in either direction they would risk a building popping out from behind the foliage. For all intents and purposes, right there in that little spot in the middle of the village, they were the only two people in their own little world.

Naruto looked to Sakura, whose pink locks shined brightly beneath the moonlight ever so slightly. Not that Naruto would care to notice, but the rest of Sakura's hair looked a mess. Bangs stuck out at odd angles or stuck to her forehead with sweat. Her clothes weren't in much better shape. Raggedy workout clothes that had been vigorously abused from hours of high gravity sparing. Yet it was the way she carried herself that spellbound Naruto. Ever since completing her training with Tsunade Sakura had their air of confidence about her that Naruto had seldom seen on her before. It was like she had just aced one of Iruka's impossible tests every day of the week. No matter what the challenge they may face out in the field, Sakura now looked like she had the answer. To heal any wound or punch any goon.

Out of habit, Naruto snapped his head back forward when he thought Sakura was about to catch him staring at her. Now it was Sakura's turn to observe Naruto's golden locks positively glow in the moonlight. He too looked a mess but Sakura could see a change in him from the goofy Naruto she had known three years ago. He no longer slumped when he walked, he stood tall and proud. A more mature man had taken his place, one who carried a heavy burden. Not just the burden Sakura had selfishly bestowed upon him back when he went out to bring back Sasuke, but a burden he had carried with him his entire life and one he would carry to his death.

Sakura thought back to their last mission in the Sand, when they had learned of the fate that was to befall Gaara and by association, Naruto.

 _"You said that Tailed Beasts were placed inside people in an attempt to control them and turn them into weapons for their villages." Sakura frantically questioned Lady Chiyo, like the answer might lead to life and death._

 _"That is correct, although in the end, no one could. So they merely sealed the demons away."_

 _"But what about the people who were used to seal those demons?!" Sakura screamed._

 _"Sakura!" Kakashi warned. Sakura bit her lip, wanting to choose her words carefully._

 _"What can be done…to remove a Tailed Beast from its host?" Sakura asked simply. At this, Naruto went wide eyed at what she was suggesting._

 _"To extract a demon from its host, one needs a surplus amount of chakra equaling the demon's own chakra levels, and quite a bit of time._

 _Sakura mentally went off the specifics in her head._ 'So I'd need an amount of chakra equal or greater to the Kyuubi. I think Lady Tsunade once said that the Nine Tails had a chakra level equal to 100 elite jounin.'

'Where would we find 100 jounin willing to help us unseal the Kyuubi?' _Inner Sakura asked._

'We'd force'em if we have to. Or I could store enough chakra in my seals like Lady Tsunade taught me.'

'Equal to 100 men? It would take years. And even then you'd run out of skin long before-'

'I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!'

 _"What's more…" Chiyo continued, flashing Sakura back to reality. "Once the unsealing is completed, a new equally powerful seal must be ready to store or bare the demon. For when the demon is removed from the host…"_

'No…'

 _"…the host dies."_

Even now the thought brought tears to Sakura's eyes. To know that someone as bright and as sweet as Naruto could be forced to bare such a terrible curse. That he had suffered for it and what's worse that Sakura had been a willing participant for so many years. Adding to Naruto's overwhelming grief when he already had so much thrust upon him on a daily basis.

 _'How can you say that? We didn't know, we were just kids following the example of our parents.'_

 _'We never questioned it. We just went along with the crowd for fear of alienating our other friends and Sasuke…'_

 _'It always comes back to him doesn't it?'_

 _'Not this time…'_

"Sakura-chan…"

"Naruto…" They said in unison.

Videl, who had taken up a perch on a three story building a block away, almost squealed in delight at seeing that old cliché in real life. _'Oh this'll be perfect.'_

 _'What's happening?'_ Gohan asked.

 _'SHHHH! I can barely hear them with chakra enhanced ears, I don't need your voice in my head.'_

Both Naruto and Sakura had finally shaken off the awkward exchange earlier and were regaining their confidence.

"I'll go first then? I think Pervy Sage would say that it's the gentlemanly thing to do." The whiskered youth said, trying to remember what lessons of chivalry his Perverted Master had tried to teach him that wouldn't get him pounded into gravy.

"Actually, Naruto, if it's all the same to you I'd like to go first." Sakura asked.

"Of course. Sure thing Sakura-chan." Naruto said, secretly delighted that he didn't have to go first.

Sakura took a deep breathe. This was going to be one of the most difficult things she had ever done. It hadn't been this difficult when she confessed to Sasuke. So why now? Because she wasn't desperate to make Naruto stay? He wasn't going anywhere. Maybe she had been more certain of her feelings towards Sasuke back then? Did that mean she didn't love Naruto as much? Or was there just more depth to her feelings for him that her crush on Sasuke couldn't match?

 _'So much for it not being about Sasuke…'_

 _'Shove it!'_

Sakura exhaled and looked up at Naruto's ocean blue eyes. Just looking at his small smile gave her the courage to press on. As it had done so many times before.

"Naruto I don't have any good memories of Sasuke."

 _'God damn it.'_

Naruto gave her a curious look but her own features told him to let her show him where she was going with this.

"What I mean is that I don't have any good memories of me and Sasuke alone, just the two of us. Most of the good memories I have with him are with you and Kakashi-sensei out on missions together or training. Just Team 7 things."

Naruto nodded, further encouraging her to continue on.

"I do have one really good memory of just him and me. Right before we met Kakashi, Sasuke met up with me and complimented my forehead."

Naruto felt his heart rising up to his throat.

"I had always hated my forehead, but Sasuke had said it was cute, that its size made him want to kiss it. I think at that moment I fell for him harder than I ever could."

Meanwhile on a nearby treetop that Videl had moved to listen in better, she was torn between herself wanting to fly down there and snatch Sakura away and cast a genjutsu on Naruto to make him think this was all a nightmare.

"But before he could kiss me, Sasuke lost his nerve and left. When he came back he had reverted back to his usual stoic self. Afterwards I decided to wait patiently for that softer side of Sasuke to appear again. But it never did…"

Naruto felt his heart breaking, not for fear of rejection, but for what he had done.

"After that, I can't remember a particularly bad memory with Sasuke either. For the longest time after you had left I contemplated that. Until I realized I couldn't remember a bad memory with Sasuke is because after each time he had belittled me on my uselessness or rejected another offer of mine for a date, you were there to eclipse the bad memory. Your annoying little antics always distracted me from how sad I was at being rejected again. You got me frustrated and anger at you rather than have me be sad about Sasuke. That's when I realized that more and more of my happier memories with Sasuke and with Team 7 usually revolved around you. Every time I felt down or discouraged, you were there to lift me back up. Watching you stand up to Zabuza, to Orochimaru, to Neji, hearing about you saving me from Gaara, and seeing you promise me to bring Sasuke back while you were bandaged up in the hospital like a mummy. You gave me the kick in the pants I needed to grow stronger."

Back on the tree, Videl was shaking from giddiness. _'Good job Sakura!'_

"But when you left, I soon found myself yearning for your return more than Sasuke's. To bring back the stupid outbursts you shout, the begging to go to Ichiraku's for lunch again, your boundless determination, your smile that could light up the night sky, and to bring back the sunshine I didn't realize you brought to my life until it was gone for three long years."

Kakashi, who had been going on one of his midnight walks, now hid behind a nearby tree, was flabbergasted at what he had just walked into. Never the less, he was silently rooting for both his cute little students to finally make that step that his own teammates had failed to do in life.

"Naruto, if there is one thing that loving Sasuke has taught me, it's that you shouldn't give your heart away all at once. But Naruto, I want you to have my heart. Piece by piece, over time. Because I know that you will take it and put it back together. And even if my heart still does not remain yours, I want you to know that no matter what I will be standing by your side through thick and thin…"

Sakura stepped forward and placed her right palm over Naruto's beating chest.

"Just as I know that you will always protect me as my hero. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power as a medic to keep your heart beating, until my own heart grows still…"

With that Sakura stepped back and intertwined her hands behind her back. A content but nervous smile adored her face.

 _'Sage of Six Paths, girl. Save some for the wedding vows…'_ Her Inner self said, but for once Sakura did not reply back. She had meant every word and all that was left to wait for Naruto's reply.

Meanwhile, their Sannin mentors were busy fighting for space behind a nearby bush.

"Will you back off? I'm trying to listen." Tsunade hissed.

"Not a chance, it's my student's turn. You got to listen in on yours, now I get mine." Jiraiya whispered back.

"Ha, like your dope of a student has anything near as good after hearing Sakura's confession."

"We'll just have to wait and see won't we? You sure you don't want to call off the bet? Last chance, consequence free."

"Not a chance, I've got a good feeling about tonight and there ain't no way my apprentice will lose to your apprentice when it comes to love."

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto tried to think up an appropriate response. How many times in how many ways had he envisioned this moment? It always seemed so far out of reach, him confessing to Sakura and her taking him seriously or even accepting his feelings. He was right on the edge and had no choice but to do what he did best…

Dive in.

"Sakura I can't give you my heart…"

 _'And what in the blue corn fuck does that mean?!'_ Ino all but screamed in her head. She had dragged her two good for nothing teammates along to spy on Sakura and Naruto's confession because a)there were rapists wandering the late night streets and b)she needed someone to slap during the juicer moments so that she wouldn't alert Sakura to her presence.

"Because you already own it." He finished.

 _'Troublesome.'_ Thought Shikamaru as Ino slapped his and Choji's arms again.

"From the moment I first saw you with your pink hair I thought you were the cutest girl in the world. It always baffled me how someone as pretty and intelligent as you could be bullied the way you were."

Sakura frowned a bit at being reminded of the lower points of her life.

"I used to think you were like me, an outsider, someone who just quite didn't fit in. But before I could summon up the courage to talk to you, you had made a friend with Ino. I was so happy for you, it gave me hope that I could make a friend too. And that ribbon she gave you, for the first time I could see your whole face and it was amazing."

'Alright brat, move on.' The Toad Sage thought.

"But then I learned that you had a crush on Sasuke and I was sad. I tried approaching you, but you'd always reject me. I tried to get over it, but I couldn't stop loving you. Every time I saw you smile at Sasuke, I swear it was the cutest thing. So when we were put on the same team together, I was so happy, but still frustrated that you only had eyes for Sasuke. So…" Naruto stopped.

Sakura was worried, did he lose his nerve?

"So you what, Naruto?" She asked.

"…So I vowed to always be there to support you. No matter what, as long as you continued to pursue Sasuke I would continue to pursue you. And even if you didn't choose me in the end. So long as you were happy, that would be enough for me."

Sakura started tearing up at his selfless proclamation. That he was willing to go so far for her happiness, at the cost of his own if needed be. She wasn't worthy, she couldn't be.

"But now I guess you have chosen me, which is just…you have no idea how happy that makes me Sakura-chan. " Sakura could swear the night time turned to day for an instant when he flashed her that ear splitting grin.

"So since I couldn't keep my last promise to you, I'll make a new Promise of a Lifetime."  
Naruto took both of Sakura's hands into his own. Sakura was certain her heart stopped. Naruto could feel his own heart busting through his chest.

"Sakura, I will always love you and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and keep that perfect smile on your face."  
Sakura had to take one of her hands away to cup her mouth. Her tears of joy just wouldn't stop flowing.

"Also…I completely agree with what Sasuke said. You really do have a large and charming forehead. It makes me want to kiss it."

The blond leaned forward and left a lingering kiss right in the center of the pinkette's forehead. Sakura froze. Naruto tried to savor everything he could about the kiss. How warm Sakura's forehead felt against the cool evening air, the salty taste of her skin mixed with her body soap and the lingering scent of her strawberry shampoo. It was everything Naruto had ever imagined and more.

Not wanting to spoil the moment, he broke the kiss on her forehead. He looked down to observe her expression. She looked up at him with huge innocent eyes. Like the most beautiful deer in the headlights you had ever seen. Her silence was beginning to creep him out actually.

"Sakura-chan?"

Without wasting time replying, Sakura grabbed her boyfriend's collar and pulled him into her awaiting lips. Their faces met in the middle and Sakura felt fireworks. She wrapped her arms around Naruto's head ensuring that he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Not that the blond had anywhere else in the entire multiverse that he would rather be. He snaked his own hands around her waist and pulled her close, so close that the only thing still between them were two pesky layers of clothing. Not that either of them minded, all that mattered was that it was just them, their partner, and-

"THEY DID IT!" Came the simultaneous cries of seemingly all their friends.

The two lovebirds quickly separated, only from kissing, they still held and iron grip on one another. To notice that they had been quite literally surrounded by all of their friends and teammates.

There was the Konoha 11; all their jounin leaders including Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai; their mentors Tsunade and Jiraiya; Shizune who had brought Tonton the pig along; and last but not least, newcomers Videl and Gohan, both of whom were flying overhead with shit eating grins on their faces.

"Don't tell me you guys were spying on us the whole time?" Naruto asked as Sakura buried her head in his jacket to avoid the embarrassment of having to look at anyone.

"And what? Miss out on teammate love triangle being resolved once and for all? No way we'd miss out on seeing such juicy gossip first hand." Ino explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiig!" Sakura growled. How dare her best friend spy on something so private, and let all their friends get away with it too.

 _'No threesome for her.'_ Inner Sakura stated manner-of-factly.

 _'INNER!'_

"Oh quit being melodramatic, Forehead. This has been a long time coming and we weren't going to miss a second of it. Now come here." Ino reached out and yanked Sakura from the clutches of Naruto.

"Hey wait! Pig! Where are we going?!" Sakura screeched with still clinging to Naruto's chest who was trying to hold onto her for dear life.

"To my house, silly. We're having a sleepover right now to discuss every little detail of what just happened. Especially about that kiss." Ino smirked, the thought of that kiss still made her wet. "Hinata! Tenten! Videl! Come on!"

"Woah now! Pig! You mean the kiss I just had with Naruto? Can't it wait until morning? I wanna spend some more time with my boyfriend!"

"Wait, boyfriend?" Naruto asked dumbfounded. "Does that mean we're dating?"

A gust of leaves blew by.

"YES IT MEANS WE'RE DATING, YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled. Honest to God, it was late and she barely had the energy to deal with her friends right now, let alone her clueless boyfriend.

 _'My my, aren't you quick? One minute of dating and you're already calling Naruto our boyfriend like you would slip on a comfortable pair of jeans.'_

 _'Oh spare me, Inner. And I thought you were supposed to disappear when I start being honest with myself. I'm dating Naruto, so you can go away now.'_

 _'I'll only stop commenting when it stops being funny.'_

"GAAH!" Sakura screamed out loud. Between the aliens from another dimension, Sasuke's death, the Akatsuki, and the upcoming mission she needed to vent. So the medic broke free of her platinum blonde friend's iron grip and wrapped herself all up in Naruto for another kiss. Right in front of every one of her loved ones save for her parents.

After a minute, or what seemed like an hour, the two broke free with an audible pop. The onlookers could only gawk in silence, nobody wanted to ruin this moment for either of them.

"Lunch date at Ichiraku's?" She suggested.

"Can we make it breakfast? I'll miss you too much by then." He counter-offered.

"No, I want time to freshen up for our first date and look beautiful for you."

"You always look beautiful to me."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, you know." She smiled.

"I'm counting on it, ya know." He smiled back.

One by one their friends dispersed, leaving the two newly formed couple to continue their walk back to Sakura's place. The entire way back they walked hand in hand, or held each other close, whatever the wind chill was like. Not a word was said between them, none were needed.

Finally they reached her front door and shared one last kiss good night, the promise of their lunch date the only thing making the next few hours of separation worth it.

Sakura shut the door and Naruto remained outside waiting for the lights to turn off. Finally they did and he was left in the hands of moonlight to guide his way home.

 **'Hey Brat?'** The Kyuubi softly spoke.

 _'Yeah?'_ Naruto replied giddily. Not even talking to the bastard fox was going to bring his mood down tonight.

 **'Great job and all landing your vixen. Nice work.'**

 _'Huh…thanks? I guess?'_ Naruto replied, not used to receiving praise or anything positive from the Demon Fox.

 **'Just one question. Why didn't you tell her that you were the one who complimented her forehead all those years ago and not that emo bastard you transformed into?'**

Naruto was almost taken back that the Fox had noticed that. Figures it would know everything going on with Naruto, but Naruto never assumed that he'd be watch all the time.

 _'…Because I failed in my promise to her to bring Sasuke back to her. The least I can do is let her keep the one good memory she has of her first love.'_

 **'So you're willing to lie to her forever just so that she can cling to one good memory she has of that bastard?'**

 _'Like I said before. So long as Sakura is happy, it's worth it.'_ The blond said with finality. The Fox offered no more words. Soon the thoughts faded from the orange ninja's mind and were replaced by the excitement that he had a date with his beloved Sakura-chan tomorrow. He drifted off to sleep a few minutes later completely content.

* * *

 **Like I said; HUUUGE Chapter. Oh, and if anyone asks if there are going to be lemons in this, the answer is no. I son;t mind leaving in the innuendo's and what not, but I'm trying not to make this about sex.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed.**

(1) **Fire Style: Scatter Pack Jutsu** This was inspired by a very old game called Star Trek Starfleet Command. In the game, your ships can use converted shuttles to fire a barrage of antimatter homing missiles that can either one-shot or seriously maim an enemy ship. This jutsu, Videl launches a barrage of explosive fire balls at her enemies similar to Sasuke's Phoenix Flower Jutsu. This is more of a distraction jutsu than a combat jutsu, however it can hurt if hit.


	7. Chapter 7: Team 7 Reformed

The next morning, Sakura was greeted by the sound of a thunder clap that sharply woke her from her deep sleep. The sudden loud sound of thunder made her shoot straight up out of bed and land on the floor with a thud.

"Ouch! Son of a bitch..." Sakura shouted as she rubbed the bump on the back of a head. a few more inches to the right and she would have landed her head on the corner of her night stand and more than likely rip open a gash on her head.

She sat up and looked at her clock which read 6:32AM. Sakura groaned in annoyance. She wanted more than anything to go back to sleep, but with a thunderstorm raging outside, she wouldn't be able to. Instead, she got up and put on a pair of sweatpants and a pink T-shirt. She opted out of wearing a bra for the time being. She figured as flat chested as she was, no one would even notice.

As her mind became less foggy, the events of yesterday started playing in her mind. _'Naruto is my boyfriend..'_ She thought to herself. ' _I never would have imagined in my life that Naruto and I would become a couple. If someone had told me that when I was younger, I would have laughed at that.'_

 _'Feels good, don't it.'_ Inner Sakura said.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. _'It does. I know he will treat me right and give me the love and affection that Sasuke never would have given me.'_  
 _'Don't forget, we got more gravity training today and its also the day Videl gets tested.'_

Sakura went wide eyed in remembering more of what happened yesterday. Inner was right, there was a lot of things going on today. more gravity training, Videl's test. Sakura would have to tell Tsunade about the meeting at tenchi bridge, and-

"MY DATE WITH NARUTO!" Sakura yelled out loud, catching Mebuki Haruno off-guard with that proclamation as she walked past her daughters bedroom. Sakura quickly slammed her hands over her mouth when she realized what she said and how loud she said it.

Suddenly, her bedroom door flung open. behind it stood a very pissed off Mebuki Haruno glaring daggers at her daughter.

"What was that you just said.." Mebuki said coldly.

 _'Oh shit..'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Want me to handle it?'_ Inner said back.

 _'I'll handle it.. I think.'_

"Um.. Well mom.. you see.."

"Don't worry about it dear." Mebuki said, her face now glowing with pride.

Sakura was taken aback by her mothers sudden change in attitude. it struck her as odd and confusing.

"Eh? What?" Sakura said in a very Naruto like fashion.

"I think its sweet that you of all people would be willing to give that poor boy the love and affection he has deserved all his life." Mebuki said.

Sakura was so dumbfounded that she couldn't utter a single word. Her mind was blank as she tried to figure out what her mother just said. All her life, Mebuki warned Sakura to stay away from Naruto and now all of a sudden she is approving of her dating said person? something didn't add up.

"Where are you going with this, mom?"

"I'm not going anywhere with this. Just know that I approve of the two of you going out is all. I hope that you two can make each other happy." Mebuki said with a smile.

Sakura nodded slowly, still not understanding her mother's sudden change of attitude. As her mother left her room she went through her closet to pick out what to wear for her first official date with Naruto.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan was going through some of his personal items that he left in the Capsule house. Videl was training team 9 while teams 8 and 10 were out on missions. Gohan took this time to look around for a few things.

 _'There's my Gi from when I fought Vegeta and Nappa'_ Gohan thought as she continued to look through his belongings. He stopped looking when he pulled out a picture frame that held a picture of himself, his mother and his father. It was taken the day before the Cell games. Gohan was dressed in an outfit remarkably similar to Piccolo's, his hair was spiked up and blond as he and Goku were doing a bit of training to remain in the Super Saiyan form. Goku was also in his Super Saiyan form and Chichi was in the mix as well.

"Mom... Dad..." Gohan breathed out as a single tear made its way down his face. Oh how he missed his family and friends so much. He wanted more than anything to go back home. Home to his loving mother and brother. Home to his mentor Piccolo, his friends Krillen and 18 as well as Yamcha, Roshi, Tien, hell he even missed Vegeta. He missed everyone. Even though King Kai was working on a way for him and Videl to talk to their friends and families on Earth, He still wished he could be there to see all of their faces.

Gohan had learned that they had made a wish on the Namekian Dragon Balls to bring Goku back to life to protect the Earth while he and Videl were trapped in this dimension.

 _'Everything okay Gohan?'_ Videl said into Gohan's mind.

Gohan wiped away his tears and cleared his throat. _'I found a picture of me and my parents that was taken before the Cell Games.'_

Videl whimpered at what Gohan said. _'I miss my family and friends too, Gohan. But it doesn't do any good to dwell on it.'_

 _'I know. It just hurts to know we'll never see them again.'_

 _'We will, Gohan. We'll see them after we pass on. We'll see everyone in other world someday.'_

Gohan nodded. Videl was right, it didn't matter what dimension they were in, they were all connected to the same afterlife when they die.

 _'You're right Videl. Thank you for that.'_

 _'Anytime. Now, I gotta keep Lee away from the control panel. He keeps trying to up the gravity.'_

 _'Alright. I'll join you soon.'_ Gohan said as he cut the mental link between them.

It was then that Gohan heard a knock at his door. He got up from checking out his things and answered the door. On the other side was Kakashi.

"Yo." Kakashi said. "I was sent here to bring you to Lady Tsunade's office. The Raikage is here and would like to speak to you about a few things."

"Oh right. This must be part of the hearings Tsunade was talking about. Alright I'll head over there now. You're welcome to join team 9 in the gravity room." Gohan said.

Kakashi sweatdropped at the thought of training with either Gai or Lee. He just waved his hand. "No I think I'll stick to my own training style."

Gohan shrugged. "Suit yourself, it really does work wonders."

"I'll take your word for that. Now, I gotta test my new potential student. Naruto and Sakura should be here whenever they get back from their date."

"Wish I could be there but this is probably more important." Gohan said.

* * *

Naruto could not remember waking up in such a good mood before in his life.

The sun shined a little bit brighter, the air was a little bit crisper, the toast he had for breakfast was just the right amount of brown with the butter all melted, and the orange juice seemed extra sweet today.

 _'I wonder what has got me in such a great mood?'_ He thought to himself.

His eyes wandered about his tiny apartment. From the carton of milk on his kitchen table that was about to expire (it was the 17th right?) to the pile of clothes scattered around the floor that weren't quite dirty enough to merit washing and the pile of clothes that definitely needed a wash. Naruto frowned at the thought of his inevitable chores and his eyes reached his tiny window sill garden. While his love for ramen was a well known fact, only a few of Naruto's closest friends knew that he loved to garden. The act of watering and tending to pot plants was a calming exercise that the 3rd Hokage had tried to teach the boy to turn his mischievous energy into something constructive. He had failed miserably in that regard, but the blond still kept up a garden. It being one of the few past times that he shared with his surrogate grandfather. He tried to keep up a wide variety of plants; lilacs, lilies, daffodils, one of his favorites being the cherry blossom. It being the namesake to his teammate Sakura and- _'HOLY crap-I'm-dating-Sakura-that-wasn't-a-dream!'_ He frantically realized.

How could he forget something so important? Yet even now it felt too good to be true. As it dawned on him his mood only brightened.

 _'I've got a date with SA-KU-RA! I've got a date with SA-KU-RA!'_ He mentally sang to himself. He opened his eyes to look at the old clock on his wall that read 1:22 PM.

 _'I'M LATE?! DAMN YOU KAKASHI-SENSEI!'_ He mentally accused his teacher of rubbing off on him.

Miles away, Kakashi looked up from his book for a moment before returning to the page he was on.

Leaping from his seat Naruto scooped up his dishes and tossed them in the sink. No time to listen to the glass break he hopped in the shower. No time for the nitty gritty, he was over an hour late and only had time the essentials.

 _'Crotch, pits, hair and face.'_ He mentally listed. Remembering Pervy Sage's technique on a quick shower.

He quickly dried himself while gargling mouthwash, then picked up the least whiffy shirt he could find and threw it on underneath his usual orange jacket and pants. Slipping on his sandals, he pocketed his keys and wallet and spit out his mouthwash onto the concrete sidewalk.

Like an orange bat out of hell he took off towards his favorite restaurant; Ichiraku Ramen, the pinnacle of fine cuisine. At least that is what Naruto would say to anyone who asked.

The Whiskered Ninja soon arrived at the agreed upon meeting place, only to find Sakura to be no where in sight.

 _'OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO!'_ He thought. _'THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I FINALLY GET A CHANCE TO GO ON A REAL DATE WITH SAKURA-CHAN AND I BLOW IT BEFORE THE DATE CAN EVEN BEGIN!'_

"Oh hey, Naruto!" Sakura cried out.

The hopeless fool turned around to see the love of his life standing out there in the open, waving at him. She was dressed in a long light green turtle neck with a gust of Sakura petals stitched into the side of the design. Wither her lower half she sported a black mini skirt that complemented her top and equally matching sandals more suited for casual fashion rather than their usual ninja work. Naruto noticed none of this as all he could focus on was his girlfriend's dazzling smile. Thinking back on it, it was the same smile he had seen her give Sasuke so many times in their past, but now it was reserved for him and him alone.

"Naruto? Earth to Baka?" Sakura snapped her fingers in front of her boyfriend who seemed to have been lulled into a trance.

"Hmmm…what?" He asked dazed.

"I said I was sorry that I was late. I kinda got held up picking out an outfit and well I guess Kakashi-sensei is rubbing off on me." She joked.

Miles away, Kakashi looked up from the black stone monument which had inscribed upon it the names of the fallen shinobi of the last war, including some of Kakashi's best friends. He figured it was nothing and resumed his mourning/self-reflection.

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head in his trademarked way.

The two finished exchanging their pleasantries they continued on to Ichiraku's arm in arm. Occasionally they chatted about nonsense but mostly they were content to enjoying each other's company.

"So Naruto…" Sakura began out of the blue. "Is there a reason you are in your usual jacket?"

 _'Oh crap.'_ "I ah…well we have Videl's bell test later so I thought it'd be best if I went in my usual clothes to save time…"

"Oh really?" Sakura asked with a slightly dark tone that made Naruto gulp.

 **'Idiot, you're blowing it! Say these words exactly!'** The Kyuubi commanded.

 _'Wait, what?'_

 **'Just do it!'**

"So that way I could spend the most time with you on our date and not be late for our newest teammate." He robotically spoke off.

"Oh I see, that makes sense." Sakura chirped, a content smile returned to her face as she rested her head back on her boyfriend's shoulder.

 _'Holy crap that was a good save! Thanks Fox.'_

 **'Don't mention it kid. Just keep your eyes open during mating.'**

 _'Da fuck does that mean?'_

Inside of Sakura's mind…

 _'Oh my God, I knew I was too over-dressed!'_ Sakura mentally groaned. Plus it was Ichiraku's, what was she thinking?

 _'You were thinking of dressing up nice for your boyfriend.'_ Her Inner self counseled. _'And he's lying, he didn't plan that far ahead. Look, his hair is still damp. He probably just rushed out of his apartment and grabbed the first thing he could find.'_

 _'You're right, Inner. But we can't call him out on it or we'll appear to doubt him and his good intention. Plus it still might be his actual intention, he does think of others very often.'_

 _'True…punch him just in case though.'_

Back in the real world, Sakura slugged Naruto right in his arm that she was holding with her other arm. The boy winced at the sudden pain that his girlfriend had inflicted upon him.

 _'I thought I was in the clear…'_

 **'You never are when it comes to females.'** The Fox wisely told him.

"Sakura-chan, what was that for?" He whined.

 _'Crap, we didn't plan this far ahead! What do I say?'_

 _'Don't worry Me, we got this. Just give me control for a second.'_

"I like to hear your reaction…" Sakura spoke aloud.

Naruto stared at her with an awkward expression at his girlfriend's curious interest.

No more words were said between the couple for the rest of the trip. That's when Sakura realized that the two of them had become the center focus of a lot of onlookers.

Ninja villages were always massive breeding grounds for gossip, the mixing of civilians and shinobi ensured that. So to see the up and coming apprentice to the 5th Hokage walking hand in hand with the infamous Uzumaki boy stirred up quite a lot of hushed whispers.

Sakura gave Naruto's hand a tighter squeeze, being mindful of her chakra enhanced strength this time around. She was not about to take any crap from any of the remnants of Naruto's hate club. He was a hero to this village and as dedicated a ninja as could be found. She would straight up murder anyone who would dare suggest otherwise.

That's when her hero let go of her hand and fell to his knees.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked frantically, worried that he might have come down with some kind of fast acting illness. The blond began sobbing into the dirt.

"Naruto?" She asked, now more concerned than ever.

"Sakura-chan…its horrible…" He said in a shaky voice. Sakura had absolutely no idea what he was going on about until he reached out and pointed at the building in front of them.

Sakura recognized their destination, Ichiraku's, which seemed to be covered in scorch marks and had a sign out front.

FIRE DAMAGE

CLOSED FOR REPAIRS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE

-Management

"I should have seen this coming." Naruto said. "God wouldn't give me something I love so much without taking something else away from me…"

Sakura could only stare down at her idiot boyfriend with an annoyed expression on her face. Typical of him to be so melodramatic about such things. Still, a part of her was happy that he offhandedly said that he loved her.

"Come on Naruto. We'll find somewhere else to eat." She patted him on the back.

Naruto groaned but stood up and was led away by his embarrassed girlfriend.

"We could go to the BBQ place, its got stir fry and that's pretty similar to ramen."

 **'Don't you dare whine about how stir fry is nothing like ramen when your vixen is trying to cheer you up!'** The Fox warned his host.

 _'Ok fine! Jeez Fox, what's up with your new talkative additude anyway? Why are you being so helpful with me dating Sakura-chan?'_

 **'Because after 100 years of imprisonment, I've got a vested interest in seeing you score, as you humans might say.'**

 _'Score?... YOU WANNA MATE- er, I mean, HAVE SEX WITH SAKURA-CHAN!?'_

 **'Pipe down brat. Our chakra networks are intertwined, so by a happy coincidence, our senses are intertwined as well.'**

 _'So that means…'_

 **'Think of it as my compensation for when I inevitably let you use my stamina to rock that vixen's world.'**

 _'I don't think I'm comfortable with this.'_

 **'Try being in my shoes and having to spend the last 80 years sharing the experience of my two female hosts.'**

 _'Wait, you had two other hosts besides me? What were their names?'_

 **'Why the Hell would I tell you that? It won't help either of us get laid.'**

 _'Oh come on, now I'm curious.'_

 **'Forget it brat, we may be stuck together but don't mistake us for friends. I would still very much like to break out of here. Now agree with whatever the vixen is saying.'**

"Naruto are you even listening to me?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

"Huh, what? Yes of course, I completely agree with what you are saying Sakura-chan." The blond tried to fake a smile but his girlfriend was far too smart for that.

"Naruto you haven't been listening to a word I've said have you?" She stopped walking a stood in front of her boyfriend as he stood on thin ice.

 **'Deny everything and distract her with compliments.'**

 _'No.'_

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I got pulled into a conversation with the Fox." He admitted. Sakura went wide eyed.

"You mean the Nine Tailed Fox inside you?" She whispered, not wanting to attract unwanted attention.

"The very same."

While she had known for some time that her teammate was the host to the great demon fox, Sakura had never imagined that the Kyuubi could talk to Naruto. But in what way? Was it similar to how she talked to her Inner self?

"W-what did he tell you?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, but he does approve of you and me." Naruto added.

"Oh… well that's…" Sakura was flabbergasted. Nine minutes into the first date and she had already learned more about the Kyuubi than months of research in the Hokage Archives had ever taught her. Every detailed account of the Kyuubi had described it as mass of chakra and hatred. Devoid of human emotion except for rage. Instead it seemed to have personal opinions if it had approved of Sakura dating its host. Did that mean that the Kyuubi liked Sakura? It was a weird thought.

Unknown to either Sakura or Naruto, up on the rooftops crouched a mischievous figure. A young genin with brown hair and a blue scarf flapping in the wind. In his hand was a box of water balloons filled to the brim with paint. His eye fixated on his target with trained precision, mentally counting down for the moment to unleash his cargo. It was a simple plan, but as his boss had always told him regarding pranks, simple was often the best. Although the boss did stress that the best pranks were one's that the victims could also laugh at, this time the young ninja was acting out a vendetta and not simple good natured fun.

 _'This is what you get, big bro.'_ The prankster thought. Until he noticed that his intended target was walking hand in hand with his pink-haired teammate, what's-her-face.

 _'So you're with your girlfriend huh? No matter. Actually this is better, I was gonna get to her down the line for taking you away from me, but this works too.'_

The unsuspecting couple had entered the tunnel that was located underneath the building that the boy was hiding atop of. The tunnel was the length of a typical shop's width. At their pace, they would arrive on the other side in five seconds. The boy quickly gathered his paint filled balloons and got into position on the other side. He would have to strike approximately two seconds after the targets exited the tunnel. Naruto himself had taught the boy everything he knew about pranks, he would be on guard near exits, corners, choke points. Out in the open would be the best place to catch him off guard.

Finally the two love birds exited the tunnel standing even closer together. This is almost too easy.

Now or never, the young ninja hurled his payload at the oblivious couple, all two dozen water balloons were directed right on target. If the prankster was a novice, he might have shouted at his victims to make them turn their heads so that he could witness their reactions, but knowing Naruto, that would give him all the time he needed to avoid the prank. _'Hey Naruto, look out!'_

Back on the ground, the blond in question sensed a threat. Reacting quickly, he shoved his girlfriend to the side to put some distance between her and whatever attack was coming Naruto's way. He whipped around only to feel the sensation of a cool liquid splash against his backside, then another, and soon a barrage of what seemed to be paint balloons exploded into Naruto's chest.

 _'BULL'S EYE!'_ The young ninja shouted in his head with giggling giddiness. He was sitting behind the concrete railing of the building, less he be spotted and give himself away. Oh no, the blond's day of terror was far from over. The prankster opened his eyes to begin phase two of his master plan was he was confronted face to face with a completely paint free Naruto.

"Oh hey Boss, fancy meeting you here-GAAH!" The boy choked out, the Shadow Clone of Naruto quickly grabbed the young ninja by the scruff of his neck and shushinned the two down to the streets where the real Naruto was waiting. Standing there covered in orange paint with an angry look on his face that the boy had never seen.

"Konohamaru, what the hell do you think you are doing?!" The paint soaked ninja ranted. To an outside observer who knew the history of the pair, seeing Naruto give a lecture to Konohamaru had only been imagined in nightmares.

"I was getting back at you, big bro!" Konohamaru said while struggling against his boss's Shadow Clone to no avail. What the heck? Did the Pervy Sage's training include super strength?

"What are you talking about? What did I do to you?"

"YOU IGNORED ME!" The brown haired boy cried, tears threatening to spill down his face.

"Huh?" Naruto said in shock.

"You leave for three years, promising me that when you get back you'd teach me some more awesome jutsus and we'd hang out some more! Maybe go on missions once I got my own team! Well I did, I came back from a mission with them and I hear that you've been back for a month! And you didn't tell me! I go out looking for you and you're off on another mission! You finally come back and you're off going on dates or whatever and and…and I missed you, Boss…" Konohamaru broke down.

Words failed Naruto, during his time back at the Leaf he hadn't even thought of Konohamaru, so much had been going on. Yet all the same, he felt completely selfish to let his little partner in crime feel abandoned. How often had Naruto felt that way during his childhood? And here he was with Konohamaru, the boy who was the first to idolize him, and he was making him cry. The kid was the closest thing Naruto had to a little brother. He had to make this right.

"Konohamaru, come here." Naruto motioned to Konohamaru to step forward and for his Shadow Clone to disperse. Both obeyed. Naruto then wrapped his protege in a bear hug.

"Ack! Get off me, Boss!" Konohamaru scrambled to untangle himself from his mentor's arms.

"What? I thought big brothers were supposed to hug their little brothers or something?"

"Not in public, it's embarrassing!" Konohamaru blushed, hoping that his reputation wasn't tarnished. "Besides, you're covered in paint!"

Naruto smiled, finding an opportunity to tease the boy to get back at him for that prank. "Oh I think you owe me, now come here!"

"No way!" Konohamaru shouted in a mix of horror and laughter. Naruto then proceeded to chase Konohamaru around in circles in the street. Onlookers laughed at the cute display of brotherly affection.

"Come on, Konohamaru, I just wanna congratulate you on your great prank with a big, friendly hu-

Out of nowhere, Naruto was rocketed face first into a women's clothing store by his irate girlfriend's monster strength punch.  
Standing over a tripped over Konohamaru in the middle of the street was Sakura covered head to toe in smashed fruit, complete with half a watermelon perched on the top of her head like a fez.

"BAKA! Knock me into a fruit stand will you? You've got a lot of nerve!" The fruit wearing girl huffed. The whole block went silent. Over the years most everyone had heard of the legendary temper of their Hokage. To see her apprentice showing off the same tendencies made it very clear to everyone that this girl was not to be crossed. That poor boy. They all thought in one way or another.

Much to everyone's relief, the boy in question emerged from the bombed out ruins of Lady Shu's Women's Apparel looking relatively in one piece. Except for what he was wearing.

Sakura's punch had somehow knocked the clothing off of Naruto and threw the rest of him into a neon pink maternity dress with green skinny jeans wrapped around his arms and a purple and orange polka dotted bra hanging off of his head like two mouse ears. The boy walked towards his girlfriend, rubbing his bruised cheek without noticing his new wardrobe.

The two teens looked over one another, taking in each others appearance. The crowd was hushed. No one said a word…

 _'SNORT'_ Two lovebirds burst out laughing. The tension vanished and members of the crowd joined in.

"Oh my god (snickers) I'm so sorry, MADAM, I didn't mean to hit you that hard. Ahahahah!" Sakura said while trying to catch her breath.

"OH HO, a lady am I? Hehe, well (bursts into another fit of laughter) well at least I don't look like a FRUIT! Hahaha!" Naruto said trying to hold back his tears.

The two started to lean on each other, drunk on their own giddiness. Naruto took some melon bits that had gotten stuck on Sakura's shoulder and plopped it in his mouth, earning him a gentle slap from Sakura. Who took a strawberry that was lodged in her cleavage and ate that in front of him.

Konohamaru thought this the best time to escape now among all the delightful confusion. Just silently slip back into the crowd and-"where do you think YOU'RE GOING?" The loving couple shouted at him in sync. Konohamaru knew that he was in for it now.

Naruto and Sakura looked over him like parents would look over their naughty child. Although Sakura looked less motherly and more stern punishment, while Naruto looked less tough father and more you-fucked-now-boy.

"You're not getting away that easy." Naruto lectured. "As punishment for interrupting my first date with Sakura-chan and nearly getting paint on her. You must-

Konohamaru braced himself for whatever horrible punishment lay in store for him.

"-Come join me for training at the gravity room."

"The gravity what now?" Konohamaru asked. Relieve washing over him that he wouldn't be forced to be Naruto's slave for a week or something like that.

"Long story, but some friends I met on my travels have this amazing training room that can increase your strength and speed a hundred times over in a matter of days. And I'd like you to join me on some training."

"You serious Boss?!" Konohamaru whooped, the thought of getting some one on one training with his surrogate brother was a dream come true.

"You betcha, I promised to train you when I got back didn't I? It's gonna have to be in a week though. Me and Sakura-chan have a mission tomorrow that is super important to the Leaf. But I promise you that as soon as I get back we'll do some one on one training. You can head over to the gravity room now to build up your endurance so that we can be on more level ground when I return. What do you say?"

"I SAY YES!" The boy ran up and hugged his big brother who returned the hug with a pat on the head.

After explaining where the gravity room was located, Konohamaru left in a hurry to catch up to his idol. Naruto waved goodbye to his little brother with a smile on his face stretching from ear to ear.

"That was an amazing thing you did for Konohamaru, Naruto. You're an amazing older brother."

"Oh I don't know about that. I just did what I thought was fair…" The blond gave a content sigh, grateful that he could be the brother to Konohamaru that Naruto never had.

"So are we gonna prank that little twerp back or what?" Sakura gave a devilish smirk looking off in the direction that Konohamaru left in.

Naruto looked at his girlfriend with a look of awe. "God do I love you."

Sakura giggled before pulling her boyfriend into a paint and dried fruit stained kiss.

"Shower at my place?" He suggested.

"God do I love you." She repeated back to him.

The two leapt off towards the Uzumaki residence while leaving their bra and their melon fez behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan was walking to the Hokage tower for his meeting with the Raikage. Gohan just thought this would be a regular meeting, oh how wrong he would be. He was walking down the village streets. He heard some commotion earlier about a fruit stand being destroyed, but didn't think it was worth getting sidetracked on considering he wasn't going to play vigilante in his new home.

'If I want to do some good here, I want to do it right and dressing up and parading around like Ginyu isn't it.' Gohan mused.

His thoughts were interrupted when a child slammed into him hard. Gohan wasn't phased at all, but the kid fell flat on his ass.

"You alright there little buddy?" Gohan asked kindly.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU BIG...woah..." The kid said as he looked up at the muscular Gohan. "How did you get so jacked, mister?"

Gohan laughed. "Well, I have been training since I was 4 years old. Also I have this room that provides great training in intense gravity and-"

"YOU"RE THE ONE NARUTO SENT ME TO SEE!" The kid exclaimed.

"Naruto sent you to see me? What for?"

"He said that he would train me in this gravity room thingy. he said I could get started on some of it now."

"Oh he did? Alright. Just head to training ground 1. Team 9 should already be there and Gai already knows how to work the controls. Just knock on the door and explain to him why you're there."

The kid jumped up and down with excitement. "Thanks mister!... um... what's your name?"

"My names Gohan."

"I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi. Anyway, see you later!" Konohamaru said as he continued his way to the training ground. Gohan chuckled and continued his walk to the Hokage tower.

* * *

Back with Naruto and Sakura…

They had reached their destination and Naruto had finished fumbling with his keys to let them in. He seemed nervous, but Sakura was certain that it wasn't for the same reason she was nervous. Her suspicions were confirmed when she caught the glimpse of a Shadow Clone poofing out of existence. Leaving behind an absolute pig sty.

 _'Dear God, and I thought that old lady's shop was a mess. Don't tell me all those detours we took was to give his clones time to clean up, and THIS is the result?'_ Inner asked.

 _'It's the thought that counts, I suppose.'_ Sakura replied back while eyeing a crusty pair of socks hanging off of the lamp shade.

 _'We're gonna have to whip this boy into shape to get him anywhere near usable boyfriend material.'_

 _'Seriously.'_

"Sorry about the mess Sakura-chan." Naruto sheepishly said rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's ok Naruto, I'm sure you weren't expecting to be bringing a lady home with you so quickly." Sakura replied with a sultry expression. She patted the dumbstruck boy on the cheek before waltzing over to the bathroom, taking extra effort to sway her hips back and forth as painfully slow as possible for the poor boy to see.

 _'That's right my little fox, eyes on the prize.'_

 _'Woah Ho! Damn girl!'_ Inner commented.

Naruto just stood there unable to speak a word while another part of his anatomy was screaming to say hello.

Inside his bathroom, Sakura began to strip off all her sticky, fruit smeared clothes. She gathered them all up in a bundle and made a big show of handing them outside of the bathroom, only exposing her right arm from behind the doorway.

"Naruto? Could you be a dear and wash these for me so I have something to wear when I get out?" That snapped the blond ninja out of his haze and he dumbly agreed, "Y-yes, ma'am!" He scampered off to find the laundry detergent and drier sheets.

 _'Damn girl, we've got him wrapped around our little finger.'_

 _'I know, right?'_ Sakura gave a smile before locking the bathroom door. While she never wanted to take advantage of Naruto's kindness, being treated like a princess every now and again was also very enticing.

 _'Now why did you go and lock the door? Our boy toy could have come in and 'helped us' with our back.'_

 _'This is literally the first date. If Naruto wants to shower with me he is going to have to fucking work for it.'_

 _'Oh we'll make him work alright. Heheheh…'_ Inner chuckled to herself, imagining all the possibilities she could have with Naruto on a leash; both metaphorically and literally.

Sakura finished up her shower and left the bathroom feeling refreshed. Just then, Naruto re-entered his apartment empty handed, "So your clothes should be dry in half an hour Sakura- Naruto stopped when he noticed his girlfriend was out of the shower and sitting on his couch wearing only one of his green towels around her torso with another green towel wrapped around her head like a turban. –chan."

"Oh that's great, thank you Naruto." Sakura smiled, crossing her legs over one another. Naruto could feel a nosebleed coming on.

"You can use the bathroom by the way, I'll just relax over here." Sakura decided to play the disinterest card and stared at her nails like she was waiting for some imaginary nail polish to dry.

"I-um-uh…well that's…" The overwhelmed boy decided that he got his point across and left to enter the bathroom to begin his own washing up, preferably with a cold shower.

 _'Geez, I thought you said you wanted to make him work for it. Not torture the poor boy.'_

 _'No, it's just that Naruto has waited so long for me I thought I'd throw him a bone.'_

 _'Oh you little….VIXEN!'_

When Naruto exited his own bath he thought he had finally calmed himself down. Until he saw sitting in the exact same spot that he had left her in, only this time she was wearing a pair of his boxers and one of his favorite T-shirts with the stylized froggy printed on the front that was 3 sizes too big for Sakura.

"Oh hey Naruto." Sakura said delighted to see him. She patted the seat next to her asking the blond to sit down. He wordlessly complied. Grateful that he had thought to bring his own fresh pair of clothes with him to his shower. If he hadn't Sakura would have been clearly about to see the tent he was pitching.

"Sakura…" Naruto looked over the love of his life, it was incredible how only two weeks ago he was ecstatic from just the opportunity to see her again after three years. Never in his wildest dreams would he be welcomed back and made her boyfriend so quickly. And to see her sitting comfortably in his apartment, wearing his clothes. It was like seeing your flag on captured enemy territory.

"I hope you don't mind that I took some of your clothes, there was just nothing else for me to wear and this shirt looked so comfy." She batted her eyelashes.

"No problem Sakura-chan. I mean that was one of my favorite shirts, but it looks good on you. Like, really good. Great even." He added.

"Why thank you. I was thinking of keeping it then. Maybe use it as pajamas." She subtlety told him. Naruto felt his heart race imagining Sakura wearing his favorite shirt to bed every night. If he ever got it back he would hang it up on his wall as a monument.

"Go right ahead." He said, trying to avoid her gaze so that she wouldn't notice his blush. She did.

"I'm ah, sorry about our date, it probably wasn't the best first date ever. We never got to go to lunch in the end."

"Yeah, it was pretty crummy. But we'll just have to practice that won't we?" She suggested. Naruto's face lite up and the certainty of more dates in his future.

"What do you say for our next date we plan for our ultimate revenge prank against Konohamaru?" Sakura suggested.

"I didn't know you were so into pranks Sakura."

"To be honest, I always found your pranks funny Naruto. Especially that first one you pulled on Kakashi-sensei or when you painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight. You always knew how to break up the monotony of everyday school life. I just wasn't honest about it so that I wouldn't alienate myself from some people." Naruto nodded, knowing exactly who she meant by _some people._

"But that has changed, Naruto. Being around you, I can be a lot more honest with myself." Sakura scooted closer to Naruto, their shoulders touching. "And if I'm being honest with myself right now, then I know of a way that we can salvage this date." She whispered in his ear. Naruto shivered at the feeling of her warm breath tickling his neck.

"I think I do too, Sakura-chan."

The two chunins leaned forward into each other for a kiss. At first it was a quick peck, then they dived right in. Unlike their first kiss in front of all their friends and loved ones, this new kiss was a lot more awkward and clumsy, more experimental. Here in the privacy of Naruto's living room they could try out new things they hadn't attempted for fear of scrutiny in front of other. As their tongues became more daring, so too did their hands. Sakura's traced up Naruto's chest over to his shoulders and finally wrapped around his neck bringing him in closer. While Naruto went the opposite direction, cupping Sakura's face before gently dragging down to her shoulders and skimming the sides of her breasts then wrapping themselves around her hips. Sakura played with Naruto's spiky locks while Naruto rubbed up and down Sakura's thighs.

After a minute, they separated with an auditable pop, leaving only a thin trail of saliva hanging between them. Ocean blue met sea green and they pressed against one another again.

This time Naruto's hands went up to feel Sakura's soft nape of her neck while Sakura trailed down to feel every crevice of Naruto's harden back muscles. Then she gave his tight butt a good squeeze.

"Hey no fair," he whispered between pecks on her lips, "I was being respectful."

"Too bad," she whispered back, "I wear the pants, so I get to set the tone." She gave his behind a small pinch.

"You wear the pants, do you?" He slyly asked. Naruto then lifted Sakura up by her bottom and pounced on the spot between her neck and her shoulder, eliciting a yelp from the pink haired vixen.

 _Naruto…_

 _Sakura-chan…_

* * *

Videl waited at team 7's training area with Kakashi for the rest of the team to show up. it was past 3 in the afternoon and neither one of her new teammates showed up yet. Deciding to break the silence, Videl figured she would ask Kakashi for more details about this test.

"So, what does this test entail?" Videl asked.

"Simply put, this is a teamwork and skill exercise. Once Naruto and Sakura show up, you will work closely with them to try and get this bell from me." Kakashi said as he held up one bell. "Normally I would have two, but Naruto and Sakura have already passed this test and will only be here to show how you work with a team."

Videl gulped. She wasn't much of a team player and was much more of a solo fighter. Her encounters with Gohan as Great Saiyaman proved that. While she can take on Kakashi by herself, being a Shinobi requires you to work well as a team to get a mission accomplished.

"One other thing, Videl." Kakashi said. "No Ki techniques."

"What?!" Videl all but screamed.

"You are the only one aside from Gohan who can use Ki. Myself, Naruto and Sakura can't use Ki. Out in the field, you can use whatever energy source you want, but for this test, I want you to use your Chakra and whatever jutsu's you have on hand." Kakashi explained.

"Ugh.. fine.." Videl groaned. She could still take him out with just her speed and strength alone as well as her arsenal of fire style jutsus, but she still needed to work with Naruto and Sakura.

"We can start whenever they get here." Kakashi said. "I wonder what's taking them so long.. It's not like them to be this late. Usually its me."

Videl focused her senses to search out for Naruto and Sakura. She had found them pretty easily, but the location where she found them and the fact that their energies were fluctuating rapidly set off some red flags. _'What in the hell are they do- Oh my god.. On their first date?!'_ Videl thought with a blush covering her face.

"Videl this is King Kai. They aren't doing what you think they are doing. they are just making out."

 _'Oh.. Well that's different. I thought they were getting a little too-'_

"Nope. But you can snap them out of it if you want before they do." King Kai suggested. "Also, be mindful of the future. I have a gut feeling that things are going to go upside down out there, so be careful."

"I understand, King Kai. Thanks for the heads up." Videl sighed. Not only did she hate breaking up a romantic moment between her friends, but now she had to worry about a potential threat looming down upon them. But, Videl didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts. She had more pressing matters to attend to.

 _'HEY! You two mind saving that shit for AFTER my test?!'_ Videl screamed into their minds.

 _'What the fuck was that?!'_ Naruto screamed.

 _'It's Videl.. I have been waiting here with Kakashi-sensei for almost an hour now. Quit the tongue wrestling and get your asses here before I come drag you here by your hair dammit!'_ Videl was clearly pissed off and the fact that she was being kept waiting for the new couples love fest didn't exactly calm her down any.

 _'Sorry, Videl! We didn't realize how much time had gone by. We're on our way now.'_ Sakura said.

 _'How are we talking this way anyway?'_ Naruto thought.

 _'I'll explain later, just hurry up alright?'_ Videl said sternly and cut the mental link.

Within minutes, the couple had arrived at the training area, only to recieve a look of annoyance from Videl.

"About damn time.." Videl said coldly.

"We're so sorry, Videl. We lost track of time and-"

"Just forget about it for now, alright." Videl said sternly and focused her attention back to Kakashi. Sakura saw that Videl was clearly annoyed, but she couldn't help but think that there was some underline cause of her attitude change besides her and Naruto being late. Sakura placed that thought on the back burner for now and focused on her task at hand.

"Alright. Naruto, Sakura, you two already know that to do. I briefly explained to Videl the purpose of this test. With that said, you may begin." Kakashi said.  
Videl got into Gohan's fighting stance as Naruto and Sakura got into theirs. Videl started coming up with a plan, one that would be a sure fire way of taking Kakashi down a peg. Chances are he wouldn't fall for whatever plan Naruto had before this time.

Sakura did as she did before, she dashed at Kakashi with blindingly fast speed thanks to her gravity training. Her chakra enhanced punch barely missed Kakashi as she sent her fist into the ground and sinking herself into a 60 meter crater. Sakura pulled her fist out of the ground and looked around her in complete shock.

"Holy shit..." Sakura breathed out. "I could never do that before..."

"It's from your gravity training, Sakura. You no longer need to apply Chakra to your attacks." Videl stated as she dashed through the crater to deliver a punch of her own.

Videl jabbed with a hard right and Kakashi couldn't react fast enough. Videl's hard punch sent the Jounin flying through the trees and several years away fromt he trio.

"That should buy us some time." Videl stated as Naruto and Sakura appeared beside her.

"So whats the plan?" Naruto asked.

"I'm glad you asked, this is what I want to to." Videl started. "Sakura, when he comes back, I'm going to toss you as hard as I can at him. You try to catch him off guard while Naruto and I charge up a couple of Rasengans and combine them. Once he's knocked for a loop, I'll phase in and snatch the bell."

"That seems a little excessive." Sakura said with concern.

"Maybe, but he did say to come at him with the intent to kill." Videl pointed out.

"Yea but I don't think he meant us to actu-wait, did you say a pair of Rasengans?" Naruto said.

"Jiraiya taught me how to do it." Videl said as she formed a Rasengan in her hand. The spiraling blue sphere of death dissipated as Videl made her point. "I'm working on combining my fire element to it to create a new version of the Rasengan."

"Awesome..." Naruto and Sakura breathed out.

Videl's attention shifted to the tree line. "He's back on his feet and is headed back this way, and he is pissed." Videl stated.

"Retreat to the tree line behind us. He needs to see how you are with stealth." Sakura said as Videl nodded and the 3 made their way into the trees.

about 10 minutes later, they saw Kakashi emerge from the trees and he looked around for them with his Sharingan.

Kakashi couldn't help but smirk has he found no trace of them, save for the massive crater in the ground left there by Sakura.  
 _'Quite impressive you guys.'_ Kakashi thought.

Meanwhile in the trees, Videl had cast a genjutsu to mask their presence so they couldn't be detected and had opened a telepathic link between all three of them.

 _'So, we're clear on the plan then?'_ Videl said into their minds.

 _'Sounds good to me. ready whenever you are.'_ Naruto said.

 _'It's a good thing you got senzu beans with you. Oh, by the way, Lady Tsunade was able to successfully extract the healing properties of the senzu bean and apply it to our soldier pills.'_ Sakura replied.

Videl nodded. _'That's good. I was going to ask about that. Now, get ready Sakura. You go first.'_

Sakura nodded and prepared herself. Videl grabbed onto Sakura's left arm and spun her around several times. On the last spin, she flung the pink haird Kunoichi as hard as she could.

Kakashi swiftly felt a Chakra signature approaching fast. He made a split second decision to move as he saw a streak of pink fly right by him, followed by an ear piercing sonic boom that disoriented him.

Videl and Naruto took advantage of this and both created a low power Rasengan. Once the orbs had formed, they launched themselves off the trees at blinding speed.  
Kakashi was trying to reorientate himself when he heard a whooshing sound similar to a FA-18 flying overhead.

"RASENGAN!" Both Naruto and Videl shouted. Kakashi had no time to react and was hit with Naruto's Rasengan. Videl had phased out and reappeared behind Kakashi. as he was sent flying from Naruto's attack, she delivered hers that stopped Kakashi in his tracks. Videl's attack dissipated and Kakashi fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Kakashi had no time to prepare a clone or substitution and he took both attacks head on.

Videl could sense he was still alive and pulled out a senzu bean. She pulled down his mask, but because of how she was positioned, Naruto and Sakura couldn't see. She fed him the bean and covered up his face. _'Why does he even wear that? There's nothing wrong with him..' Videl thought. 'If anything, he's quite the looker without it.'_

A few moments passed and Kakashi was coming to. He twitched his sore body and groaned in pain.

"Ugh... Did anyone see the train that hit me.." Kakashi moaned.

"I fed to a senzu bean and got you back to perfect health. Oh, and I got the bell." Videl said as she held up her bell.

Kakashi chuckled. "I wouldn't have expected less from you. You pass Videl." Kakashi said.

After a little while, Videl had explained all of the details of her plan to Kakashi who just stood wide eyed at the new Kunoichi.

"I gotta admit, I never saw any of that coming. Your stealth skills are better than any I have ever seen and you've shown that you can come up with a great plan and execute it flawlessly. You will definitely be a valued asset to our team." Kakashi said as he pulled out a Leaf headband and handed it to Videl. Videl eagerly tied it around her forehead and smiled.

"I gotta say, Videl. That headband does suit you." Sakura said.

"Yea! You look cool now!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh? And I didn't look cool before?" Videl teased.

"Well, no! I mean YES! It's just that you look cooler now, you know? You know as a friend and team mate." Naruto stammered, to which Videl and Sakura laughed.

"You're lucky you're cute when you do that, Naruto." Sakura said with a smile.

"Relax I was just teasing." Videl said.

 _'This is going to be difficult with two girls on my team.'_ Naruto thought.

 **'Get used to it, kid.'** Kyuubi said back to him. **'At least the cuter one is our mate.'**

 _'What do you mean by 'our'?'_

 **'I'm part of you, remember?'**

 _'Yea yea, whatever.'_ Naruto shouted back to the Kyuubi, the later of whom chuckled at Naruto's annoyance.

"I think this calls for a celebration!" Sakura exclaimed. "Lets all go out to eat."

"Awesome! I wanted to try that Ichiraku's place I've heard so much about." Videl said, barely able to keep her excitement to tolerable levels.

Naruto groaned in sadness as he slumped onto the ground. This earned an irritated look from Sakura and a confused look look from Videl.

"What's with him?" Videl asked.

Sakura sighed. "Ichiraku's is closed due to fire damage. what we could see of it didn't look good and Naruto isn't taking it very well."

"Oh shit.." Videl gasped. "Was anyone hurt?"

That grabbed Naruto's and Sakura's attention. They never bothered to check if Ayame or the old man were injured from the fire and they felt a cold sweat come on.

"We never bothered to check. Lets make a stop at the Hospital first to see if they are there or have been there at all." Sakura suggested, to which Naruto and Videl nodded and hurriedly made their way to Konoha Hospital.

* * *

In the meeting chambers of the Hokage tower, Gohan sat in a room with Tsunade, the Raikage and the Elders Homura and Koharu. The Raikage looked over the reported files for Gohan that Tsunade had recorded during Gohan's stay here. Gohan noticed that the Raikage's eyes widened a few times as he read the report and Gohan had wondered what was so important.

Gohan soon grew bored as he waited for the Raikage to speak. _'I wonder how Videl's test went..'_

 _'I passed, and it took less than an hour.'_ Videl said into Gohan's mind.

 _'Aw man, wish I was there for that.'_

 _'You didn't miss much. It was over in 45 minutes or so. Naruto, Sakura and I devised a plan, Sakura ran decoy while Naruto and I snuck up on Kakashi with our speed and grabbed the bell from him. I got a nice shiny new Leaf Headband as well.'_

"Well, Mr. Son, your file is quite impressive. But forgive me if I come off as rude, but the reports of you being a Ki user is pretty hard to believe. Perhaps you could give me a demonstration of your skills." The Raikage said.

 _'Gotta go Videl. The Raikage is talking. Love you.'_

 _'Love you too.'_

Gohan looked at the Raikage and sighed. "The skills I have could blow up this entire building if I'm not careful."

The Raikage eyed Gohan suspiciously. "Surely you can create something to make me believe you have the power you say you have. Also, I'm interested in this Kekkei Genkai of yours."

Gohan sighed in defeat. He held his palm face up and created a sphere of pure Ki. "This is a simple Ki blast. I can set its power from giving someone a minor abrasion, to creating a moon-sized crater." Gohan said as he fired the blast up at the ceiling, creating a small scorch mark. "Had I put anymore power into that, then this room would have a new skylight."

"Impressive. Your file also states that you can use Ki to fly. Show me."

Gohan did as he was told and floated in the air. He flew around the room at a pretty good pace and then landed back on the floor. The Raikage clapped in amazement.

"Absolutely splendid! Now, I want to see this Kekkei Genkai of yours."

Gohan nodded and without much effort, he flashed into his Super Saiyan form. His golden aura pulsating around him and blowing his golden locks around.

"Absolutely amazing.. What does this form do exactly?" The Raikage inquired.

"This is called Super Saiyan. It increases my speed, power and strength by 50 times of my base form."

"How strong are you in this form?" the Raikage asked as he rested his chin on his hands.

"Lady Tsunade, Could you throw one of your strongest punches at me?" Gohan asked politely.

"Are you sure? You know my strength is legendary." Tsuande asked, only to recieve a nod from Gohan.

Tsunade walked around from her seat and faced Gohan. With a mighty yell, Tsunade used a great deal of Chakra and focused it into her fist to deliver a crushing blow to Gohan's face, only to have it caught by the half Saiyan's hand. The resulting impact created a shock wave that sent papers flying and breaking glasses of water. Tsunade was stunned that her powerful punch was intercepted and blocked by Gohan merely raising his hand.

"Y-you blocked it?" Tsunade stammered. "H-how did you block that?"

The Raikage wasn't convinced that this was a true test of strength. He got up from his chair and shed his robes and hat, leaving a very muscular and tall man standing before Gohan.

"Let me be the one to test your strength. I have no doubt that Lady Tsunade is quite strong, but I want to make sure that a fast one isn't being pulled on me here."

Gohan nodded and got into his fighting stance. "Whenever you're ready. I'll try not to hurt you too much."

"Why you... Insult me will you?!" The Raikage roared as he launched himself at Gohan, using every known form of Taijutsu he could muster, only for every attack to either be dodged or blocked. Gohan at the last second, let a punch from the Raikage slip through his guard and land on his face, only for the Raikage to pull back his fist and howl in pain. Gohan had felt several cracks resonate from the mans hand, indicating he may have broken it.

 _'He want's to see my strength? Then I'll give him a taste of it.'_

Gohan immediately phased out and appeared behind the Raikage. Gohan performed a sweeping kick, kicking the Raikage's legs out from underneath him and then in a split second, Gohan performed a weak (for him) drop kick and sent the Raikage through the floor and landed two floors and Tsunade gave chase and found the Raikage barely breathing. Gohan immediately brought out a senzu bean and fed it to the beaten man.

"This will heal you, please eat it." Gohan pleaded.

The Raikage was a stubborn man, but he gave in and ate the bean. within moments, the Raikage was back on his feet fullt recovered. After a quick once over, he looked at Gohan with a large grin on his face.

"Lad, you are amazingly strong and you have terrific speed. You have my full support in becoming the worlds protector and I will send word to the other Kage's of what to expect from you." The Raikage said.

Gohan was elated that he had been accepted by the Raikage. The overwhelming joy he felt was unparalleled by any other felling, except for his love for Videl.  
The Raikage turned and faced Tsunade. "My apologies for the damage. Send me the invoice for the cost of the damages and I will pay you the full price needed."

"You're too kind, Lord Raikage." Tsunade said politely.

"Gohan lad. You had said that you belonged to a team of your planets defenders, correct?" Gohan nodded. "What was the name of this team?"

Gohan powered down from his Super Saiyan form and reverted back to his normal state. "Well, we were called Earth's Special Forces for the longest time but that name shifted into being called the Z Fighters."

"I see. Then, I will work on getting the other Kage's to support you as well as help form a new team of defenders of this world. One man can only do so much, so given time, you will have a team much like the one you were a part of." The Raikage said as he turned out of the room he landed into to go retrieve his robes. "I shall take my leave of you for now. Once I send work of your exploits to the other Kage's, a final meeting shall be held and a majority ruling will be made."

The Raikage left and Gohan was left in an empty room with Tsunade. Gohan was stricken with shock and joy and he did his best to suppress it.

"That went better than I expected." Tsunade said, breaking the silence.

"I just hope the next meeting doesn't destroy half of the building." Gohan said.

"No doubt the Tsuchikage will want to test your strength. I know the Kazekage personally and once he reads my reports, he will gladly accept you. The Mizukage on the other hand, she trusts no one and we have rocky relations with them for the moment." Tsunade explained.

"I could have gone out on my own and defended the world myself, but in all sense of the word, the team my dad formed were vigilante's. I wanted to do this through the proper channels." Gohan stated.

Tsunade nodded and motioned Gohan to follow her out of the room. She would have to get the repair estimate soon because now two floors have brand new skylights that needed to be fixed as soon as possible. For now, she had to call a meeting with team 7 to go over the details about their upcoming mission.

* * *

In Tsunade's office some time later, the members of team 7 stood waiting for their mission specs.

"Here's the skinny of it." Tsunade said as she looked upon team 7 that consisted of Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and the newly appointed Genin, Videl.

"Five days ago, when Sakura defeated Sasori, he divulged to her sensitive information about a meeting time the Akatsuki member had with a spy of his. A spy that had been working deeply undercover against Orochimaru and his forces.

The meeting place was to take place 10 days from when the One Tailed Beast was to be extracted, that's five days from now, at the Tenchi Bridge near the Hidden Grass Village.

The identity of the informant is unknown. However, given the fact that a member of the Akatsuki's inner circle was willing to personally visit him for a report indicates that this is a high value individual with grade A intel. We are talking base locations for Orochimaru's forces, logistics, maybe even the current location of the big snake himself. With Sasuke dead, a wrench has been thrown in Orochimaru's plans. It is imperative now more than ever that we get a reading on what his future plans entail." Tsunade paused to see the reactions from Team 7. They all stared at her with serious expressions, waiting for her to finish.

"Your mission is to meet up with Sasori's spy, extract whatever information from him that you can, and if possible bring him back to the Leaf for further interrogation." Tsunade said.

"Understood." The two Chunin and one Genin said in unison.

"By all accounts, I should have handed this mission off to one of my elite ANBU squads, but I am trusting that you, Team 7, want to take down Orochimaru more than anyone."

"I still have a score to settle with that snake fucker and so does Sakura-chan." Naruto stated boldly.

"I couldn't agree more, Naruto." Sakura said with an almost evil like grin as she cracked her knuckles.

"Still, given the importance of the mission, I am assigning another Jounin to your squad for this mission. Come on in Yamato." Tsunade said as another person came into the room.

Yamato was a fairly tall man with brown hair and a metal plate that framed his face. It seemed to be a part of his leaf headband.

"This is Captain Yamato. He is a decorated ANBU Captain who will serve as Kakashi's second in command for this mission. I trust that this won't create an issue?" Tsunade said, only for no one to say anything.

"Good. Videl, as of right now you are of Genin rank. However, be a team player on this mission and we can talk about bumping you up to Chunin rank."

"There's no need to rush anything." Videl stated.

"On the contrary, Videl. The first mission I'm sending you on is an A rank, borderline S rank. Newly appointed Genin don't even see their first C rank until they have completed a certain number of D rank missions. However, Kakashi's report on your bell test shows that your skills far exceed Genin rank. That being said, if you act well on this mission, I'll see about promoting you. All things considered, Naruto should have been a Chunin years ago." Tsunade said.

"Don't sweat it Granny Tsunade. Better late than never." Naruto chimed in. Tsunade nodded with a smile.

"If that's how you see it, far be it for me to complain I guess. By the time this mission takes place, I'm sure the three of us will be up to 150 times gravity in our training. So if anything does happen, we'll be more than prepared for it." Videl said.

"That's what I want to hear. Remember, Videl. There is nothing wrong with being confident in yourself, but don't get overconfident just because you are half alien. Saiyan's are truly remarkable warriors, that's a given. But, even a Saiyan has his or hers limit. You'd do well to remember it." Tsunade said.

"Understood, Lady Tsunade." Videl replied.

"If there are no more questions, Team 7 is dismissed. Train hard and good luck."

With that, team 7 proceeded to walk out of the Hokage's office and onto their training. A few minutes later, the door to Tsunade's office opened up and in walked Danzo.

"What do you want Danzo?" Tsunade said with venom in her tone

"I would like to offer my suggestion for a replacement Chunin for Team 7's upcoming mission." Danzo said smugly.

"I'm afraid you're a day late and a ryo short on that one. I just sent Team 7 out on their mission with Videl Satan."

"The newly appointed kunoichi? The so called half breed alien from another dimension?" Danzo said with mild shock

"The very same."

"I see. So you are content to add any foreigners to our military forces if they present you an outlandish enough story? Should I look forward to the Shinigami samurai being integrated into our border patrol? Or young pirates made of rubber joining our interrogation department?" Danzo spat heatedly.

"Their stories check out, Ibiki and Inoichi have seen to that. And even if they didn't, the one called Gohan has made his intentions as a protector of this entire planet quite clear."

"Your foolishness astonishes me, Princess Tsunade. That you would even consider leaving such a powerful weapon free to its own devices when it could be harnessed for the benefit to the entire village." Danzo said darkly.

"Did you not hear me? What he wants to do will benefit the entire world! Also, what makes you think that Gohan would blindingly accept anything you would have to offer him and what makes you think you can control someone who can level a solar system?!" Tsunade shouted.

"He will listen or he will pay. A boy with that much power has no right to have freedom, his only place is to destroy our enemies and lead the Leaf into glory."

"You talk about him as if he is your property. You are sick and twisted if you think Gohan would take that from you. He can sense your intentions a lightyear away and will never accept any proposal you have." Tsunade spat venomously

"And you expect him to not show favoritism? Or to pass his own judgment upon a planet that is not his own?" Danzo spat.

"Oh so now you believe his story. I may not know Gohan very well, but if his past is any indication, we would do no harm to this planet so long as he chooses to call it his home. He and Videl have nowhere else to go and have made a lot of friends here. He will do what is right for the sake of our people and our planet. His heart is pure and so are his intentions, which is more than I can say for you."

"You will pay for that, slug bitch. I believe in considering every possibility less our enemies not do the same. You watch, Princess Tsunade, your blind trust will lead to the downfall of this village yet." Danzo growled

"Oh you don't have to worry about my _trust_ , you old war hawk."

With that, Danzo left the Hokage's office.

Tsunade sat in her office and rubbed the side of her temples. Danzo was becoming more and more of an insufferable prick since the arrival of the two Demi-Saiyans. Tsunade would have to go before the council with this new bit of information in regards to Danzo's plan for Gohan. Using him as a weapon, would would be damn near impossible to being with, Danzo could bring about the destruction of the entire planet.

'God save us if Danzo were ever to gain the power he desires.' Tsunade thought as she was taking a sip of her tea. She then sensed a familiar and powerful energy near her door. "You can come in Gohan."

Gohan walked into the office and stared at Tsunade with a grim expression.

"How much did you hear."

"All of it." Gohan replied.

"Then you know that Danzo will find a way to get what he wants."

"He should know better. Neither I or Videl will aid him. His intentions are pure evil and his vision of making the Leaf great would bring about its destruction." Gohan said.

"I know. You don't have to explain that to me. Just so you know, once these hearings come to a close and you are accepted as the worlds protector, you may do as you must to keep the peace of this world."

Gohan nodded. "Danzo is only a threat to this village and not to the world, at least not yet. As much as I would love to put that bastard in his place, it's not my place to do so."

Tsunade nodded sadly. "That's a shame."

* * *

The following day at a camp site away from the Leaf, Videl and Sakura were training hard in the gravity chamber since 4 in the morning. Videl would normally do this with Gohan, but today she was training with Sakura. It was now 1 in the afternoon and Sakura was catching up to Videl in her gravity training.

"You're training really hard today, Sakura. Any particular reason why?" Videl inquired.

"I need to be as strong as I can. I'm not going to let anything happen to my team mates like last time." Sakura said seriously.

"Last time?"

Sakura nodded. "Years ago, I was considered the weakest on my team. I had pretty much nothing for skills, my speed and strength was shit and I was always the one being saved for whatever reason. For a while, I felt like a fool for ever thinking I could be a ninja with skills as poor as mine." Sakura said as her voice started cracking and tears started to form. "I could do nothing to save Sasuke or to protect Naruto from getting hurt. And 3 years ago, I made a selfish plea to Naruto to bring Sasuke back to me because I thought with everything that makes me who I am that I loved Sasuke. I wish I could have seen the error of my ways then and made a better effort in training and give Naruto and I a chance back then.." Sakura sobbed.

"Sakura..." Videl said softly.

"I was too caught up in some girly fantasy to try and win over Sasuke when I was too blind to see what he really was at the time. I was also too blind to see that beneath Naruto's goofy demeanor was a man with a heart of gold filled with love and passion. He may be the container for the 9 Tailed Demon Fox but I know the Fox has no direct control over him, and for that I'm happy."

"Sakura, You and Naruto are together now and he is loving every moment of it. He loves you deeply, and I can see that the love you have for him runs just as deep. I know your afraid of giving him all of your heart at once, but if anyone deserved it its him." Videl walked over and placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura looked up with tear filled Jade eyes looking into Videl's cerulean blue eyes. "I was afraid when I confessed my feelings to Gohan the day we came here, but he reciprocated those feelings and with gusto I might add. Even when times were tough, Gohan was there to make everything better. I have accepted the fact that I can't return to my world. We had a saying in our world, 'Home is where your loved ones are and where your heart is.' I haven't been here long, but my heart is to Gohan, my friends here, and the Leaf. Yea I wish that I could relive the last few months over again so I wasn't a total bitch to Gohan, but the way life turned out now, I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Sakura gasped at Videl's explanation. Sakura knew then that Videl had made a very good point. She shouldn't dwell on matters that have already came and gone, she needed to focus on the future. Her future. Her future as a ninja of the leaf. Her future as a care giver. Her future with Naruto.

Sakura wiped away her tears and smiled. "Thank you Videl. You really are a great friend. You're right, I do love Naruto. A lot more than I thought honestly. These last couple of days have made that abundantly clear that no matter what I will be at his side. It almost feels like the two of us were supposed to be together. I'm not sure why, I just have that feeling. But thanks again. You really helped me put things in perspective."

Videl shrugged. "I try. Just remember, we can't change the past, all we can do is put it behind us. Now, what say we get back to training. We leave for the rest of our trip in a few days and if you want to get to 150 times gravity, we have a lot of ground to cover."

Sakura nodded and returned to her fighting stance as she prepared to spar with Videl. Training at 80 times gravity was almost too easy now, but with Videl's kick-ass training, especially when she reaches the first level of Kaio-Ken, things got interesting that's for sure and Sakura was loving every moment of it. She knew that in time, she be one of the strongest fighters on the planet and the strongest Kunoichi bar-none.

As time went on, Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato joined in, although the gravity had to be lowered down from 80 times to 10 so that the two Jounin can train. Videl and Sakura were in the middle of a flurry of punches and kicks from each other, matching each attack blow for blow.

Naruto stood in awe of how much his beloved Sakura had improved in such a short time. Right now, because Naruto hadn't had a chance to continue his training, Sakura was stronger than him. He wasn't upset, if anything he was proud that the once weak little girl that Sakura was, is now a fully capable and strong fighter and an even more amazingly beautiful Kunoichi.

"Hey Sakura. Lets mix things up a bit." Videl suggested as she landed a short distance away from Sakura.

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

Videl gave a very Vegeta like smirk and brought her palms up, one over the top of the other and charged her Ki into her hands.

"I want to see if you can block this. I won't use my full power so don't worry."

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Masenko-HA!" Videl launched her Ki attack at the unsuspecting Sakura. Sakura barely had time to bring her hands up to block the attack. She held the attack in place before it started pushing her back.

Sakura was putting as much Chakra as she could into keeping herself grounded and keeping the blast at bay. She could feel her reserves depleting fast and she couldn't break away from this attack. She felt weak like she was a little kid all over again, watching helplessly as her team mates were beaten to a pulp while she cowered in fear.

 _'No,'_ Sakura said in her mind. _'I have come too far to become some weak little child all over again. I will get stronger and protect my team and the man that I love! I CAN DO THIS! I WILL NOT BE LEFT ON THE SIDELINES AGAIN!'_

Suddenly, and much to the shock of everyone there, a blue aura enveloped Sakura that made her look like she was a glowing blue statue. Her eyes shifted from green to solid midnight blue and her skin turned a very light blue that looked almost white. Her hair shifted to almost a purple like color and her clothes also turned into a slightly darker shade of blue.

With a mighty yell, Sakura brought up her fist and smashed the blast with it, sending it back at Videl with the added force behind her newly awakened Chakra. The blast hit Videl with more force than she ever felt and she collapsed on the floor. She looked up at Sakura as she barely clinging to her consciousness.

Sakura's newly found power suddenly vanished and she collapsed on the floor as well, completely knocked out. Videl heard Naruto shout Sakura's name but was soon slipping into unconsciousness as well. Before she blacked out completely, she made a mental note about Sakura's latest development. Shortly after that, her world went black and she was out cold.

Without missing a beat, Naruto shut down the gravity machine. Videl had taught him and Sakura the controls in case something like this happened. he then rushed over to Videl to check to see if he was okay. He saw that she, too, was unconscious. He grabbed the senzu bean bag she kept at her waist and fed one to Videl. After Videl had swallowed the bean, he returned to Sakura's side.

"Sakura-chan. I'm giving you a senzu bean. please eat it." Naruto pleased. Naruto fed Sakura the bean and she chewed and swallowed it. A moment later, Sakura was back on her feet.

"Ugh.. What happened.." Sakura groaned out, placing a hand against her head.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.  
"

Yeah. I'm fine... at least I think I am."  
"

What was that power you just showed?" Naruto asked.

Sakura gave her boyfriend a look of confusion. "Power? What power?"

By this time, Videl walked up to Sakura. "You took on a different form, almost like Gohan's Super Saiyan form, except you were several different shades of blue. It was the craziest thing I ever saw and your power was huge..." Videl stated in near shock.

"W-what...?" Sakura gasped out, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Sakura. Gohan and I sensed a massive reserve of energy inside you. I believe that you just tapped into it just now to deflect my Ki blast." Videl said.

"I-I did w-what...?" Sakura stammered out. All of a sudden, the memory form that moment returned to her in a flash. Sakura then looked down at her now shaking hands. She remembered the power she had and how it felt. It was an overwhelming pool of pure Chakra that she never knew she had. She was terrified of this power now. She was terrified that it could hurt her friends or worse, Naruto. Then she remembered the blast that Videl sent at her and how she sent it back and doubling its power with her own, nearly killing Videl. Suddenly, the next thing she felt was a warm and muscular body pressed against her own. She looked up and saw that Naruto pulled her into his embrace, where she promptly broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably as she slouched to the floor, Naruto easing down with her as she continued to cry.

"Whats wrong with her?" Yamato asked.

"She just realized the power she felt and shes scared of it. I was the same way when I felt mine for the first time." Videl said as she looked at Naruto holding onto Sakura as she cried in his chest. "Lets leave them be for now." Videl said as she motioned for Kakashi and Yamato to follow her out of the chamber. As soon as the two Jounin made their way out of the chamber, Videl followed and closed the door behind her, leaving the young couple alone.

* * *

 **Hot damn! that took a lot longer than I expected. samuraipanda85 has been a huge help to me with this story. He writes a good portion of the NaruSaku scenes while I take care of the Gohan and Videl scenes as well as the majority of the rest. Also, be sure to check out samuraipanda's one shot collection of the NaruSaku moments from this story thus far.**

 **Next time: Deception at Tenchi Bridge; Videl's Ascension.**


	8. Chapter 8: Naruto's Rage Videl's Fall

_'This is Videl. I'm in position. I can't sense anything yet.'_ Videl said as she reported from her position in the sky above the bridge via mental link.

 _'Understood. Maintain your position and keep your transformation up until said otherwise.'_ Replied Sakura.

Team 7 had begun their mission at the Tenchi bridge. During the remaining 4 days of their travel, Naruto, Videl and Sakura had reached their goal of 150 times gravity training. Naruto and Sakura were down on the ground set up near the bridge, while Kakashi was a few clicks away in a tree. Yamato had donned his disguise as Sasori and was waiting on the bridge for the informant. Videl was 500 feet above the bridge, transformed into a cloud to disguise her appearance, even though she doubted that anyone would notice her from that altitude.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke up just above a whisper.

"What is it?" Sakura replied.

"If things get hairy, I want you to stay here."

"I'm not going to leave your side, Naruto." Sakura said with determination.

"Sakura-chan. If anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself. Plus, this new power of yours can't be called on at will yet, so that makes me worry about you even more. Just, please promise me you will find a safe place if things get bad." Naruto said with genuine concern.

Sakura could see the concern on Naruto's face as well as the concern in his tone. He truly was genuinely worried about her. After all of the training she has gone through, the countless blood, sweat and tears shed during the last week and a half, Naruto still worried that something would happen to her. The thought of that made her irritated at first, but she felt it was nice that her boyfriend would fret about her well being so much. It honestly made her comfortable in the fact that she was truly in good hands with Naruto.

Sakura just smiled softly and placed a kiss on Naruto's forehead.

"You really don't need to worry about me so much. But, I promise if shit does hit the fan, I'll find some place safe to go." Sakura said.

Naruto smiled and nodded, returning the kiss on Sakura's forehead and then returning his attention to the bridge.

"Naruto, Sakura. Stay focused." _'Videl, can you sense anything yet?'_ Kakashi said.

 _'I sense a relatively high Chakra level heading for the bridge. There is also a significantly higher one near that one as well, but its off a ways.. This may be our informant.'_ Videl replied.

 _'Understood. Maintain position.'_ Kakashi said via mental link. "Naruto, Sakura, Yamato. Videl says she has picked up on an incoming Chakra level. This may be our guy so stay alert."

"Understood." The 3 replied.

* * *

Elsewhere, Gohan, Tsunade and a freshly recovered Gaara were in the meeting chambers of the Hokage tower, going over Gohan's proposal as this planets defender.

Gaara had the same reaction as the Raikage at first, but then he remembered the stories Naruto told him about these newcomers and to have it comfirmed by Tsunade and to witness some of Gohan's techniques first hand and the report from the Raikage, solidified his resolve. The Mizukage and TsuchiKage already accepted Gohan based on the reports from the Raikage. Now it was Gaara's turn.

Gaara closed Gohan's file and interlaced his fingers as he rested his chin on them. He eyed Gohan with intense scrutiny, trying to see if Gohan would falter in any way. Gohan didn't budge, he remained solid and stern. Gaara smirked.

"I have heard a great deal about you and I like what I've heard and read. Your skills would be beneficial to our world and quite possibly bring about unity to the Shinobi villages."

"Thank you, lord Kazekage." Gohan said.

"Just call me Gaara. Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine. Where is he, actually?"

"He and the rest of team 7, including the one called Videl, are on a high rank mission." Tsunade said, to which Gaara nodded.

"Well then. To conclude this mission, I accept Gohan as our planets protector and am in favor of the motion to start the founding of the Neo Z Fighters." Gaara said.

Gohan was wide eyed. "Neo Z Fighters?"

Gaara and Tsunade nodded. "The Raikage brought it up at the annual Kage meeting yesterday and the other Kage's and myself agreed to the formation of this new team. You will be the leader and you may choose anyone you want to be added to your team from any village. He also presented me with a gift for you." Tsunade said as she pulled out an object wrapped up in a cloth and handed it to Gohan.

Gohan unwrapped the parcel and took out what was inside. It was a custom headband. The metal plate was made of Brass. Etched on it was a large Z with a circle in the middle of it. In the circle were four five pointed stars in a symmetrical formation. The plate was adorned atop of a red sash. Gohan eyed the beautifully crafted headband and smiled. Without delay, he tied it around his forehead to show it off.

"That symbol signifies the Neo Z Fighters. Your teams job will be to protect the innocent and to deter any planetary threat. You can choose up to 5 members per village and we will present you with their files." Tsunade said cheerfully.

"It took some time to get the Daimyo's to agree to this, but they eventually agreed that your help would be beneficial to our world. You answer to them, but us Kage's have to take your orders as you give them." Gaara said.

Gohan nodded. "Thank you very much. I already have 3 people in mind to add to the team."

Tsunade smirked. "Videl, Naruto and Sakura, no?"

Gohan nodded. Then his expression turned serious. "I select Sakura mainly because she has an enormous power laying within her. Videl showed me the other day that Sakura had unlocked it briefly and she took on a powerful transformation. Her power skyrocketed to the point where she could put me in a corner. I don't know what the cause of this power is or why she has it, but she is strong and I want to help her unlock it."

Tsunade was taken aback, She had received no word about some secret power that her Student has. Then she thought back to stories she heard her grandfather talk about. about how a savior among them would come, taking on the form of ones true element with emense amounts of power. "What did it look like?"

"Her hair had turned from pink to a dark purple and the rest of her, including her clothes were several different shades of blue. Her eyes had become solid midnight blue and she seemed to be surrounded by a blue and white aura. She dwarfed my first Super Saiyan form and was nearly overpowering my second. Whatever this form was, she was by far stronger than nearly all of my previous opponents and her attack nearly put Videl in a grave." Gohan explained.

Tsunade's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as her hands trembled. She wasn't scared, she was excited and shocked.

"There is an old prophecy about a being who had been the reincarnation of a god and is said to take on the true nature of their element and it is also said that this being is to possess an immense amount of power. This is merely speculation, but the way you described it, it sounds to me that Sakura has the ability to use Kami Mode. This is a transformation long thought to be a myth, but if what you say is true, then we need to find out more."

"It's funny, because the Super Saiyan transformation was once told to be mere legends until my dad achieved it when we fought Freeza. I achieved it a few years later and so did our friend Vegeta. Now I hear that my younger brother, Goten, and Vegeta's son, Trunks, can also use this transformation and it's highly possible that Videl can too." Gohan explained.

"Where are you going with this?" Gaara asked.

"It is highly possible that it is just a transformation of your race that can only be achieved through rigorous training and meditating. When Team 7 comes back, I will give Sakura special training to help her control this power and access it at will."

Tsunade and Gaara nodded in agreement. If Gohan was successful in this training for Sakura, this may open many doors for the people of this planet and a new insight to what they are truely capable of as Shinobi. Time will tell on that front. With everything said and done, The meeting came to a close and Gohan had to start looking around for new recruits. Since he was the leader of a planetary defense team, he was allowed to travel anywhere he wanted to in search of recruits. The first place on his list was the Hidden Cloud Village.

* * *

Hours later, back with Team 7 at the Tenchi bridge…

Everyone was growing weary, as tended to be the case in stake-outs. Naruto, never a patient boy to begin with, was becoming more and more restless as the hours dragged on. Sakura tried her best to keep him quite, but her patience was wearing thin as well. Videl had to retreat to the high altitude clouds twice to replenish her chakra to keep up her illusion. Kakashi was sighing at his three youngest teammates and how far they still had to go as far as stealth was concerned. Sure they were powerful beyond question, stronger than Kakashi had ever hoped to be, but strength could only get you so far in the ninja world. Although out of all the shinobi present, none had more right to complain than Yamato. For his was the most crucial role in the entire snatch and grab operation.

Using his unique wood jutsu, he was able to create a replica puppet similar to Sasori's outer shell puppet, but only in appearance. The team's hope was that it would be enough to convince their contact that Yamato was Sasori and share his intel.

With luck, he could also convince the spy to drop his guard and follow Yamato into the woods where Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were waiting in ambush.  
It was a good plan, the best they could come up with given their small man power, and Videl's aerial reconnaissance plus her mental link with all the squad mates only increased the likelihood of success. It was just…hot as balls in the puppet suit.

The cool, crisp mornings had turned into a hot and humid afternoon and Yamato was feeling the heat. While Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were hidden beneath the shade of the trees and Videl could feel a chilly breeze at her altitude. Yamato was stuck in a thick wooden coffin with a black cloak draped on top of it. The wind from the canyon below and the occasional cloud cover did nothing against the build up of body heat after spending more than six hours trapped in his wooden cocoon.

 _'How in the fuck did Sasori travel through the desert in this freaking thing? The guy wasn't human.'_ Yamato thought to himself.

Normally he wouldn't complain of such discomforts on a mission. He was an ANBU Captain after all, raised by Root and a special operative of the ANBU forces all his life. But the constant whining of the teenagers going off in the back of his head was starting to wear on him and he found himself thinking of his own gripes. There was a reason not ever Jounin had the stomach to train Genin if this was the result three years down the line. The pre-pubesant academy students had turned into horny teenagers who couldn't yet keep dating out of their priority list on missions.

 _'If the flying girl asks about how Sakura's date went one more time I'm going to asked to be disconnected. I don't care if I miss the warning, they can shout at me that the target is approaching and blow the mission.'_

 _'We can hear you, you know?'_

 _'AND I CAN HEAR YOU! Now can we please keep silent on the mental link until the target arrives? Or better yet can somebody switch with me? I am roasting in this damn thing.'_

 _'Jeez, Tenzo, you weren't this whiny back when we worked together in ANBU.'_ Kakashi thought.

 _'You two worked together?'_ Sakura asked her sensei.

 _'You were in ANBU?'_ Videl asked Kakashi.

 _'Your name is Tenzo?'_ Naruto asked Yamato.

Before either of them could respond, Videl cut them both off.

 _'Wait a second guys, I'm sensing someone…Yeah a lone power level, average strength, coming right towards you Tenzo.'_

 _'Its Yama-nevermind, are you sure it's the target?'_

 _'He's no civilian, that much I can tell…he stopped moving, probably looking around.'_

 _'Do either of you have eyes on the target?'_ Kakashi inquired.

 _'Negative.'_ Yamato thought.

 _'Negative, but the target is moving again. You should see him shortly Yamato.'_ Videl informed.

Yamato readied himself as a hooded figure emerged from the treeline and stepped onto the Tenchi bridge. He or she was sporting a grey cloak that completely covered the wearer's features. From the head down to the tips of the toes.

 _'Classic 'look at me I'm so inconspicuous' cloak. This is bound to be our guy.'_ Yamato relayed to the rest of the squad who all sent back reaffirming thoughts.

 _'Ok Yamato, meet him halfway on the bridge and play it cool.'_ Kakashi directed.

 _'I'm on it.'_

 _'Sakura, if you notice any inconsistencies with our Sasori's mannerisms, help correct them.'_

 _'Understood.'_

 _'Videl, keep sensing the surrounding area for stragglers. I don't want any party crashers. Be ready to run interference if outsiders get too close.'_

 _'Got it.'_

 _'Naruto, stay ready. If things get hairy, don't move in unless Yamato or myself gives the order.'_

 _'Right.'_

 _'10 meters from the target.'_ Yamato reported. All the pieces were in place.

'Alright, initiate phase three.' Kakashi ordered.

"Greetings Sasori of the Red Sand." The hooded figure spoke to the disguised Yamato. An air of respect lingering in his voice.

"Likewise." Yamato spoke in the best impression he could make of the voice Sakura could remember coming from the Puppeteer's first form.

"I must admit you caught me by surprise. Usually you wait until I step into the open before revealing yourself. Your appearance is more attractive to wandering eyes." Yamato flicked his costume's tail as a show of authenticity.

"Felt like catching a nice tan." Yamato replied back.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" The figure asked, taking a tiny step back.

"Am I not allowed to make a joke?" Yamato inquired.

 _'No no! Sasori didn't joke like that. He was more old-fashioned.'_ Sakura frantically thought.

 _'You said he was cocky.'_

 _'Not that cocky.'_

"I suppose not." The figure laughed ever so slightly. A bead of sweat dropped down Yamato's brow.

"Could we knock off this dilly dallying and get to business? I have more pressing matters to attend to." Yamato demanded.

 _'Dilly dallying?'_ Naruto asked.

 _'Shut up.'_ Yamato thought back.

"But of course." The figure agreed. A collective sigh was released by the rest of the team. "I just need the pass code." The figure said. Everyone froze.

 _'Sasori never mentioned a pass code! Just a date and a time for the meeting!'_ Sakura thought.

 _'That bastard set us up!'_ Inner Sakura thought privately to Sakura.

 _'No choice then. We have to take him. Videl, Naruto, get ready!'_ Kakashi ordered.

"The pass code? Or course, its-" Yamato whipped out a kunai to attack the informant, who quickly dropped into a defensive stance. But instead of jumping back, he jumped to Yamato's side and faced back towards the end of the bridge Yamato was facing.

 _'What is he?'_ "Hello there Sasori." A new voice hissed. To the three original members of Team Kakashi, it was a familiar voice, but it couldn't be.

Yamato gazed down the path of the bridge to see another figure, a man he knew well. The same man that had made Yamato's own childhood a living hell.  
Videl looked down to see the third party that had come into play. From 500 feet up she could make out only the faintest of details. A tan outfit held up at the waist by thick purple ropes, arms crossed in a relax manner, long black hair that made it difficult to tell if it was a man or a woman, and the palest white skin Videl had ever seen. One thing was the certain though, everything about this figure gave the half Saiyan the distinct impression of a snake.

 _'Videl! Why didn't you inform the team that Orochimaru was here?!'_ Kakashi mentally scolded.

 _'What? I'm sorry, I didn't sense any Ki or Chakra signatures. He must know how to suppress them both.'_ She thought back, feeling a little ashamed of herself. Her one job and she failed.

"Thank God you pulled that kunai when you did." The figure spoke. "Otherwise Orochimaru could have slit my throat without me even noticing."

"Don't mention it." Yamato replied, returning the kunai back beneath his cloak, his cover safe for now.

"My my, come now why the theatrics? Did you think I wouldn't know it was you who was betraying me, Kabuto?" Orochimaru spoke with venom in his words.

 _'What, Kabuto?'_ Sakura thought, more so than the others.

The figure sighed and pulled his hood back, revealing himself to be none other than Kabuto. With his grey hair wrapped in a pony-tail and his black rimmed full moon spectacles.

"One never could pull the wool over your eyes, my Lord." Kabuto answered. He quickly fired off the hand signs necessary to activate his mystic palm: scalpel technique. Turning his right hand into a bladed weapon sharp enough for surgery, as well as less delicate arts.

"Yes, but I must admit you kept up this façade longer than most. It was one of the reasons I recruited you in the first place, for your espionage skills." Orochimaru complimented.

"Why thank you my Lord." Kabuto graciously replied.

 _'This is bad.'_ Yamato thought. _'Kabuto will know I am not Sasori the moment I try to fight back.'_

 _'We never anticipated Orochimaru arriving on the scene. At worst he would send lackeys to dispose of any traitors to his organization, but Kabuto? His right-hand man? We've struck gold, but the dragon is here to defend his treasure.'_ Kakashi thought.

 _'We can take him!'_ Videl thought. _'Naruto, Sakura, and I have been training non stop in the gravity room. Our power levels dwarf Orochimaru like its not even funny.'_

 _'No! Do not underestimate Orochimaru. He has more than enough tricks up his sleeve that raw power won't be enough to take him on.'_ Kakashi thought.

 _'Oh give me a break. I'll just flash right down there and blast that snake to Kingdom come.'_

 _'Stand down Videl, that's an order!'_ Kakashi sternly thought.

 _'I still need a game plan over here!'_ Yamato thought. _'What happens now?'_

To answer his question, Kabuto quickly brought his hand down upon the puppet shell, slicing it open to reveal the Yamato hidden inside. Yamato quickly hopped back out of melee range.

 _'He attacked me? But I thought he was Akatsuki's double agent?'_ Yamato thought.

"Excellent work, Kabuto. Posing as a triple agent for so long." Orochimaru commented. "Although it seems our effort spent on trying to surprise the Akatsuki was wasted on these Leaf whelps."

"Always a shame, my Lord." Kabuto replied before addressing Yamato. "Oh I knew you weren't Sasori all along. The man is nothing if not meticulous, always greeting me with the passcode and nothing else. Its hard to gather intel when your contact is always straight to the point. Still, it was a good way of letting the Akatsuki know exactly what Lord Orochimaru wanted them to know about him."

"Forgive me, but my higher ups were under the impression that you were serving Sasori while under some kind of mind control jutsu." Yamato asked, trying to buy time for his team to think up a plan.

"Oh, my Lord removed that pesky genjutsu years ago. I only serve Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto explained.

"Now if you're quite done playing the lone wolf, you could signal your back up to come closer and stop hiding behind those trees, my Little Experiment." Orochimaru spoke with a venom that sent shivers down Yamato's spine. Not just that fact that he knew about his teammates, but that he remembered Yamato as one of the kids he experimented on.

 _'Well crap.'_ Yamato thought as he signaled the rest of his squad.

 _'Kakashi, do we seriously go out in the open?'_ Videl thought. Her other two squad mates remained silent.

 _'We will. You stay up there for now.'_ Kakashi ordered. The rest of Team 7 jumped out of their hiding spots and in front of where Yamato was kneeling.

"Well well, isn't this day just full of surprises?" Kabuto stated. "I wasn't expecting the Kyuubi brat, the fangirl, and the cyclops to show up. What's the matter? Here to save your wayward teammate again? Didn't you get the memo? He's dead."

That struck a nerve with Sakura. To hear it again from Kabuto made it all the more real.

 **"Give…him…back…"** A dark voice growled beside Sakura. She turned her head and was shocked to discover that it came from her blond love Naruto. Who looked possessed, his once barely noticeable whisker marks now thickened and prominent on his face, his hair was more frazzled, his ocean blue eyes were now blood red and slit like an animal's, and his face…it was full of rage.

"What are you going on about?" Kabuto asked. "Are you off your rocker?"

The other occupants noticed that there was now something foul in the air. Not a stench, a feeling.

 **"You took Sasuke away. You got him killed. Now give him back…"** Naruto spoke, his teeth now baring visible fangs. His lips turned black.

"Have you forgotten? Sasuke came to Lord Orochimaru on his own. Seeking power. Yet he sought vengeance against his brother too and his arrogance led to his downfall. He attacked Itachi before he was ready like a fool. He died by his own hand as much as he did by his brother's." Kabuto explained in a manner he would use against a child.

"Don't pretend to understand how other people feel, Four-Eyes!" Sakura yelled back in defense of Naruto.

"Oh please." Orochimaru interjected. "Quit it with your pathetic thoughts of sentimentality, girl. It doesn't befit a ninja." Everyone's eyes turned to Orochimaru, who was not one known for displaying annoyance. Usually arrogance, for he was always in control.

"Why you three continue to pester me over that useless Uchiha is beyond me. In the end he was a traitor to you and a failure to me. He was no prodigy, just an arrogant child that took my training and wasted my time. Such a failure." Orochimaru finished.

The foul air then condensed around Naruto, its source, into a thick fog of bubbly orange chakra. It shifted and wrapped around him like a thick cloak. The cloak took shape around Naruto, giving him claws, long ears, and three tails. Even from high up above Videl could feel the air pressure surrounding Naruto, like a thousand bee-stings.

"I SAID GIVE HIM BACK!" Naruto screamed. He launched himself at Orochimaru with a devastating swipe of his right claw. The snake sannin was knocked back into the trees. Kabuto, who was standing next to his master, was thrown aside by the shockwave of Naruto's movement. Only by grabbing onto the railing did the medical spy keep from tumbling hundreds of feet to the river below.

The rest of Team 7 had to shield their faces and apply chakra to their feet to keep from being blow back by Naruto's overwhelming power.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, had crawled out of the remnants of his distorted body, like a snake shedding its skin. "I am curious!" He called out to the Jinchuriki. "How well Jiraiya managed to train his own apprentice!"

At the behest of Orochimaru's taunts, Naruto threw his head back and bellowed a massive roar. The resulting shockwave blew the concrete and steel bridge in two, sending shrapnel in every direction.

Reacting quickly, Yamato created a wooden barrier to absorb the worst of the blast, but couldn't expand it in time to cover Kakashi and Sakura as well. All three were knocked back by the explosion. Sakura took a massive blow to the head when she hit the ground. Kakashi was better off but still dazed.  
The bridge began to bend under its own weight. Yamato was just coherent enough to summon up large wooden pillars to try and stop the bridge from falling. Kakashi managed to grab a rail by his elbow, but Sakura remained unconscious and was sliding off the bridge.

"VIDEL, GRAB SAKURA!" Yamato yelled. Videl was snapped out of her own daze. Everything had happened so fast, it was overwhelming. So this is what ninja missions were like.

Videl swooped down and picked up Sakura right as she entered free fall. Then she tossed the pink haired medic over her shoulder and flew over to pick up Yamato and Kakashi be the scruff of their necks and carried them to safety.

Once on solid ground, Videl reached into her poach and pulled out three senzu beans for each of them. Yamato was hesitant at first but quickly chewed the offering and was instantly rejuvenated. Kakashi likewise pulled down his mask and ate the bean faster than anyone could detect.

Damn. Thought Yamato. Missed my chance.

Videl helped the unconscious Sakura chew her senzu bean. Instantly the medic woke up feeling refreshed but panicked. "NARUTO!" She shouted.

"Sakura, relax!" Videl shouted, holding the girl back. "Its fine. You guys just stay here, I'm going after Naruto." The whole squad was shocked at Videl's proclamation.

"Videl, wait!" Kakashi ordered but it was too late. The brunette had already blasted off towards where Naruto was last seen headed.

Sakura was about to sprint off after her when Kakashi place his arm in front of her. "Sakura, wait! Not you too."

Sakura was frantically shuddering. "Move Kakashi-sensei! I need to-

"Stay here and help us think up a plan." Kakashi interrupted. His hands now gripping Sakura's shoulders, determined to keep her in place.

"But Naruto-

"Is beyond reason right now." Kakashi once again interrupted. Sakura was too caught up in her own worry to look directly at Kakashi, but Yamato could see the look of pain in his eyes (well, eye, the one that wasn't covered). Sakura stopped her fighting and went quiet. She felt so helpless right now.

"Not even Orochimaru can defeat Naruto while he is in that state. The Kyuubi is too powerful. But we need a plan if we want to subdue him." Kakashi reassured Sakura, which somewhat helped brighten her mood, but only just.

"Yamato, send a wood clone after Naruto and tell Videl to get back here. She's not concentrating anymore and the mental link has been cut." Kakashi ordered, not taking his hands off his student's shoulders as a show of support.

"Already on it." Yamato replied, even now a figure of wood was detatching itself from Yamato's form and took on its creator's appearance. The wood clone Yamato then jumped off the edge of the cliff and rode atop a rapidly expanding wood pillar.

Meanwhile, Videl was tracking Naruto. Which didn't prove to be all that difficult, she just had to listen for the explosions. Videl had never expected this from Naruto. Even though she had seen his three tails form before in the gravity room, this version was a lot less controlled. More raw and…evil.

This wasn't the main thing plaguing Videl's mind though, it was her own failure. Twice now she had let down the team. She failed to notice Orochimaru before hand and if it wasn't for Yamato yelling at her she might have let Sakura fall to her death. Her first mission and she had already screwed up so much.

 _'No matter though.'_ She thought. _'I'm a half Saiyan, I have Gohan's training and the training of the greatest Jounins in the Leaf. I'll subdue Naruto and kick that slime-ball Orochimaru's butt back to the Leaf village. Just you wait.'_

Another explosion rang off and Videl zeroed in on her teammate who was busy tearing up the landscape below her with Orochimaru dodging his every attack.  
From the small of Naruto's backside now four tails protruded outward. The bubbling chakra was now boiling the young man's skin like roasted chicken. With each furious swipe, more of the Jinchuriki's skin peeled off. His blood began to bleed into the chakra cloak which mixed, turning the Kyuubi cloak dark red. The only light that could be seen was the glow of the Jinchuriki's eyes.

 _'Is…is that the demonic fox?'_ Videl thought to herself. Having only heard the briefest explanations from others about the demon sealed inside Naruto.

"You know something?" Orochimaru taunted. "I'm starting to think that my bumbling teammate was right! You are superior to Sasuke, my little fox. I should have chosen you as my vessel. You have so much more rage inside you that I could exploit. And you carry so much less baggage. Not like your worthless teammate, he was always more concerned with his own goals than that of his master's. Not like you, fox boy, you have undying loyalty. I can see that. The way you throw yourself to a demon for power for the sake of an already dead man!"

 **"RAAAAARH!"** The jinchuriki roared back. This time however, instead of lunging at his prey, the mini fox took up a stance. The bloody chakra clinging to him broke off and formed baseball sized orbs all floating around him. One by one they gravitated towards the mouth of the Jinchuriki where they compressed themselves into a dense new orb as black as night.

 _'And what are you going to do with that, little fox?'_ Orochimaru thought to himself.

The Jinchuriki swallowed the dense chakra orb and instantly his body inflated like Choji's expansion jutsu.

 _'Oh fuck me with a weasel.'_ Orochimaru thought while nipping the tips of his thumbs with his teeth.

BOOM!

The Kyuubi vessel released the built up chakra in a massive blast, headed directly at the snake sannin.

Orochimaru slammed his palms down and summoned the Three Sacred Gates just in the nick of time.

Videl was blinded by the resulting explosion, the air pressure made her ears pop. By the time she had rubbed the light out of her eyes the dust had settled and all that remained was a barren field a mile across. Neither Naruto nor Orochimaru were anywhere to be seen.

 _'Unreal.'_ She thought. As she hovered in the air in awe, her eyes focused on a patch of dirt where Naruto crawled his way out, still in his bloody Kyuubi cloak.

"Naruto!" She cried, descending down to the ground. The Jinchuriki ignored her and shook off the debris that still clung to his cloak.

"Naruto, its okay now. You won, you can calm down now and-" Videl never got to finish her sentence as at that moment, the Jinchuriki looked at the half Saiyan. His glowing eyes pierced her very soul. The killing intent he was giving off was of an intensity Videl had never before experienced. It was cold, and evil, and wouldn't think twice about swatting her aside.

"…I…" Despite herself, Videl could not summon up her courage. Not that it matter, as two senbon came sailing out of the bushes and found their mark near Videl's jugular vein. The half Saiyan was instantly knocked out and fell face first into the dirt.

The Jinchuriki tilted his head at the strange actions of his new prey when out of nowhere the upper half of Orochimaru came bursting through the dirt and punched the Kyuubi vessel squarely in the cheek. It was pointless however, as the chakra grew into a secondary torso of the Jinchuriki and swatted at the snake sannin, slicing him in two. The severed sannin torso was sent flying back but was caught by a river of snakes that quickly reunited the upper half of Orochimaru's body with its lower half. Similarly, the two torsos of the Jinchuriki merged back into one and the mini fox pressed his attack.

As the two monsters battled on, a lone figure emerged from the tree line, looking battered and bruised after surviving the afternoon's initial explosion. Yet he could hardly be described as in a bad mood. He picked up the unconscious form of the half Saiyan girl in a fireman's carry and pushed up his full moon spectacles with a sense of smug superiority.

"Target captured." Kabuto spoke aloud.

* * *

Sakura and the rest of Team 7 were still on the other side of the remains of the Tenchi bridge.

At Kakashi's insistence, they remained behind to think up a plan of action for subduing Naruto. The main problem being how they were supposed to keep Orochimaru away from the Jinchuriki long enough for the Kyuubi chakra to be contained. Even then, how to escape from the deranged Sannin with two jounin, a medical chunin, a missing genin, and a KO'd man. It was common knowledge that to take down a sannin you needed the two other sannin. Even with three of their members revised to full strength thanks to Videl's senzu beans, Kakashi did not like their odds. This mission had exceeded their parameters. Experience had taught Kakashi that they needed to fall back and regroup. Yet a negling feeling in the back of Kakashi's head made him think that given his group's strength, with Naruto wearing Orochimaru down, they could have a chance at taking the rogue sannin down once and for all.

 _'No.'_ Thought Kakashi. _'Right now Naruto is the priority. In his state, he's too much of a wild card. We need to focus our efforts on subduing him. By then we'll most likely be too worn out to take on Orochimaru by ourselves. Even if we were, Sakura would prioritize Naruto's safety and stay out of the fight to attend to him. Videl, where ever she is, is still too raw for me to rely upon her in this kind of fight. And Yamato and I together still wouldn't be enough.'_

Kakashi sighed. Didn't he just get back from a crazy over the top mission? He really was getting too old for this shit if he missed the lulls between exciting missions like before Naruto returned.

 _'Things aren't going to calm down for a while now, aren't they?'_ He asked himself, already knowing the answer.

The Jounin's eyes looked off at his one kunoichi student. Sakura was trying in vain to keep herself composed, but every explosion they heard sent her stomach plummeting down into her guts. That was her boyfriend fighting over there, the boy who had loved her since their academy days and had finally managed to win her heart. More to the point that was her teammate out there fighting against a monster and Sakura was stuck here waiting for Captain Yamato's wood clone to return to give them an update. This was exactly the reason Sakura had undergone all that intense training from the Hokage. To not be left behind while her teammates risked their lives while she stood by the sidelines! Years of backbreaking conditioning, sleepless nights spent reading medical books thick enough to beat goats to death with, followed by real world open heart surgeries the next morning. And for what?

To stay behind and think up a plan.

 _'Fuck this.'_

Before Sakura could stand up to protest, Yamato cupped his left hand to his ear.

"Guys my clone radioed back!" Yamato said excited. Kakashi and Sakura's faces also lite up with anticipation for some action. "He says that Naruto is fighting with Orochimaru in a large field 5 miles east of here."

CRASH!

Faster than any of the ninjas could see, a man sized figure came hurling from the east and crashed right into the cliff side of the Tenchi canyon. The dust that was kick up obstructed the shinobi from seeing what exactly had been launched at them, but they could see an impossibly long staff of metal protruding from the dust cloud and running all the way back towards the horizon. They only later realized that it was a sword.

The dust cloud soon dissipated, leaving behind a crater with a silhouette in the center of it.  
Sakura didn't know what to make of it. From where she stood, it looked like a million black and bloody tendrils had amassed to form a single humanoid body, but it was far from human. Its limbs were stretched, its fingers sharp like claws, it had animal hind legs, glowing eyes, jagged fangs, long ears, and four fox tails- Sakura gasped. It couldn't be…

"…Naruto?" She whispered. Fearing the answer.

The creature bellowed an impossible loud screech. It grabbed the blade that had failed to penetrate its chest and tossed it aside.

"Watch out!" Kakashi cried as he yanked Sakura back for safety. The tip of the sword coming dangerously close to where Sakura was once standing.

Miles away, the head of Orochimaru was hanging high up in the air being supported by his elongated neck. From his mouth the sword protruded from.

 _'So even the Snake's Mystic Sword cannot penetrate your hide, eh fox?'_ Orochimaru thought. He looked down to his most loyal servant with a female draped over his shoulders. _'No matter, I got what I came for.'_

The sannin retracted his blade back into his mouth and his neck snapped back into its normal length.

"Come along Kabuto, we have much work to do."

"Yes, my Lord." The two rogue ninjas sprinted off towards their hideout leaving the remnants of Team 7 to sort out their teammate's temper tantrum.

Unknown to either of them, a figure hidden within the trees was following them close behind.

* * *

Back at the ruins of the Tenchi bridge, Kakashi had been playing the most intense game of keep away in his life.

Naruto had gone completely ballistic, the Kyuubi had poisoned his mind and he could no longer tell friend from foe. He attacked anything that moved, yet he seemed especially drawn to Sakura. What especially wasn't helping matters was that Sakura had chosen that exact moment to go into a daze. Forcing Kakashi to have to jump around her daydreaming ass weighing him down.

Meanwhile Yamato was attempting to seal away the Kyuubi chakra in Naruto, but it was proving impossible. Naruto would just break free of any restraints Yamato put on him and the wood user was starting to run low on chakra.

Inside Sakura's mind, memories were flashing all around her.

 _"My dream is to one day be the greatest Hokage ever. Then the villagers will stop hating me and treat me like I'm somebody. Somebody important."_

 _"Nice to see you're back, Master!"_

 _"But I can do it! I'm awesome!"_

 _"Hey, Sakura-chan. Can you help me get the hang of this?"_

 _"DON'T EVER UNDERESTIMATE ME! I DON'T QUIT AND I DON'T RUN!"_

 _"Don't worry Sakura-chan, this'll be a piece of cake."_

 _"Sakura-chan, wha-what happened to your hair?"_

 _"If you let yourself lose to that crazy Sasuke-chaser you'll be a disgrace to all women!"_

 _"I vow to win…"_

 _"Hey Sakura-chan!"_

 _"Hey Sakura-chan!"_

 _"Sakura-chan…"_

 _"Don't you worry one bit! I'll bring Sasuke back to you in no time! It's a promise of a lifetime!"_

 _"I never go back on my word. Cause that is my shinobi way."_

 _"Hey Sakura-chan."_

 _"God do I love you…"_

With every flash of her memories, Sakura tried to fill the image of Naruto with this new image of the demon he had become, it just didn't add up.

 _'This…this isn't Naruto!'_ Sakura thought as she felt her mental projection being twirled around to face her inner self.

 _'No shit! Now get there! Naruto needs you!'_ Her inner self screamed.

Sakura was snapped back into reality where she was being held in Kakashi's arms while he dodged another one of Kyuubi Naruto's slash attacks. She untangled herself from her sensei's arms and stood up.

"Is your head back in the game, Sakura?" Kakashi demanded. There was no time for niceties.

"Yeah, I'm good." Sakura replied, not taking her eyes off of Naruto as he tried to dislodge his arm which had gotten stuck after that last attack hit the ground.

"Good, then heal up Yamato. He's the only one that can seal the Kyuubi's chakra. I'll keep Naruto distracted." Before Sakura could say a word in reply, Kakashi had already sprinted towards the Jinchuriki. His Sharingan uncovered and working overtime to anticipate the raging Jinchuriki's movements. He fired off the appropriate signs to active his Lightning Blade technique. Although instead of thrusting his fingertips into the Kyuubi vessels flesh, he struck him with his open palm, sending an electric shock pulsing through the Kyuubi host. It was enough though, as the boy simply grew angrier. Kakashi jumped over his target as the vessel thrashed about. Kakashi struck again, this time hitting the boy's lower back and then his thigh, still no effect. Three pulses of electric current through a target's nervous system was always more than enough to incapacitate them. Either the Fox's chakra was nullifying Kakashi's lightning jutsu or the demon chakra itself was controlling Naruto's movements.

While Kakashi played tag with the mini demon fox, Sakura was hard at work restoring Yamato's chakra.

"We need a plan." Yamato spoke in between grunts of pain. His muscles felt incredibly sore after just a short time dodging Naruto's attacks.

"I thought Kakashi said you could seal away the Kyuubi's chakra?" Sakura asked, forcing herself to focus on her patient instead of her boyfriend.

"I can, but it takes time to drain the Kyuubi's chakra away and I can't pin Naruto down. It's all that damn gravity training he does. It increased his base strength to unimaginable levels and the Kyuubi chakra only enhanced that so my wood isn't enough to hold him still." Yamato explained. That set a light bulb off in Sakura's head.

"Captain Yamato, do you think you have enough chakra to seal the Kyuubi chakra away?"

"Yeah, but only to seal it away. That things are going I'd need the chakra of two other Jounin to be able to hold Naruto down." Sakura stopped her mystic palm technique midway through healing Yamato. "What are you-

"Alright, get ready to seal him." Sakura tightened her black gloves, a habit she developed whenever getting ready for a tough fight.  
"Sakura, you're not planning on fighting Naruto are you? Me and Kakashi can handle this, we just need to wait for Kakashi to wear Naruto down so that- Sakura, wait!" Yamato shouted as Sakura made a bee line for Naruto at speeds barely visible to the human eye.

Kakashi was on his last leg fighting against Naruto, literally, one of Naruto's swipes had cut into one of his leg tendons and he was finding it difficult to put any weight on his right leg. Soon adrenaline would wear off and that would be it. He'd have to try something lethal if things didn't improve.

Naruto lunged at Kakashi who was preparing his chakra for another quick leap when the enraged Jinchuriki found himself yanked back down to the ground by his tail.

On the other end was Sakura holding the end of one of his tail. The bloody chakra smeared across her shirt as the actual Kyuubi chakra burned her skin. Tears were streaking down her cheeks yet a look of pure determination could be seen in her green eyes.

"Sakura, are you crazy? Get back!" Kakashi screamed, but it was too late. Kyuubi Naruto got over the shock of the girl's boldness of grabbing his tail and lunged at her. Instead of dodging back, she stepped into the Jinchuriki's path, managing to pin the boy's arms into an iron grip hug.

The Kyuubi vessel thrashed about with all his strength, but Sakura had been training in the gravity room as well. With her chakra enhancing her already impressive base strength, the most the Jinchuriki could do was dig his claws into her backside. Every slash felt like hot iron nails being dragged across her back, but Sakura refused to yield. Naruto was in there somewhere and if enduring this pain meant bring him back then she would endure it for as long as it took. She rested her cheek on her boyfriend's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Shhhhh, be still Naruto, be quiet. It'll all be over soon." The Jinchuriki continued to fight against her, but could not break free.

Neither Kakashi nor Yamato could believe what they were seeing. They also couldn't decide which was more unbelievable; that Sakura thought she could hold down a raging Kyuubi chakra enhanced Naruto or that it was working. Either way Yamato wasted no time in raised the necessary pillars to begin the sealing. He had never attempted this jutsu on the real thing before, and especially never when there was a third party involved. This could kill Sakura by sucking out her own chakra along with the Kyuubi's. Not that it mattered, they were out of options. Yamato slammed his palms down onto the ground.

"SEAL!" He shouted, twelve pillars release tentacles of chakra that wrapped around the forms of Sakura and Naruto. The two of them were wrapped in a cocoon of glowing green chakra before the chakra extended a sign arm to meet Yamato's outstretched arm. Slowly, ever so slowly, the chakra receded until it came from a single point on Naruto's chest. Dragging along with it the bloody Kyuubi chakra that had been covering him. Soon Kakashi and Yamato could see the blond's golden locks again, then his face with skin colored an angry red to match the look of overwhelming pain upon his face. The poor boy moaned in pain, just barely conscious. All the while he was held in place by the pink haired medic who refused to let go.

Once all the evil chakra had been absorbed, Naruto slumped against Sakura's embrace. She didn't even recoil when the young man's entire weight was brought down against her. She was prepared to endear all that and more.

"Sakura…" Kakashi called out when Sakura went a few moments without moving.

The girl shifted her weight and lowered her boyfriend gently down to the ground. Making extra sure not to agitate his burned skin more than necessary and that he was comfortable while laying down. Once she was satisfied that he was comfortable, she unzipped his jacket and got to work healing Naruto's burns.  
Neither men said a word. Neither dared to break the tranquil silence. Although each secretly wished that they too would be lucky enough to find a girlfriend as gentle and caring as Sakura.

The moment was ruined when Yamato received radio chatter from his clone.

"Kakashi." He whispered, not wanting to break Sakura's concentration. "My wood clone reports that Orochimaru and Kabuto are retreating back to their hideout. My wood clone is pursuing but…"

"But?" Kakashi whispered back, his patience long since spent.

"He believes that Videl has been kidnapped by them. No idea what they plan on doing with her." The wood user reported.

"Shit…" Kakashi whispered. His gaze fell upon his two former Genin students. Unknown to him, Sakura had heard them but continued to focus on healing Naruto.

 _'One crisis at a time…'_

* * *

 **Uh oh! Videl got a little more than she bargained for! With Naruto's rage subsided, how will team 7 handle getting Videl back? What will Gohan do when he catches wind that his girlfriend is in the hands of the enemy? Will Videl be able to break free on her own? Find out next time on Legacy of Heroes!**

 ** _Next Time: Videl's ascension; Orochimaru's demise_**


	9. Chapter 9: Origins

"Kakashi." Yamato whispered, not wanting to break Sakura's concentration. "My wood clone reports that Orochimaru and Kabuto are retreating back to their hideout. My wood clone is pursuing but…"

"But?" Kakashi whispered back, his patience long since spent.

"He believes that Videl has been kidnapped by them. No idea what they plan on doing with her." The wood user reported.

"Shit…" Kakashi whispered. His gaze fell upon his two former Genin students. Unknown to him, Sakura had heard them but continued to focus on healing Naruto.

 _'One crisis at a time…'_

* * *

Elsewhere, Gohan was flying to the cloud village. He knew that Videl would be able to handle whatever mission they were going on, but little did he know that shit had just hit the fan and Videl is in a great deal of danger. That is, until he sensed a very sinister energy miles away from where he is currently.

 _'What in the world is-'_ Gohan stopped in mid air as he concentrated on the energy source and immediately knew who it belonged to. _'That's Naruto. I've felt that power before, only this time its much stronger and far more evil.'_

Gohan then focused his senses around the area where Team 7 was. That's when his blood ran cold. _'No.. I can't sense Videl's energy...'_

It was true, Videl's energy had plummeted to barely noticeable levels, and with a raging Jinchuriki in the way, Gohan couldn't pick out Videl's signal. Of course at the time, Gohan knew nothing about what happened to her, but that didn't stop him from panicking. Gohan tried using the bond link but Videl didn't answer and from that point, Gohan knew that Videl was in trouble.

 _'I'll look for recruits later, I need to find Videl!'_ Gohan shouted in his head. He swiftly changed course and flew as fast as he could to Tenchi bridge to figure out what was going on. His mind flashed back tot he events that led up to this point as he sighed sadly.

* * *

-AGE: 774- Mt. Pouzu East District 439. Two months ago.

Chichi, the mother of Gohan had put out a spread of food for a light afternoon lunch. That is, light for the two demi-Saiyan's. Goten, Gohan's younger brother, was being extra careful not to down all of the food on the table at once. Gohan was also eating at a more human like pace. Why? Because Videl Satan was among them and she knew nothing about Saiyan's and their eating habits.

"Lunch looks wonderful, Chichi." Videl said politely. Despite their earlier encounter, Chichi had warmed up to Videl, over the thought that she may be the one Gohan would settle down with.

"Why, thank you Videl. You know, its nice that Gohan is meeting some nice lady friends. You know, it's never too early to settle down." Chichi practically sang.

"Mom..." Gohan groaned in protest.

Videl took a bite of rice that Chichi had made and was overwhelmed by the amount of flavor it had.

"Delicious! I should give this recipe to our cook." Videl said joyfully.

"Your cook? Is your family in the restaurant business?" Chichi asked.

"Oh no. I mean the cook we have at our house."

"You have your own cook? You must be pretty loaded. Just how many rooms does your house have? 10? 20?" Chichi asked hurriedly, bombarding Videl with questions.

"Hmm... That's a good question." Videl said as she paused to think exactly how many rooms were in her father's mansion. After a few moments, she came up with an estimated guess. "I'd say around...50."

"50?!" Chichi exclaimed in shock. "That's like a small village! I can hardly imagine it..."

Gohan paid no mind to the conversation the women were having, until-

"And you plan to marry this girl?" Chichi said to Gohan.

Gohan spat out a mouthful of food that hit Goten in the face from a cross the table. Goten protested for a moment but then put on a smile almost exactly like Goku's

"So, does this mean that Videl will be my older sister?" Goten asked innocently.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about!" Gohan all but screamed.

 _'What the hell does he mean by that?'_ Videl thought. During her time fighting crime with Gohan as he dressed up as Saiyaman, she had started developing a mild crush on the boy, not that she would ever admit to it. But then she remembered the events that lead up to this point. Videl hounding Gohan for information and constantly prying into his personal life. _'I guess my attitude towards him may be the reason. I have been too much of a bitch to him and he probably doesn't want to have anything to do with me in that area.'_ Videl thought sadly.

Just then the phone started ringing and Chichi got up from the picnic table to go answer the phone.

"So, Gohan." Videl started.

"Please, excuse my mom.. She gets like this anytime I bring a girl home." Gohan said.

 _'Wait, does this mean I'm not the first? No, Videl. Stop it. You're here to fly, not to pry into Gohan's life again. If he doesn't want to tell me he doesn't have to.'_ Videl thought to herself.

"Don't worry about it." Videl said, waving off Gohan's attempt to apologize. "I was just wondering what all this flying stuff entails."

"Oh, uh... well mostly what we'll be doing is getting you to learn how to use your Ki, or latent energy. It's how you can fly without any sort of devices." Gohan explained.

"Latent energy, huh? I have heard stories about people who could conjure up latent energy in the form of Chi or Chakra. Most of them were fictitious stories and my dad says they're a cheap trick." Videl said.

"Well, let me be the first to tell you that its not a trick. I really don't know what Chakra is, but Ki and Chi are one in the same. Every living being has this energy inside of them but it normally takes years of training to find it." Gohan explained further.

"Well, I certainly hope it doesn't take me years to find mine so I can fly." Videl said in protest.

"No it shouldn't take that long for you. Another ability that you can do with your energy is use it to sense other people's energy. I can teach you how to do that if you want." Gohan offered.

"mmm... Lets stick with flying for now and then I'll go for that. It does sound very useful, though. But where are you going with that explanation?"

"I can sense your energy, Videl. It is way higher than most peoples energy. You can have this down in no time." Gohan said.

"D-do you really think so?" Videl asked. A hint of a blush was forming on her face. She didn't know it, but she was really starting to fall for the Demi-Saiyan.

"I know so." Gohan replied back. Just then, Chichi walked out of the house.

"Gohan, that was Bulma. She wants you to head over to her lab. She says she has a new invention she wants you to check out." Chichi said.

Gohan nodded and got up from the table. He then looked over and saw that Videl started to look sad. The a light-bulb light up in his head.

"Come on Videl. You can go too, if you want." Gohan offered.

Videl looked at Gohan like a deer caught in the headlights. "A-are you sure? I don't want to impose upon someone as great as Bulma Briefs."

Gohan just laughed. "She wont care. She has been a friend of the family since my dad was a kid. It'll be fine."

Videl nodded and she got up as well. She began to take out her jet copter, when Gohan stopped her.

"I can fly you there if you want." Gohan offered.

Videl was taken aback by Gohan's sudden and rather bold offer. She thought about it for a moment, before she nodded with a slight blush. In an instant, Gohan picked her up bridal style and held her close and rather firm. Her face became beet red and her heart started racing. Before she could dwell on the many emotions and thoughts that ran through her mind, Gohan blasted off at the speed of light.

Videl was stunned at how fast they were going. The speed Gohan was flying at was enough to peel the paint off her jet copter and here she was, in Gohan's arms, going several times faster than the speed of sound.

After a bit, Videl's mind wandered and came to the subject as to how she got here. She thought about how she had constantly been on Gohan's ass getting information out of him, only to nearly by accident discover that he was Great Saiyaman. Then she blackmails him into entering the tournament and teaching her how to fly.

 _'I don't deserve Gohan's kindness.'_ Videl thought to herself. _'I have been nothing but a straight up bitch to him since the start. He has been nothing but kind and caring to me, all the while keeping the city and myself safe. He never thought of himself, always others and I took advantage of that. I feel like I'm no better than my father, except for hanging around loose women or in my case, men.'_

Videl was constantly kicking herself in the butt over the shit she pulled to get to where she is now. She absolutely resented the fact that she blindly took advantage of someone's kindness just to get what she wanted. Then a light bulb went off in her head. To make it up to Gohan, she was going to tell her one of her most sensitive secrets.

 _'I just hope I can keep it together when I tell him. It's not by any means a happy memory.'_ Videl made up her mind as she began to get Gohan's attention.

"H-hey Gohan?"

Gohan looked down at Videl. "What's up? Want me to slow down?"

"Actually, could we stop and land somewhere? I need to talk to you about something. It's pretty sensitive as well and I don't want to you lose concentration and letting us both fall."

Gohan nodded and found a clearing in a nearby wooded area. He landed in the middle of the clearing and set Videl on her feet. Videl fixed her hair and played with her fingers as she tried to find the courage to tell Gohan what she wanted to tell him. Finally, she decided to wing it.

"Gohan.. First off, I want to say thank you for all you are doing for me and what you have done for not only me, but all of Satan City." Videl said nervously.

"Of course, but what brought this on?"

"I'm getting to that. I realized that I was acting like a huge bitch towards you, prying into your personal life to find out who you are and then blackmail you into teaching me how to fly when I found out about your Saiyaman identity. For that I'm really sorry.."

"Don't sweat it, I had already forgiven you for it."

"Yea, I doubt you were that quick to forgive me, but whatever. I want to make it up to you by telling you a secret that only a small handful of people know, and it isn't a very pleasant memory for me." Videl said as her hands began to shake as she recalled her memory.

"You don't have to-"

"I'm going to... It's only fair to you that you know. Plus it will give you a better idea about why I am how I am. So, please. Do me a favor and be quiet while I tell this story." Videl said as her whole body began to shudder. She was beyond nervous as she never told anyone outside of the people who already knew.

Gohan nodded and Videl continued with a deep sigh. "almost 2 years ago, I was just finishing up my Sophomore year and I had elected to partake in a study hall to finish up some last minute work. I was a week away from turning 16 at the time. I had stayed late after everyone else had left. During the entire time in the classroom, the teacher there kept staring at me and it really creeped me out. As I was leaving, he asked me to stay a little bit so he could talk to me about a few things. Trying to be a model student, I agreed, but it was the worst mistake I ever made." Videl said as she started tensing up and tears welled up in her eyes.

Gohan had sensed Videl's sudden change in emotional awareness and grew concerned. He was about to say something when Videl raised a hand to stop him.

"I... waited for him to ask me what it was he had on his mind, when he suddenly grabbed onto me... He pinned me on top of his desk.. and...H-he... He.." Videl suddenly released the flood gate that kept her tears in and she started sobbing uncontrollable.

"Videl? What did he do.." Gohan said with a very worried tone as he grew closer to Videl. He put a hand on her shoulder and she immediately latched onto him and cried in his chest.

"The fucker RAPED ME!" Videl cried as she broke down into Gohan's chest.

Gohan was taken aback. He was completely shocked to see Videl crying out like this and the reason for that angered him. But he decided to focus on Videl and comfort her. He noticed that she was trying very hard to regain control, but her emotions were starting to overpower her.

"It's okay, Videl. Just let it all out. It's just you and me here." Gohan said.

Those words are what broke Videl as she cried louder and harder. She lost the feeling in her legs and sank to the ground while Gohan slid down with her until they were both sitting on the grass. Videl continued to cry into Gohan's chest for all she was worth and Gohan began rubbing her back to make her feel better. after a few moments, Videl's cries were turned into muffled sobs as she began to speak again.

"He took away my innocence before I could be with any potential boyfriend. It felt like forever, but it really only lasted about 10 minutes when Sharpner came back. He saw what that bastard was doing to me and he pulled that creep off of me and beat him into the ground. If Sharpner hadn't of saved me then, I would have been a mother to a child produced by a rapist. Erasa was there to get me cleaned up and salvage what little there was of my clothes. Sharpner called the police and EMS to get me checked out and Erasa called my dad. My dad was about to kill the asshole that dare touched his daughter, but the Police held him back. Mr. Candola is currently serving a 10 year sentence in prison for second degree assault on a minor and 3rd degree rape on a minor. He mentally scared me for life, Gohan. I began to fear men and to keep them away, even the nice ones like you. I put up the best 'I'll kick your ass if you come near me' act and it worked for a long time." Videl finished, her sobs now slowing down.

"Videl..."

"Now you know why I am always so bossy and pushy and pretty much a down right bitch. My dad made me train hard in order to protect myself from this happening ever again and he also said that the only way I could ever have a boyfriend was if he was stronger than my dad. Needless to say, no boy dared to even look at me, save for Sharpner. My dad even said that if I wanted to date Sharpner he would allow it because he saved me. My dad owes him a great deal for that action, but I just don't feel that way about him. Yea, I can never thank him enough for what he did, but my feelings for him are nothing more than just friendly, almost family like. He's more of a brother to me than a potential boyfriend."

Gohan nodded and stroked Videl's hair trying to keep her calm. Videl felt completely safe in Gohan's arms as she opened up to him with gusto.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Videl. I wish I could have been there to put that sicko in his place. No man should ever treat a woman like that and it sickens me that he took pride in something like that." Gohan said, anger slowly welling up inside of him. Videl looked up at Gohan, only to see that he looked past Videl. She noticed that his eyes were flashing from black to teal and she could've sworn she saw his hair flash from black to gold briefly. She was going to shake it off until she saw it happen again and it happened long enough to get a good look at it.

"G-Gohan..? Your hair is flashing..." Videl said in shock.

Gohan snapped out of his angered state and calmed down in an attempt to hide his other secret, but it was too late. Videl had already seen enough of it to put everything together.

"So you are the Gold fighter as well... But how did you make your hair do that?"

Gohan sighed in defeat. "Yes, I'm him as well." Gohan confessed as he pulled away from Videl and stood up. He flashed completely into super Saiyan in front of Videl, his golden aura surrounding him like a golden flame.

"Oh my god... How is such a thing even possible?"

"Only those of my race can do this. This is a secret I had hoped not to tell you for some time, but it seems now is as good of a time as any." Gohan started. "You see, Videl. I'm not completely human. My dad was born on a different planet called Vegeta. He is what is known as a Saiyan. They look very similar to humans, except their strength and durability is far higher than a humans, plus they have a natural affinity to use Ki. This form you see me in know was once a legend among the Saiyan's. It's called Super Saiyan." Gohan explained.

"Not very original if you ask me." Videl said, she was still shocked, but it made sense to her as to how Gohan was so strong now.

Gohan chuckled. "Yea I agree. But anyway, Saiyan's were once known as very proud and very powerful warriors. They were bred to fight, it was in their blood. My dad was sent here as an infant to take over this world, but something happened to him that changed his heart and eventually became one of its defenders. We protected the world from all kinds of threats that would come."

"Even Cell?" Videl asked.

Gohan smiled. "You really are very quick to put things together. Yes, we were the group of mysterious fighters that showed up at the Cell games. Your dad made us look like we were nothing more than 'tricksters' as he put it. But as you have seen for yourself, this is no trick."

Videl nodded. "I can see that. Wait, so you were that little boy that was there, weren't you?" Gohan nodded. "That means it was you who really defeated Cell, not my dad..."

Gohan nodded again. "Yea.. I killed Cell."

"So, then my dad lied to the whole world just to gain fame and fortune at your expense.." Videl said as anger started rising within her.

"To be honest, I'm glad he did. My family would never have a moments peace what with the reporters and what not surrounding us day and night. We may not have a lot, bit we don't need much to be happy. You got to get anything you wanted or needed and I'm happy for that." Gohan said with complete honesty.

"You really are a selfless soul, aren't you.." Videl said in amazement.

"Thank my mom and dad for that." Gohan chuckled. "We should be getting back on track to capsule Corp now. Bulma is probably wondering what's taking us so long."

Videl nodded and Gohan picked her back up in his arms and they flew off at high speed again. The rest of the trip was spent in silence as Gohan continued to fly to Bulma's, but now he had a newfound sense of duty. He mentally decided that he was going to protect Videl so long as they both drew breath.

 _'I will make it my job to make sure this doesn't happen again. I may have not known about that incident, but anymore that come up I will protect her from. I care for her far too much to let her handle something like that again, alone.'_ Gohan thought.

"Did you say something?" Videl asked.

"Huh? No, I didn't say anything."

Videl cocked an eyebrow and then shrugged it off, thinking it was the wind that constantly pelted her ears.

 _'Did she just hear my thoughts?'_ Gohan said to himself, but quickly shook that idea off as they landed in front of Capsule Corp. They both walked through the double glass sliding doors and were greeted by the receptionist.

"Ah, Mr. Son! Always a pleasure to see you. I'll let Miss Bulma know you're here." The woman said as she walked down the hall to talk to Bulma.

"So, Gohan. This Super Saiyan ability. Are you the only one who can do it?" Videl asked.

Gohan shook his head. "My dad was the first in a very long time that could do it. Then the other full blooded Saiyan, Vegeta, You'll meet him while we're here."

"Why would he be here?"

"He's Bulma's husband." Gohan said and Videl nodded. "I was the third to transform. My little brother and Vegeta's son, Trunks, can do it as well."

Videl nodded. "Wish I could do that. Sounds and looks like an awesome ability."

It was then that a light-bulb went off in Gohan's head and he grabbed Videl by the hand and led her to the arboretum. it was a wide open space full of trees, bushes and various other forms of foliage.

"Why did you bring me here?" Videl asked.

Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan and grabbed Videl's other hand.

"I'm going to let you experience the power of a Super Saiyan. Close your eyes and I will transfer my power to you. This should give you the feeling of being one and also the appearance for a brief moment." Gohan explained.

Videl was starting to feel giddy over this sudden proclamation and she quickly nodded her head and closed her eyes. She then felt a warm sensation travel up her arms and it soon engulfed her entire body. She could feel her hair moving about and the hair ties that kept her hair in pigtails broke away as her heir spiked completely up in a similar fashion to Goku's, save for a few strands of hair that remained on her forehead and in front of her ears. The feeling of this new power made her feel unstoppable. She felt strong, confident and just overall, safe. It was the best feeling in the world.

"You can open your eyes now." She heard Gohan say. Videl slowly opened her eyes and looked at Gohan. Gohan saw Videl's eyes and was shocked at what he saw. Videl's eyes went from cerulean blue to completely teal. He had done this with his mother and Bulma in the past and this never happened. It did with Goten but that was because he is a half Saiyan. He put it on the back burner for now and focused on the task at hand.

"I'm going to let go now. You got the feeling of a Super Saiyan now. It will linger for a few more moments as the energy starts to deplete." Gohan explained.

Once Gohan pulled away, Videl immediately pulled out her phone and had Gohan take a picture. Gohan did as was instructed and handed it back to Videl. She looked at it and gasped.

"Wooow..." Videl whispered out. Videl then finally felt the energy she absorbed from Gohan flee her body and her hair and eyes went back to normal. Videl would always keep that picture as a reminder to what she could have been if she was a Saiyan. Little did she know that she is half Saiyan but she had no way of knowing for certain at the time.

Videl continued to look at the picture and smiled. "I make a damn fine blonde if I do say so myself."

"Hey brat. What's going on in here?" A loud, deep and raspy voice sounded. Gohan and Videl turned to the source of it and noticed Vegeta standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Vegeta." Gohan greeted, receiving a grunt from the prince.

Vegeta noticed that Gohan was transformed and he senses some remaining energy fleeing Videl's body and he put everything together.

"Letting your mate experience a taste of the power we have, huh?" Vegeta said with a smirk.

"Shes not my mate, Vegeta. But yes. She wanted to know what it was like to be a super Saiyan." Gohan replied back, then via mental link, Gohan continued. _'Her eyes changed color.'_ Gohan thought to Vegeta.

Vegeta was shocked at what he just heard. _'You lie... When the woman and your mother experienced it, their eyes never changed, just their hair.'_

 _'I know that, Vegeta. I was there. But I saw it with my own eyes and Videl's phone has a picture of it. You can clearly see her eyes have changed.'_ Gohan replied.

"Videl, let Vegeta see your picture." Gohan said out loud. Videl nodded and handed her phone to Vegeta. The prince examined the photo and sure enough, it captured her teal eyes. Vegeta looked back up at Videl, who was putting her hair back into pigtails and noticed that her eyes were blue.

 _'So, she's a Saiyan then.'_ Vegeta concluded.

 _'I thought about that too, but there is no way of knowing for sure. Don't tell her yet in case it isn't true. I don't want her to panic.'_

Vegeta grunted but nodded in agreement and handed Videl back her phone. "You would make a decent Super Saiyan." Vegeta said.

Videl smirked. "I know. I just wish I could become one on my own."

Vegeta smirked. "This one is a keeper, Gohan. Don't let this one slip away." Vegeta said as he left the room.

Gohan and Videl blushed. "Why do all my friends try to get dates for me..." Gohan sighed.

 _'Honestly, I wouldn't mind at all.'_ Videl thought.

"Huh? What did you say?" Gohan asked.

"What? I didn't say anything." Videl said

Gohan shrugged it off and he and Videl left the arboretum and met Bulma in the foyer.

"Great of you to come by, Gohan. This new invention of mine will definitely be the best one I have made yet." Bulma proudly proclaimed. That was when she noticed Videl and an evil smirk came to her face. "So, little Gohan found himself a girlfriend finally." Bulma said.

Gohan blushed madly while Videl tried to hide hers. "NO! It's not like that. Shes just a friend from school that I'm training."

"'Training,' huh? I may not be a Saiyan but I'm not stupid." Bulma said, then she just shrugged. "Well, whatever. Come on, lets go test this baby out." Bulma finally said.

After a few minutes of walking, they came to Bulma's lab and walked inside. There stood a massive machine that looked like some sort of gateway.

"This is my Dimensional Gate. It can send an object or a person to another dimension and bring them back unharmed." Bulma said.

"You based it off of Stargate didn't you?" Videl inquired.

Bulma was taken aback by the statement. "You watch that show?" Bulma asked and Videl nodded.

"I watch it sometimes. Usually when my dad is watching his Cell games tapes over and over, which is almost always." Videl stated.

"Her dad is Hercule, Bulma." Gohan said.

Bulma nodded. "I thought you looked familiar. You're Videl Satan aren't you?" Videl nodded. "Well that's cool, I guess.."

"You don't have to pretend around me. Gohan told me it was him who really beat Cell. I know he can be insufferable at times, but he's all I have." Videl said calmly.

Bulma nodded and walked over to the control panel and started pushing buttons. "I'm going to send some containers through and bring them back. This its first trial run so this will be interesting." Bulma said. She locked the scanner onto number 24, the number that determined the universe to where it was going.

The machine started whirring to life as a portal started forming. The gateway glowed brightly in a multitude of colors and soon a large, white portal appeared. Bulma started operating a overhead crane to put the boxes through, when suddenly an alarm started sounding and red lights were flashing.

"SHIT!" Bulma shouted. "The portal has become unstable and I can't shut it down!"

Suddenly, a scream made Bulma look up as Videl was sucked into the Portal.

"GOHAN!" Videl screamed as she was sucked through the portal, followed by the two containers.

"VIDEL!" Gohan yelled as he charged after her.

"NO GOHAN! NOT YOU TOO!" Bulma shouted but it was too late. Gohan was gone and then the portal stability went critical and the machine exploded.

* * *

Back to present events.

 _'I never should have brought Videl with me that day. I could kick myself for that ever happening. Now she's in trouble again and I have to save her!'_ Gohan thought as he quickly approached what was left of Tenchi Bridge.

* * *

At the remnants of the Tenchi bridge…

Too much time had passed for Sakura's liking. How much time had passed exactly, she didn't know. An hour? A few minutes? It didn't matter because she was _still_ in the process of healing Naruto.

 _'Why is this taking so long? Why isn't the Kyuubi helping to speed up Naruto's healing?'_ She thought. For once, her Inner self was at a loss for words.

 _'Naruto…'_ Inner Sakura thought.

If there was one thing the Demon Fox was good for it was the enhanced healing he provided for his vessel. Sakura had spent more than enough time in the burn ward to know that the rate of Naruto's recovery was taking a lot longer than it normally would even if he was a normal human.

 _'Woah there girl, are you trying to suggest that our Baka is a demon?'_ Inner Sakura berated Sakura.

 _'I meant that he isn't normal, he's Naruto. And I never meant that in a bad way. Where did that come from anyway?'_

 _'We don't know, I-I'm just nervous…I've never seen Naruto so…'_

 _'It's fine Inner. His recovery might be slow, but it is consistent. His life isn't in any danger.'_

 _'Good, that's good…I think I'll just pop over to Master Control and get our emotions straightened away. No doubt those girls are going crazy with everything that…yeah…'_ Inner said while scampering off to who knows where.

Sakura sighed. It was a weird change up that she would have to consult her Inner self when usually it was the other way around. Maybe it was because on the inside she wanted to freak out and demand answers while the higher part of her brain knew enough to maintain her focus on the situation at hand.

Once Sakura returned to the Leaf she would have to thank Lady Tsunade for all those stress tests she put the young medic through. To be able to stay calm and collected even while you wanted to tear your own hair out was an invaluable skill.

"Sakura…" Came a voice back in reality.

Sakura looked up for just long enough to realize that it was Kakashi who had spoken to her. Immediately she returned to her work. "What is it Kakashi-sensei? In case you haven't realized I am trying to concentrate." She said with an annoyed tone.

"I just wanted to get our bearings. What can you tell me about Naruto's status?" Kakashi asked. Typical of him to be the one to remind Sakura that they were still on a mission and that there was more to the world than healing Naruto.

"…Right. I applied a sedative jutsu to ease the patient's pain and lower his BP. Once his breathing and pulse became regular I gave him a quick chakra scan, which revealed no broken bones or severed arteries, so his life isn't in any immediate danger. The main problem is the patient's multiple 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over his body. To combat his skin from drying up and restricting his lungs from expanding I applied a water based jutsu that moistens the patients skin. With that in place I am in the process of using the Mystic Palm technique to excel cell growth to replace the patient's dead cells." Sakura listed off her medical report. It was just like she was back with Tsunade practicing on patients in the burn ward and was asked to explain her step by step process.

"In English, Sakura." Her squad leader asked.

Sakura looked back up, offended that Kakashi would use that tone with her during this situation.

"The patient is not combat ready, Sir." She reported, not willing to bring herself to think of the man beneath her as anything other than her patient. It was something else that Tsunade had taught her, perhaps the most crucial thing. In the most critical moments, you must never think of a patient as your friend. Treating loved ones leads to emotional decisions and emotional decisions lead to bad calls.

 _'Hello? Can you guys here me?'_ A voice in Team 7's collective heads asked.

 _'Gohan?_ Kakashi thought. _Is that you?'_

 _'Yeah, it's me. I sensed a massive power fluctuation coming from your team's direction and now I can't sense Videl's energy. What happened?'_

 _'The mission encountered a massive hiccup. Orochimaru showed up, Naruto went ballistic and is out cold now, and Videl was captured by Orochimaru.'_

 _'Shit, Videl…'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Gohan I hate to ask this, but do you have any more senzu beans on you? Naruto could sure use the pick-me-up right now.'_

 _'Yeah sure, I've got a few beans left. I'm already on route to your location. I'll be there in a few moments and we can rescue Videl together.'_

 _'Understood.'_ Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, finally some good news.

While both Kakashi and Yamato were overjoyed at the thought of some back up, Sakura felt dejected. All her frantic struggles and worry over the last few minutes were now wasted. Soon Gohan would arrive with his magic bean and Naruto would be good as new. Rendering what meager help Sakura could provide to Naruto who already had accelerated healing even more pointless.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Captain Yamato." Sakura said. The ANBU captain perked up at the sound of his code-name.

"That jutsu you used to seal Naruto. Could you teach it to me?" The girl asked.

"I'm afraid that is impossible. That jutsu I used uses wood style kekkei genkai, unique only to the 1st Hokage. I am just lucky enough to have his cells implanted into my DNA and survive. Thanks entirely to our very own snake friend." Sakura frowned. Just how far did that bastard's influence go to ruin other people's lives?

"It's part of the reason he was chosen to join us on this mission Sakura." Kakashi commented.

"It's always like this, huh?" Sakura asked. The two jounin raised confused eyebrows.

"The only things I can do for Naruto…are so small and insignificant…" A single tear ran down the girl's face, finally let loose.

"Sakura, no. Don't you think that, don't you ever think that." Yamato stated, much to the surprise of Kakashi. "What you did today, what you are doing now, is invaluable not only to Naruto, but to all of us on the team." Sakura looked up, a glimmer of hope ready to show itself on her face.

"We never would have stopped Naruto if it wasn't for you. And we sure as Hell wouldn't be able to provide the medical care for him that you are doing now." Yamato pointed out.

"Besides, it's not about the size of what you can do for Naruto, but your feelings behind it." Yamato wisely stated.

"Sakura, even I can tell that you truly care for Naruto."

 _'Yeah, no shit Woody. He's only our boyfriend and the love of our life.'_ Inner Sakura stated.

 _'Nice to hear that you are back to normal.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Yup, good as new.'_ Inner Sakura pounded her chest the way Naruto would to show that she was ready for action.

"Thank you, Captain Yamato." Sakura sighed in relief. Just then Naruto began to stir and Kakashi could see a flying silhouette on the horizon.

The moment Gohan arrived he saw Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato standing at one end of the bridge trying to come up with a plan to rescue Videl when Gohan descended and landed in front of them.

"It's a good thing you showed up" Kakashi said.

"What happened." Gohan stated seriously.

"Videl was taken by Kabuto and Orochimaru. Who knows why. Naruto is out of commission for the moment and Videl has the senzu beans." Yamato explained

Gohan nodded. "Glad I brought my own." Gohan pulled a bean from his pouch. He walked over to Sakura and handed it to her. "That should fix him up." Gohan said.

Sakura nodded as she looked upon Gohan's Headband. "Never saw a headband like that." She stated as she turned her attention back to Naruto and fed him the bean. After a brief moment, all of Naruto's injuries were healed and we woke up to see a near crying Sakura and Gohan with an odd headband he had never seen before.

"Hey Gohan. Hey Sakura-chan." Naruto said weakly.

Sakura sobbed softly. "You idiot! Do you know how worried I was?!"

"How much do you remember, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto, after sitting up, tilted his head downward. "All of it.." He stated quietly. "I'm so sorry if I hurt you, Sakura-chan."

"Forget about it. I was worth it to save your dumb ass. But we got more pressing matters to tend to." Sakura said, calming down.

Naruto looked up. He still hated himself for letting himself be consumed with so much hatred, but he knew that Videl had been taken and that She was top priority.

"Which way did those creeps take her?" Gohan stated seriously.

Kakashi pointed to the direction they went. "They went that way a little while ago, no doubt to Orochimaru's hideout."

Gohan focused his senses and found 3 power levels. one was faint, but the other two were good size compared to the average person on this planet. It was some distance away, but he was confident that he could make it there in no time.

"They seem to be about 20 miles from here. A short trip for me. I'm gonna go on ahead and take care of things."

"Are you nuts?! Orochimaru is-"

"Sakura, that's enough. Gohan is in charge of this mission now." Kakashi ordered.

"What?" Sakura said confused.

"My headband signifies that I am a member of the newly formed Neo Z Fighters. I am going to lead a new group of fighters who protect the world form serious disasters and other incidents that would require mine or my teams attention." Gohan explained.

"That's really cool." Naruto and Sakura said at the same time.

"Glad you think so, because I want to add you two to my team. But we'll talk about that later." Gohan said.

With a mighty yell, Gohan transformed into Super Saiyan 2 and blasted off in the direction where he sensed those power levels, leaving the 4 shinobi in the dust. As Gohan flew towards the spot where Videl could be, he sensed a massive spike in energy that completely dwarfed his normal state. He recognized that source as Videl. Somehow, Videl was finally able to ascend, but it didn't feel like a true super Saiyan transformation. Something was off about it yet, it felt familiar.

* * *

Sometime later, five miles east of the Tenchi bridge…

The remnants of Team 7 were sprinting around the mile wide crater created by Orochimaru and Kyuubi Naruto's battle. At least 640 acres of forest were wiped off the map like a giant finger had descended from on high to smudge the spot of land into dirt. To the initiated, such as Kakashi and Yamato, it was just another battle scar upon the land, seen a million times over during the course of the last war. For Naruto, it was a sobering reminder of the terribly awesome power he possessed deep within himself, and that was not a flattering thought. Such destruction happened because he let the seal slip, just a single crack in the barrier was all the Fox needed to erode Naruto's thoughts and send him on a rampage. That wasn't the worst of it though…

Naruto looked to his Sakura-chan who was also looking at the destruction he had caused. Her face held a kind of frightened awe. But even that wasn't what troubled Naruto the most. It was her back, or at least what was on her back before Gohan had given her the senzu bean. The back of Sakura's vest was torn to shreds, even now Naruto could still see the outline of claw marks. Not even Naruto was so dim to not put two and two together.

"Sakura-chan...I think we should stop seeing one another."

"If this is about the 9 tailed fox I already told you its fine."

"No Sakura! It's not fine!" Sakura looked back at her boyfriend. He never called her just Sakura of wasn't being serious. Kakashi and Yamato looked back at the couple, wondering if they should intervene now and delay their talk or waste time now sorting it out and have the whole team be focused.

Sakura decided for them. "Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato, could you give us a minute?"

"We'll scout ahead. Wrap this up quick you two." Kakashi warned. He and Yamato poured on the speed, giving the couple some privacy.

Sakura wanted to keep talking while they kept sprinting, but Naruto had different ideas. He leapt down to the ground and waited for Sakura who had to sprint back towards him.

"It's over Sakura…" Naruto looked at his feet.

"No Baka, it isn't." Sakura walked up to her idiot boyfriend to give him a hug but he stepped back.

"Sakura! I can't! I hurt you!" He frantically shouted, on the verge of pulling his hair out.

"You didn't mean to Naruto, it was an accident." She softly said.

"It was a mistake! No, not a mistake, it was bigger than that! I almost got you killed!" He sputtered out.

"Naruto…" Sakura felt tears running down her cheeks.

"I was angry! So angry, at Orochimaru that I wanted to hurt him. And I tapped into the Fox's chakra, and I let him in, and I lost control! And Sakura, I hurt you!"

"Naruto, you didn't-

"The claw marks on your back. Don't you DARE tell me I didn't do that to you!" Naruto's own tears streaked down his face.

"You didn't mean to-

"I'm the Jinchuriki to the Nine Tailed Fox! It's my responsibility to keep the Demon Fox at bay and prevent stuff like this from happening! If you're around me…the Fox might hurt you again…" He choked.

Sakura stepped closer but Naruto grabbed her shoulders and held her at arm's length.

"I couldn't bare it, I couldn't bare it if I ended up hurting you like that again. I can barely bare it now after it's happened. And if next time I ki…I kil…" He couldn't even say it. He was hyperventilating. His knees were weak. Sakura took this opportunity to step closer and wrap her boyfriend in a hug. This time he didn't pull back from her. Naruto felt his cheek pressed close against the back of Sakura's head, a part of him felt bad for getting tears and snot in her hair, but the rest just wanted to relish the feeling of her soft hair pressed against his face and the feeling of her arms drapped around him in a gentle-wait now the hug felt tight…TOO TIGHT!

Sakura had brought the blond idiot in as close as possible with her chakra enhanced hug. The two of them could actually here Naruto's spine cracking.

"Sakura-chan, too tight! Too tight! It hurts!" He wheezed out.

"GOOD! It should hurt! You stupid, stupid, lame brained, dimwitted, dumbass, idiot, Baka of a dunce!" She sobbed. Her own tears and dripping down Naruto's backside. All at once her grip loosened to a much gentler hug with just enough iron grip to ensure that the clueless boy wasn't going anywhere.

"You're always pushing yourself too hard, making me worry about you, and then you say you think it would be better if I wasn't around you anymore? How do you think that makes me feel?"

Naruto couldn't respond. Leave it to Sakura to be the brains of the relationship.

"It hurt worse than when I crushed your ribs just now. I said I was going to stand by your side through thick and thin until the end. Did you think I was just saying that? That was my promise of a lifetime to you." Sakura cradled her head in the crook of Naruto's neck.

"Sakura-chan."

"You are not the Demon Fox. You are Naruto Uzumaki. Say it!"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Louder!"

"I'M NARUTO UZUMAKI, YA KNOW!"

"Damn right you are, shannaro. And I know for a fact that Naruto Uzumaki would never hurt me. So if I have to wrestle with the Kyuubi every time he gets past your seal in order to be with you, well you tell that damn Fox that I'll take him on anytime, anywhere. Neither of you are getting rid of me that easily."

Naruto was crying even louder now. He couldn't help it, God damn he did not deserve someone so amazing to be so devoted to him.

"You remember when Iruka gave us that speech at the end of the 2nd exam of the chunin exam? He said you needed to improve your heaven or your brains and I needed to improve my earth or body."

Naruto chuckled. "How could I forget? I guess that makes us earth and heaven right?" He smiled for the first time since waking up to see Sakura kneeling over him.

"Yeah, it does. I consider you to be my sunshine, Naruto. And if you're my heaven, then I'll be your earth. I'll be the thing that keeps you grounded and lets you rest your weary body." At this statement Naruto laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing its just…you certainly put a lot of thought into this. No wonder you're the brains of this operation, Sakura-chan. It's what I love about you. Well, one of the things anyway."

"Baka, I'm the brains because you are such an idiot."

"Yeah I am, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

The tenchi lovers just stood there in each others embrace for a few minutes more. Either of them would give anything to let this moment go on forever. As always, they were needed elsewhere.

"We really need to go save Videl now…" Naruto said.

"Yeah we do…" Sakura replied.

"Even though Gohan has probably got everything all under control?" The blond asked.

"It would be rude if we didn't make the effort to show up…" The pinkette replied.

"Right…are we good?"

"Of course we are…"

"So does that mean you'll heal my broken ribs now?"

"No, my heart still kinda hurts because you suggested that we break up over something so stupid." Sakura teased.

"Sakura…"

"I know, I know…It just seemed stupid to me that you would ever give up on something…"

"Huh…yeah you're right, that doesn't sound like me at all."

"Course I'm right, I'm the brains remember?"

"Which makes me the beauty." He smirked.

"Baka, I'm the beauty."

"No fair, you're already the brains."

"Shut up, you're the muscles and you'll like it."

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, Sakura-chan." She slugged him in the gut for that one.

"Idiot, the moment's ruined." Sakura sighed and untangled herself from her idiot boyfriend's embrace. Time to get serious. "Ok Beauty Queen, we still have a rookie teammate to save. Let's go!" Sakura ordered.

"Yes Ma'am!" The two of them sprinted off into the trees with a renewed vigor, each feeling lighter than ever before.

* * *

 **Just to clarify some things, I have little to no influence on the NaruSaku scenes. That is all done by samuraipanda85. He's the Naruto expert and I'm the DBZ expert, granted I am having Videl a little OOC in this chapter, but for good reason.**

 **Today, 10/28/2015 is the 2 year anniversary that I lost the love of my life to a horrific car accident. What was worse is that be being a first responder, I can the extremely difficult task of pronouncing her dead on arrival. An 18 wheeler rolled on top of her car, killing her instantly. One of the horrible memories she told me about which only made us closer was similar to what I described Videl to have gone through. We were both avid fans of DBZ and she would always call me her Gohan while I called her my Videl. I was days away from proposing to her when this happened. I nearly quit my profession right then and there, but she always loved me being a firefighter and EMT. Being a first responder, you learn after a while that you can't save them all, I just wish she wasn't one of the ones I couldn't save. This chapter is dedicated to her and the memories I have of her.**

 **Aside from that, you now know how Gohan and Videl ended up in the Narutoverse. Next chapter is the conclusion of the Tenchi Bridge arc. The next arc is completely non-canon from the Naruto story.**

 **Also some have stated that I killed Sasuke just so I could do this pairing. That is not true. The pairing would have happened whether he was alive or dead. The purpose for him being dead is for the next Arc.**

 ** _In loving memory and dedication to Melissa Thomas, RN for O'Conner Hospital in Delhi NY._**

 ** _4-8-1990 / 10-28-2013_**


	10. Chapter 10: Orochimaru's Demise

Videl could hardly remember a thing. She stirred and turned on a hard surface as she tried to come to her senses. She had no idea where she was or what happened, but she knew enough to know that wherever she was, it wasn't good.

"Ugh.. Where am I..." Videl groaned. Her voice echoed throughout the room she was in. She thought she could hear a voice speaking to her, but she couldn't discern it. Her senses were still blocked.

'The last thing I remember was going to help Naruto take on that snake bastard. I saw Naruto take him out, I tried to calm him down and...' Videl froze. She remembered what had happened that led to her current status and her senses snapped back to her. Her eyes shot wide open as she struggled to move her body. She felt that she was being held down by something. It wasn't a lot of pressure to her, but it was enough to keep her in place without using her full strength.

She looked around the room and could see various medical tubing hanging from the ceiling, glass cabinets the walls, a pungent mix of medical chemicals permeated the chilly air in the room, which added to the whole creepy vibe that Videl was already getting. She shivered at the thought of what this place could possibly be. She never liked hospitals and this seemed far worse than that.

"Where in the hell am I?" Videl nearly shouted.

"You are in my lab, my dear." A cold, deep voice hissed. Videl knew who it was almost instantly.

"Orochimaru..." Videl growled. "What do you want with me you bastard.."

"Fufufu...Everything." He hissed.

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

Orochimaru stepped back from Videl's bedside to pace around her.

"Tell me child. Do you enjoy being a ninja?"

"Where are you going with this? I wouldn't have done years worth of training in less than a month if I didn't"

"Oh come now child, humor me. Do you enjoy bring a ninja?"

"Fine... Yes, I love being a Ninja."

A smile crept across Orochimaru's face. "What a coincidence. I too love being a ninja."

Videl looked at him with a disturbed look on her face.

"I love everything about being a ninja. The fighting, the camaraderie, the plebs dying by their thousands in wars, but most of all I enjoy the jutsus."

"So you're a power hungry lunatic who wants as many Jutsu's as possible. To do that, you absorb the techniques others have learned. Am I right?"

"Wow...just going to jump right ahead on my monologue? Do the people of your world not practice the sacred art of monologing?"

"They do, but I usually figure everything out before they get a chance to finish. Usually that is when they are face first in the dirt after I kicked their asses"

"My how droll." Orochimaru sighed. "Yes child. I desire jutsus. I desire every jutsu imaginable. Just as the first man to create the color green did so by combining the colors of blue and yellow. I too shall create and master every possible combination of all the hand signs and all the chakras to create all the jutsus. But attaining such a feat takes time. Time that lesser mortals do not possess. I however, have transcended lesser mortals and have found a way to achieve true immortality. Which brings us back to you."

Videl glared at the Snake sannin.

"Or rather, to your lover."

Videl just smirked. "Like you could ever touch Gohan. He is leagues above you and so am I for that matter."

"You are right child. Your Gohan is far too powerful to be within my reach. You however..." Orochimaru reaches forward to cup Videl's cheek. "Are more attainable."

Across the room, Kabuto stepped out of the shadows with a syringe in his hand.

"Suffice it to say, girl. Your body is merely a stepping stone for me to obtain the vessel I truly desire." The snake hissed. "And when I have the blood of two half Saiyans coursing through my veins, I shall be strong enough to take my other vessel that was denied to me years ago, Itachi Uchiha. And then I shall be that much closer to achieving my perfect form."

"Funny thing is, you're not the first person to say that. The last one to say that was obliterated by Gohan 7 years ago. There is no such thing as perfection, no matter who you look at it." Videl stated coldly.

Orochimaru backhanded Videl. "That will be enough from you.."

"And you hit like a toddler." Videl added, which angered the Sannin even more.

Kabuto leaned over with his needle sticking dangerously close to Videl's arm vein.

"Now go to sleep, little one. We have much conditioning to go through before you can be considered a proper vessel for me."

Videl broke her bonds and knocked the needle out of Kabuto's hand. She jumped off the table and landed on her feet and stared down the now completely shocked Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Like Hell you'll do anything to me."

"My Lord!" Kabuto cried out in shock. Orochimaru ignored him, staying focused on his prey as expected of a snake.

"Impressive little one. How on Earth did you manage to break free of those restraints? Those seals were meant to replicate 60x Earth's normal gravity. Not even Tsunade would be able to break free of them with brute force."

Videl broke out laughing. "60 times? That's it? I train in 150 times gravity in Gohan's gravity room. 60 times is nothing for me."

Orochimaru chuckled trying to hide his nervousness. "And suddenly you seem more desirable than a bronze medal."

"Only a bronze medal huh? I'm offended."

"Considering the long list of other candidates, I would think that you would be honored." Orochimaru said as Kabuto tried to sneak away.

Videl raised her hands up with one open palm over the other.

"Masenko-HA!" Videl shouted as the blast hit right in front of Kabuto blowing him away. "The only way either of you two are leaving here is in a pine box."

Orochimaru tilted his head back and stuck his hand down his throat.

'Gross' thought Videl.

The snake sannin pulled out a silver bladed sword with a snake hilt design as its handle.

"It seems you are still underestimating your position, little one. Let me correct you." The sannin took up a fencers position pointing his sword arm at Videl and holding his other arm behind his back.

"... A sword? Really? Perhaps you need to be educated more as to who exactly you are dealing with. Kaioken!" A red aura flashed over Videl as her hair took on a red hue and spiked up slightly.

"Like this, I have enough power to level the ground into a glass parking lot spanning a 10 mile radius."

"Is this how all fights begin in your universe, Saiyan? A dong measuring contest?" Orochimaru walked to the left keeping Videl's attention on him while Kabuto escaped out of the room to gather help for his lord. "In this world of ninjas, we let skills dictate the outcome of battle."

"Then shut up and lets go." Videl demanded as she charged Orochimaru so fast that the Sanin had no time to react and was punched through a wall.

Orochimaru's form was crumpled to an unrecognizable tangle of limbs, yet before Videl could mentally declare her victory, fingers spouted out of what remained of Orochimaru's mouth and a fresh new Sannin body crawled out.

"You'll have to do better then that, half breed." Orochimaru fired off a quick succession of hand signs, slow enough for Videl to see them all clearly. While Videl was trying to remember what kind of jutsu was being released based upon the order of the hand signs, she felt a biting sensation pierce through her neck.

While she was distracted, a snake hedged as some hanging medical tubing struck her from behind.

"As will you. HAAAAA!" Videl shouted, incinerating the snake and medical tubing into nothing but ashes. Once clear, she formed several sets of hand signs far too fast for the sannin to see.

"Fire style: Plasma Torch Jutsu!" A very thin stream of white and blue flames shot out of her mouth and carved a line through the wall and cut the snake sannin in half, cauterizing both half's of his body.

"Try to keep this together now will you?" Videl mocked with a smirk.

"I don't have to." Came the sannin's voice from the doorway. Videl did a quick double take to notice that the sannin she thought she torched in half was actual a pile of snakes and the real Orochimaru released a jutsu cloud of toxic gas into the room before sealing the door.

Videl coughed violently as she tried to figure out what just happened _. 'He used some kind of clone jutsu while I wasn't looking. This gas will knock me out of I don't think of something fast.'_ Videl thought.

Without much thought, Videl fired a powerful Ki blast that shot through the ceiling and through the roof of wherever she was to vent out the gas. Once most of the gas cleared, Videl gasped for air while she tried to get her bearings.

Meanwhile on the other side of the wall.

"Lord Orochimaru! The subject has blasted through the ceiling!" Kabuto radioed in.

"I am aware of that Kabuto. She is proving to be more powerful than anticipated. I will have to try different tactics if I wish to contain her. Usher the staff and the other test subjects away from this section. Then monitor our security feed and warn me if any of her friends show up."

"Understood. Good luck, my Lord."

Orochimaru did not respond and instead pondered what new tactics he could use against such a powerhouse.

"Alright. where the hell am I..." Videl said aloud as she looked around trying to get an idea of where she was.

She heard a knock on the heavy door separating her from Orochimaru. "Oh little whelp?! Are you still conscious? Please tell me you are. I'd hate to think I overestimated you more than I already have."

Videl growled as she blew a dump truck size hole through the wall there the door was, only to see that Orochimaru wasn't there.

"Grr... Quit fucking around!"

"Gladly." Came a voice to Videl's left. She turned to face it but felt a dozen snakes wrap around and constrict her limbs from behind. Meanwhile, Orochimaru appeared out of the shadows and brought his sword down aimed directly at Videl's heart.

'Shit' Videl thought as she flared up her aura and blew away the snakes just in time to dodge the sword. Videl got back up and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"You're a lot better than I thought, I'll give you that. But you're still going to die here, one way or another."

The sannin began to chuckle.

"Likewise, little one. It seems I was hasty in my judgment of your worth. You are raw yes, but you have so much potential. More potential than even the one called Gohan possesses."

Videl was taken aback by that statement. "W-what? what are you saying?"

Orochimaru relaxed his guard in an effort to make Videl think him sincere.

"I can see now that it would be such a waste to leave your training up to those lesser ninjas of the Leaf. Why don't you stay here and let me train you. Teach you everything I know. I will bring you to a level beyond even your lover's wildest fantasies. And you can use that power to protect those you love forever."

Videl was deep in thought. She had been seriously considering his offer, but then remembered how she got here and the stories that were told by her friends about Orochimaru. The most prominent one was the named Sasuke.

"As tempting of an offer as that may be, I must say no. You seem to underestimate Gohan and the ones from the Leaf greatly. You think I'm good? Gohan is a Super Saiyan and can train in 500 times gravity with the ability to wipe out whole solar systems in a single attack. If anyone can get me to his level and beyond, It's Gohan. He knows far more about Saiyan's than I could ever hope to. You are just an evil, twisted psychopath who honestly believes that absorbing peoples bodies is the true way to immortality. Let me tell you, it's far from it."

"And what I could present to you is a better offer. Allow me to train you and I will not pursue you or Gohan as my vessels any further."

Videl thought about it for a minute, but sensed Orochimaru's power level fluctuate momentarily. She knew right then and there that he was lying.

"Nice try. I know you're lying. One of the abilities I learned from Gohan was the ability to sense peoples energy. When I sensed yours when you were telling me your little song and dance, your power fluctuated. That means you are lying. You won't have me and you sure as hell wont have Gohan."

"I wasn't lying girl. I am offering you training you could never receive in the Leaf and in return I leave you and your lover alone to live happily ever after."

"Honestly I couldn't care if you were lying or not. The fact remains is that there is nothing you could offer me that would make me change my mind. Sasuke may have been dumb enough to take you up on your offer, but Gohan and I know better than to make a deal with the devil." Videl retorted. "Also, you underestimate the Leaf. With me being a shinobi among them, I am one of the strongest they have. Plus I have been training Naruto and Sakura in 150 times gravity as well, add to the fact that Sakura recently discovered a transformation ability that-" Videl cut herself off when she realized what she just said. 'IDIOT! Videl you fucking MORON!' Videl yelled at herself.

Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow. "The Haruno girl can transform, you say? That is quite an interesting subject. One I care very much to hear."

"Forget I even mentioned it. I wont tell you anything more and there isn't a damn thing you can offer me that would make me say different."

"Not even the safeguard of you, your lover, and your village? I may even be able to return to your home." Orochimaru said.

That got Videl's attention. "Oh yeah? And what's in it for you?" Videl asked.

"Your first born child."

"W-what! I'm not giving you any child of mine!"

"Silly child, do not be so quick to refuse. All I am asking is that years down the line when you and your love first conceive a child you simply not tell him or anyone else about it. You would go on a simple mission and become 'captured by rogue forces. Nine months later you would be found by the Leaf with a wiped memory and free to continue your life together with Gohan. Never to hear again from me or my forces."

"Just so you can fulfill your evil ambitions?! Fat chance asshole!"

Disappointed that negotiations had fell through, Orochimaru lunged at Videl who made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Suddenly she was surrounded by darkness.

"W-what the hell?" Videl stammered out

What was once a dimly lit corridor was now an abyss of inky darkness.

'A Genjutsu? Does he seriously think I would fall for something like this?' Videl scoffed in her mind. Until a figure presented itself to her.

"Disgusting." it whispered.

"W-what?"

"I said you're disgusting. How could anyone love a violent girl such as you." The voice clarified.

"Who are you? Show yourself creep!"

"I can't believe out of all the girls to be stuck with in this other dimension it had to be you." Said the voice from behind Videl.

Videl slowly turned around. She knew who it already was, but her eyes had to confirm it. Sadly she was right. Gohan stood there before her.

"Gohan? What are you talking about? You saved me countless times over the past several months, you helped train me, you helped me understand my Saiyan roots. We are in love and we have made love on more than one occasion. This, This can't be you."

"I could have been with Angela, or Erasa or even no one else at all and I would have my pick of the girls in this dimension. Instead I have to feel guilty about leaving you all alone. What guy would want a girl stronger than him anyway?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Videl shouted trying to fight back tears, forgetting where she was.

"You're so damaged too. Why that teacher wanted to have his way with you I'll never understand. You may have been disgusting before, but now you are just impure."

Videl's heart felt like it had been smashed. Gohan struck such a tender nerve that Videl just wanted to end her life right now because of it. She had never felt so alone. But the more she thought about it, the more angrier she got. She then remembered that she was in a genjutsu cast by the Snake bastard himself and that this wasn't her Gohan.

"No... You're not really Gohan. Gohan would never say anything like that to anyone. Even against Cell, he wouldn't be that cruel." Videl said quietly as she looked up at the fake Gohan.

"You are nothing more than an illusion created by a mad man! You are not Gohan! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN I LOVE! YOU ARE A LIE!"

"No. I am the man you love." Gohan spoke. "But you are unworthy of my love. So much so that I'd rather kill myself then waste another moment living a lie."

Gohan then twisted his head to the side, keeping his arms still, he kept forcing his neck muscles that began to twitch in defiance until finally...

SNAP!

Gohan fell to the ground like a puppet who's strings had been cut.

Videl stood there in shock. She had just witnessed the image of the man she loves die before her. She was enraged. Not over the fact that Gohan died, she new he wasn't real. She was enraged that the Snake bastard made her live through this horror and that he created it for her. It was in that moment that something in her snapped.

"ENOUGH OF THE LIES!" Videl roared as her skin turned from her tanned pink color to a pale orange. Her hair spiked up in a similar fashion to Gohan's and turned to a very dark shade of red. The pupils of her eyes were gone and all that was left were the whites of her eyes. Her aura changed into a dull golden color as her power erupted from all sides, blowing away the Genjutsu.

Outside of the shroud of darkness, Orochimaru watched in horror as Videl took on her transformation. Her power had risen immensely, he knew that much and he had no way of gauging ones power. But he didn't need to. He knew that at this moment, he was thoroughly screwed.

 **"Nothing will save you from me now, Orochimaru. You dug your grave, and now you will sleep in it!"** Videl said darkly, her voice echoing demonically as if she was two people talking at the same time.

Videl brought her hands to her right side and cupped them as blue Ki charged in them. Orochimaru was absolutely stunned with evident fear that he couldn't move.

 **"KAA MEE HAA MEE HAAAAAA!"** Videl shouted as the energy blast erupted from her hands and created a blast so large that it completely engulfed the Sannin and the entire facility they were in. Outside, the beam engulfed an area of at least a 15 mile radius as a beam shot out of the dome of energy and into space.

* * *

Miles away, just past Tenchi Bridge, Team 7 stopped dead in their tracks as they witnessed the massive explosion of energy rock the landscape around them.

"Holy hell in a hand-basket..." Naruto gasped out.

"What in the world is that?" Sakura asked to no one in particular.

 _'That was a Kamehameha from Videl.'_ Gohan said into their minds. _'It seems she has unlocked a lessor form of our Kekkei Genkai and her power has risen immensely. I can't sense Orochimaru anymore.'_ Gohan finished.

"What does that mean?" Kakashi asked.

 _'Generally, when we cant sense a persons energy, it means that they are either too far away, their power just isn't high enough to be detected, or they're dead. I'm betting on the latter based on the output of Videl's power against Orochimaru's power level.'_ Gohan replied.

Looks of shock ran across the faces of the present members of Team 7 and Yamato. _'Could someone have finally killed Orochimaru?'_ They all collectively thought.

 _'Honestly, I would be more surprised if she couldn't. If Orochimaru survived that blast, which i doubt, it would only be for a moment. When a Saiyan in this state, their rage and instincts act for them and any reasoning is thrown out the window.'_ Gohan said.

"Like that Oozu-whatever form you told as about?" Naruto asked.

 _'Oozaru, and yea something like that. Except this transformation is far stronger than that form.'_ Gohan said as his mind wandered to the memory of Goku becoming this form against Slug. He remembered how destructive Goku was during that transformed state and how shot it lasted. _'I need to go on ahead. That form only lasts for a few moments and I need to make sure she is okay.'_

"Wait, Take Sakura with you. She can heal Videl if she needs it." Yamato suggested.

"Wait, What?" Sakura questioned with a look of shock.

 _'Alright, give me a second.'_ Within a blink of an eye, Gohan landed in front of the 4 shinobi. "Get on my back, Sakura, and Hold on tight. This is going to be the fastest ride of your life."

"That's what she said." Naruto said under his breath, which resulted in a hard elbow to the gut from Sakura.

"Idiot.." Sakura spat as she walked away from Naruto over to Gohan. Gohan knelt down and picked up Sakura piggy-back style. Sakura tightened her grip around Gohan's neck, being extra careful not to choke the man.

"Alright, Hold on." Gohan said before he blasted off as fast as he could go, with Sakura screaming the whole way up.

"Wow... I do NOT envy Sakura in the slightest." Yamato stated.

Kakashi nodded and looked to the now recovered Naruto. "You didn't say anything about Sakura leaving. How come?"

Naruto shrugged. "She's with our planet's biggest powerhouse. She'll be fine." Naruto said with his trademark grin. But, deep down, he couldn't help but worry about her.

"Well, lets get moving." Kakashi ordered and Naruto and Yamato sprinted off to find Videl.

* * *

The blast subsided and the dust and debris around the area settled. Videl stood in a massive crater, her pale golden aura still as violent as before.

 **"That's the end of you. Filthy snake fucker.."** Videl spat.

Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. Gohan and Sakura had just landed near Videl and Sakura let out a gasp.

"This is the form you were talking about, Gohan?" Sakura questioned.

Gohan nodded. "Just as I thought. Her rage triggered the False Super Saiyan form."

Videl turned and looked at the two newcomers and fell into a fighting stance, her pupiless eyes glaring at her new potential targets.

Gohan fell into his stance as well, trying to keep Sakura behind her. "This could turn ugly, Sakura. Stay back and don't get involved. She is far too powerful for you." Gohan ordered.

Sakura nodded and darted away from the scene as fast as her new speed would allow.

"Videl. You need to calm down. I don't want to hurt you." Gohan said, trying to reason with Videl.

Videl just continued to glare at Gohan for several more moments, until her power flashed away just as quickly as it came. She fell onto the ground completely knocked out. Gohan went to her side after dropping his super Saiyan 2 form. He reached for his belt to find some senzu beans, only to rmeember that Kakashi had them and Videl's were nowhere to be found.

"Sakura. I need you over here. Videl is out cold and Kakashi has my senzu beans."

Sakura wasted no time in getting to Videl's side. She scanned Videl's body with her mystic palm jutsu and did a quick physical assessment of Videl.

"Her vitals are stable, she has no injuries and her Chakra and Ki levels are low, but not dangerously. I can bring her back if you want." Sakura said, to which Gohan nodded.

Sakura pumped a brief surge of Chakra into Videl's system that sent a jolt to her brain and brought her back to consciousness. The first thing she saw was daylight with Gohan and Sakura knelt down beside her.

"G-Gohan...?" Videl said barely above a whisper. She then remembered the genjutsu she was in before she had that amazing power up.

"Yes, and Sakura as well." Gohan replied.

"Gohan, I need to know. Do you love me?"

Gohan looked at Videl with a puzzled and shocked expression.

"Why would you ask that?"

Videl started to feel her already smashed heart begin to break more, but Gohan wasn't finished.

"You know I love you with all my heart, why ask?" Gohan said.

It was then that the flood gates opened up and Videl latched onto Gohan and cried hard.

"It was horrible! That snake fucker put me in the worst possible genjutsu I could ever see! He made an image of you who kept calling me disgusting and that you would rather die than love me! Then you killed yourself by breaking your own neck! You even used my rape memory against me! It was so horrible!" Videl sobbed.

Gohan pulled her into a warm embrace and rocked her side to side while rubbing her back.

"It's okay. You know I would never say anything like that to anyone, even if it was true. You are not disgusting and I love you more than anything. Don't ever forget that." Gohan said softly.

Sakura watched with tears of her own as she witnessed the true love her two friends shared. Videl had been through a traumatic experience and Gohan was doing everything in his power to comfort the one he loves. It was a sad, yet romantic scene that made Sakura cry with a mix of joy and sympathy.

 _'It's a beautiful site..'_ Sakura said.

 _'I'm inclined to agree.'_ Inner replied. Then inner remembered something. _'Did Videl say, rape memory?'_

Sakura was stunned when those words replayed in her mind as it all came to her.

 _'She was raped...? Oh my god... Oh Videl...'_ Sakura thought sadly.

' _Yes she was, Sakura.'_ Gohan spoke into her mind. _'It's not a pleasant memory and I will let Videl tell you when she is ready. But for now, can you find out how far away the others are?'_

Sakura nodded and got up, wiping away some of her tears as Gohan continued to rock Videl in an attempt to calm her down.

 _'She really has been through a lot since we came here, but this... I'm not sure where to begin with this. I haven't seen her this bad since she told me that secret.'_ Gohan thought to himself, making sure to block off hims mind from Videl. He felt her grabbing onto him tighter as he swayed his upper body a little more to rock Videl in comfort. he laid a long and soft kiss on the crown of her head as he did everything he could to calm down the love of his life.

 _'I can't believe Orochimaru would stoop so low as to use a poor girls bad memory against her. Joke's on him now, I suppose.'_

* * *

Some time later, the remainder of team 7 arrived. Sakura had explained to them what happened to Videl and had warned Kakashi of the traumatic event that she had to relive. Knowing this, Kakashi would save his disciplining of Videl's actions for a later time. They arrived to see Gohan holding a now sleeping Videl in his arms.

"What happened here?" Yamato asked Gohan quietly.

"It was as I suspected and Sakura can vouch for this. Videl achieved the False Super Saiyan form and killed Orochimaru. But not before he put her in a traumatizing genjutsu. I know you probably want to reprimand her, but just let her rest for right now." Gohan explained.

Kakashi nodded. "Sakura explained that much to me. No one should have to go through such an ordeal, let alone relive it."

Naruto and Yamato split off from the group to search the area for any signs of Orochimaru, only to find very little if anything remaining after some time searching. Naruto was the first to return, only to see Videl now standing and Kakashi getting ready to read Videl the riot act.

"I'm very sorry Kakashi-sensei.. I really underestimated my opponent and I probably would have been in worse shape than I am." Videl said.

"When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it until I say otherwise. I understand you are used to working alone, but you are on a team that will help and support you as you continue on. You took off, headstrong, without my go-ahead. The consequence of your actions nearly cost everyone their lives and that I'm afraid is something you will have to live with." Kakashi said sternly. Videl looked down at the ground, fists clenched as she mentally kicked herself repeatedly for being so over confident.

"I have to agree with Kakashi, Videl." Gohan said, which earned him a confused look from Videl as she looked up and saw that Gohan had the same stern look as Kakashi. Videl relaxed her face and nodded sadly. She knew she fucked up and bad.

Kakashi's expression shifted to a smile. "However, you did kill Orochimaru, which is something that no one has been able to do. He was known as the strongest of the Sannin and you ended him like it was nothing. I'm more than certain that everyone in the village would consider you a hero for doing such a feat."

Videl looked up with her eyes wide. "W-what..? But even after everything I did?"

"I'll say this Videl. We have one motto on this squad. Those who break the rules are scum, but those who do not care for and abandon their fellow ninjas and friends are even lower then scum. You disobeyed my orders and acted on your own half cocked. You did it to help Naruto, your fellow, so your heart was in the right place. But I expect you to respect the chain of command. I won't risk my squad on the hope that we get lucky like that again."

"I understand, sensei." Videl hung her head in shame."

"That goes double for you too, Naruto, Sakura." The two chunin perked up at the mention of their names.

"While I am happy that you two found each other, your relationship cannot factor into missions. I need Naruto and Sakura the chunin ninjas. Not Naruto and Sakura the loving couple. We will not halt a mission in progress just to give the two of you time to sort out your feelings. Especially not when there is a comrade in need of rescue. Next time I will leave you behind and ensure that the two of you never serve on the same squad again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sensei." They both replied

Kakashi then looked over to Yamato. "Find anything?"

Yamato shook his head. "What little we did find wasn't much. He really is gone, Kakashi."

"After a blast this big, I wouldn't expect anything less." Naruto said.

Kakashi let out a massive sigh of relief. Orochimaru was finally gone. The man that plagued the Leaf village for so long has finally been sent to hell for everything he has done. Then a thought crossed his mind.

"What about Kabuto?"

"Nowhere to be found." Yamato replied.

"Kabuto escaped before I started fighting Orochimaru." Videl explained. Kakashi nodded and turned to the rest of his team.

"Alright gang, pack it up and let's go home." Kakashi ordered. A collective whoop was said by the whole squad and the six warriors began their long walk home. Including Gohan and Videl who opted to take the scenic route for once. After a harrowing two months, this felt like the dawn of a new chapter. A more peaceful future was on the horizon…

* * *

Meanwhile, an uncountable number of light-years away…

A planet was being glassed. On the ground, fire rained down from the heavens, wiping out entire cities with a single blast. Billions cried out in terror, certain that the end times were upon them. Moment by moment they were silenced by the millions.

High above, outside the planet's atmosphere, stood that world's harbinger of death atop his massive ship; 1,200 meters long with two long hulls connected to a saucer in the front. The ship held a crew of 10,000 men and sported an array of devastating weapons including; 24 Phaser turrets, 8 torpedo tubes, and two forward high powered assault Phaser cannons. But the tyrant standing atop his ship had opted not to use any of the ship's weapons. He preferred the personal touch when it came to destruction.

 _'That's right. Run to your capital little insects, your leaders will save you.'_ The alien known as a Frost Demon thought before firing another death beam at the Capital with his fingertip. ' _Oh wait, no they won't. Cause I blew them up.'_ The maniac laughed in the way maniacs do.

"Lord Ice." The Frost Demon's scouter came to life.

"Yes, what is it Granite?" Ice replied, annoyed that someone dared to interrupt his fun.

"My Lord, a transmission has come in from your father, King Hail. He requests for presence at once, sire." The soldier nervously reported.

Ice sighed. "Very well, inform my father that I shall be with him shortly." Ice turned back towards the ship's bay doors after sending another beam of energy to carve one of the planet's continents in two.

Moments later Ice was inside the ship and entering the communications room where his father was already waiting for him on screen.

"Hello Daddy." Ice spoke in his most polite voice, which unnerved the men under his command to no end. Lord Ice was never polite, he was cold and calculating. His only use for politeness was when it was to obtain something he wanted that couldn't be bought through overwhelming force.

"Hello, my little angel. I hope I'm finding you well." King Hail replied, not taking his eyes off of his glass of red wine.

"Of course, Daddy. I was just destroying that pesky little planet like you asked." Ice said in a same tone of voice a 10 year old would use to report to his parents how he took out the trash.

"Yes, I have heard that you have been quite the busy little bee helping spread our influence across the stars."

"Anything to assist you, Father." Ice bowed his head.

"Very good. Which leads me to the reason I called you. It seems our scientists have picked up a massive power level coming from some no named planet on the edge of the universe. This isn't the first time we've picked up a massive spike in that sector and I want you and your crew to go check it out."

"Oh must I Daddy? Certainly there are more important missions you could send me on? Missions that require my level of skills?"

"That is an order, son." Hail's tone quickly turned cold.

"Yes of course, Daddy." Ice quickly retracted.

"Very good, my people have already sent the planet's coordinates to your ship's navigator. It is a tiny blue planet our astrologists have named Element, located in Galaxy XYJ-531. I expect no delays."

"Yes of course, Daddy. What exactly was the power level you detected?"

"Our long range scanners estimated it to be within the range of 4.5 million."

"4.5? Surely Daddy this is beneath me. Such a level is hardly worth our time."

"Silence. I did not become Emperor of a thousand galaxies by leaving things up to chance. Get it done." With that, the feed was cut and Ice was left looking at a blank screen.

"Oh and son…" The screen immediately came back to life. "Quit playing with your food." King Hail scolded before cutting the feed permanently this time.

Ice sulked for a bit before heading back out into the vacuum of space to destroy what remained of the doomed planet in a single blow.

"How long until we reach…ugh, Element?" Ice asked a nearby aid.

"Our navigator estimates that we will arrive at our destination in one month, sire." The aide squeaked.

"Ugh, very well. Proceed at best speed. I'll be in my living quarters, no interruptions." With that, Ice left the aide to scamper off and relay his orders. This 'Element' was an unwanted distraction, most likely populated by weaklings, even if a single one of them managed to break over a million on the power level scale.

 _'So a backwater planet has managed to produce a single fighter of worth? It's a remarkable jump from the usual power levels we detect in that sector. I'll have to plan ahead my approach in order to not be caught off guard by any more surprises this planet might have.'_ Ice chuckled to himself at the thought of playing war with his troops and whatever forces this new planet could muster against them. ' _Might as well have some fun when I crush these bugs underfoot.'_ Ice thought.

Soon Ice's ship was enveloped by a blue vortex as the massive object was shot forward several times faster than the speed of light. Element is soon to be in for a shit storm unlike any it has ever seen.


	11. Chapter 11: Hot Springs and Full Moons

Two days of walking down the road returning to Konoha and the 6 shinobi could be heard singing traveling songs to pass the time. Thanks to Videl's modern music player that could display the lyrics to any song she played via holographic screen, everyone was essentially a traveling karaoke group. Videl had just pulled up a pretty famous song from her and Gohan's time and as the opening started, Gohan started them off.

 **"Any way you want it**

 **That's the way you need it**

 **Any way you want it"**

At this point, when the lyrics were showing up on the holographic screen the rest of team 7 joined in.

 **"She loves to laugh**

 **She loves to sing**

 **She does everything**

 **She loves to move**

 **She loves to groove**

 **She loves the lovin' things"**

" **Ooh, all night, all night**

 **Oh, every night**

 **So hold tight, hold tight**

 **Ooh baby, hold tight"**

" **Oh, she said,**

 **Any way you want it**

 **That's the way you need it**

 **Any way you want it"**

 **She said, "Any way you want it**

 **That's the way you need it**

 **Any way you want it"**

" **I was alone**

 **I never knew**

 **What good love could do**

 **Ooh, then we touched**

 **Then we sang**

 **About the lovin' things"**

" **Ooh, all night, all night**

 **Oh, every night**

 **So hold tight, hold tight**

 **Ooh baby, hold tight"**

" **Oh, she said,**

 **Any way you want it**

 **That's the way you need it**

 **Any way you want it"**

 **She said, "Any way you want it**

 **That's the way you need it**

 **Any way you want it"**

As the song ended, everyone broke out in a joyous laugh. Despite everything that happened at Tenchi Bridge, everyone was in high spirits. Videl scrolled through her music library to find another song, when a slow love song caught her eye.

"Hey guys, how about a love song next? Couples only. Sorry Kakashi-sensei, Captain Yamato." Videl said.

Kakashi waved his hand. "Eh, don't worry about it. Starting to get horse so go for it."

Videl nodded and selected the song. "Okay. This is Here in my Heart by the Scorpions. Good tune. Gohan and I will start off and you two pick up after the solo."

Sakura and Naruto nodded as Videl hit play. The soft playing instruments started playing as the first set of lyrics popped up in blue to signify the male singer to start singing. Videl sounding like Amy Lee whereas Gohan sounded like Frank Sonatra Jr.

 **"Sometimes there's a time you must say goodbye**

 **Though it hurts you must learn to try**

 **I know I've got to let you go**

 **But I know anywhere you go**

 **You'll never be far**

 **'Cause like the light of a bright star**

 **You'll keep shining in my life**

 **You're gonna be right**

 **Here in my heart**

 **That's where you'll be**

 **You'll be with me**

 **Here in my heart**

 **No distance can keep us apart**

 **Long as you're here in my heart"**

The Lyrics then changed to pink to signify the start of the woman singer to start singing.

 **"Won't be any tears falling from these eyes**

 **'Cause when love's true love never dies**

 **It stays alive forever**

 **Time can't take away what love we had**

 **I will remember our time together**

 **You might think our time is through**

 **But I'll still have you"**

Then two sets of the same lyrics came up, one blue, the other pink to start the duet.

 **"Here in my heart**

 **That's where you'll be**

 **You'll be with me**

 **Here in my heart**

 **No distance can keep us apart**

 **Long as you're here in my heart**

 **I know you'll be back again**

 **And 'till then**

 **My love is waiting"**

The solo started and Naruto began to get ready for their part. As the solo came to an end, Naruto and Sakura started singing, Naruto sounding like Eric Clapton and Sakura sounding like Lyn Liechty.

 **"Here in my heart**

 **That's where you'll be**

 **You'll be with me**

 **Here in my heart**

 **No distance can keep us apart**

 **Long as you're here in my heart**

 **Here in my heart**

 **That's where you'll be**

 **You'll be with me**

 **Here in my heart**

 **No distance can keep us apart**

 **Long as you're here in my heart"**

As the music faded, Naruto and Sakura were in their own little world as the other four stopped dead in their tracks. It took the two of them a few moments to notice that their teammates had stopped walking and wore stunned expressions. Sakura decided to break the awkward silence.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Holy..."

"Shit..." Videl and Gohan breathed out with Kakashi and Yamato nodding.

"What?" Sakura repeated.

"Sakura, did anyone tell you that you have the singing voice of an angel?" Kakashi said still in shock.

Sakura blushed at Kakashi's comment, only to see nods from Gohan, Videl and Yamato. She turned to look at Naruto and he just shrugged.

"I honestly couldn't hear over myself. But now this has me curious." Naruto said.

Videl looked back down at her screen and back the track up to the start of the woman singer for Sakura to sing that part.

"Okay, Sakura. Start singing from here and I will stop it at the start of the duet. I'm going to record this also." Videl stated.

Sakura started getting nervous being put on the spot like this. But she figured that it couldn't hurt being among friends so she just shrugged and the music started playing form the selected time slot and Sakura started singing.

 **"Won't be any tears falling from these eyes**

 **'Cause when love's true love never dies**

 **It stays alive forever**

 **Time can't take away what love we had**

 **I will remember our time together**

 **You might think our time is through**

 **But I'll still have you"**

Videl stopped the track there and now Naruto wore the same stunned expression as everyone else.

"Woooaaahhh..." Naruto breathed out. In that moment, he was absolutely star struck at how good Sakura was with singing. He never had a clue as to how good she was until now and he thought Videl was good when she sang.

"Naruto... Stop staring at me like that. It wasn't that good..." Sakura said, blushing slightly.

"I beg to differ." Videl said as she hit the playback button and replayed Sakura's singing. Once it ended, Sakura was now stunned.

"That... Was me...?" Sakura breathed out. "Holy shit... I never knew..."

"And here I thought it was impossible to think you were more amazing than I already do." Naruto stated honestly.

"Naruto..." Sakura giggled, her face now redder than her shirt. She gave Naruto a quick peck on the lips as a thank you and it deepened from there.

 _'Young love.'_ Kakashi thought to himself, smiling under his mask. He got them moving away after a few minutes and Videl continued to play additional songs.

* * *

Some time had passed when they came to a local resort and hot springs which got Videl jumping for joy.

"Oh my God, an actual rural hot springs! Can we stop here for the night?" Videl asked with extreme excitement.

Kakashi and Yamato shrugged. "Sure. After the ordeal you all went through I don't see the harm in it." Kakashi said. Videl and Sakura both squealed as they dashed through the front doors, the guys following slowly after them.

As Videl and Sakura took off to the women's changing room for the hot springs, with Gohan and Naruto heading towards the men's side, Yamato decided to have a look around the place and Kakashi paid for their one night stay.

"I'm afraid all we have is 1 room with two beds and the last two vacant rooms we have only have a single bed meant for couples." The receptionist said.

"Well, that's a pickle right there. Gohan and Videl would be okay since they live together. I'm not sharing a bed with Yamato. Naruto and Sakura are a new couple and I don't know how they would react to something like this... Is there a way to set up a cot in one of the rooms?" Kakashi asked.

The lady at the desk shook her head. "I'm afraid all of our cots are being used at the moment."

Kakashi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was sure his students would know better than to do anything obscene during a mission, or at least he hoped so. Since they found each other, they have been way too clingy for his liking, especially when their mission turned into a crisis.

"Could you do me a favor?" Kakashi asked, the lady nodded her head. "Could you go into the women's changing room and have my student with the pink hair come out while I grab my other one?"

The receptionist nodded her head and went to fetch Sakura, while Kakashi went to fetch Naruto. About 5 minutes later, both parties came out, the youngest among them wearing resort robes. Kakashi turned and faced his two students.

"Okay, we ran into a little bit of a snag. There are only 3 bedrooms available and only one of them has two beds. I sure as hell ain't sharing a bed with Yamato and he feels the same way. The last two rooms only have a single bed meant for couples. I know Gohan and Videl would be alright, but I wonder about you two. You two may be a couple now, but with you being in a relationship that is still fresh, will this be an uncomfortable experience? If it is, Yamato and I will see what we can come up with." Kakashi explained.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other trying to guess what the other was thinking. Noticing that they needed time to figure it all out, Kakashi stepped away from the couple to let them talk it out.

"I'll give you 3 minutes to decide." Kakashi said to them as he went back to the front desk, leaving Naruto and Sakura to their own devices.

Sakura was the first to break the awkward silence. "So, what do you think about this?"

"Honestly I'm more concerned about how you feel about this. If you're comfortable with it then it's not a problem. I'll go along with whatever you decide." Naruto replied.

 _'He is so unselfish when it comes to matters like this.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'You know, even if we had separate beds, we'd still end up sharing the same bed.'_ Inner thought back.

 _'Yeah probably... I just wanted to wait a little longer, but I would really hate to put Captain Yamato and Kakashi-sensei on the spot like that just to prevent something that is likely going to happen anyway.'_

 _'Sounds to me like you already came up with the solution. Gives us that chance to see what Naruto is hiding in that robe of his.'_ Inner said seductively.

 _'No inner. It's still much too soon for that... I mean we've only had one date and we've only been together a week.'_

 _'So what?'_

 _'So I'm saying it's too early yet. I want to be with him a little longer before we take that step.'_

 _'Pray tell, how much longer is_ _that going to be, hmm?'_ Inner questioned.

 _'I don't know. A month? A year? I'll know when the time is right. Now leave me be to talk to Naruto.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Fine. Whatever.'_ Inner retorted before fading away.

"Naruto... In all honesty, I wanted to wait a little longer before we shared a bed for the first time. But I really don't want to put Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato on the spot just for a futile attempt at preventing an inevitability. We'll share a bed, but we are NOT doing anything more than sleeping. Got it?" Sakura said in a very authoritative tone that made Naruto gulp.

"O-of course, Sakura-chan. I wouldn't do anything unless you were ready." Naruto replied nervously.

"Good to hear." Sakura said with a smile. "I'm gonna let Kakashi-sensei know."

 _'That selfless kindness is going to make us ready sooner than you think if you keep it up.'_ Inner said.

 _'Inner! ZIP IT!'_ Sakura mentally shouted.

Sakura left Naruto's side and went over to talk to Kakashi and explained to him what they decided on. Kakashi mentally let out a sigh of relief that he didn't have to share a bed with Yamato and paid for their rooms and use of the hot springs. Naruto and Sakura went back to their sides of the springs and Kakashi followed Naruto the men's side.

Once undressed, Kakashi found his way to the spring where Gohan was already relaxing. Naruto was trying to find a crack in the wall large enough to see what was going on the other side as Gohan constantly protested Naruto's actions. Kakashi slipped into the water and began to relax as he carefully started reading his book, trying not to get it wet.

"Oh come on Gohan, don't you want to experience the thrill of the hunt?" Naruto said

"Thrill of the... What are you talking about?" Gohan replied.

"You know...that old childhood curiosity to gaze upon what is hidden behind the forbidden wall. It is not even about the prize that awaits us, but the thrill of indulging our fantasy."

"Why would I need to do that? I have already seen Videl without anything on. Don't tell her I told you that though." Gohan said just barely above a whisper

"I think you have been reading too much of the Make Out series, Naruto." As Kakashi turns another page of the latest book that he had brought with him to the bath.

"Make Out series?" Gohan inquired.

"The bestselling smut written by Jiraiya that Kakashi-sensei is a huge fan of."

"I see." Gohan sighed.

"Damn it man, it is the thrill of the peep, not the actual peep. To see our ladies in their most relaxed state that we would never normally see"

"Naruto, if you ever tell anyone I told you this, I'll kill you. But, Videl and I have already seen what the other has to offer. More than once I might add. In short, we have had sex and more than once."

* * *

On the women's side...

"They do realize that we can hear every word they are saying, right? These walls aren't that thick." Videl asks Sakura.

"I think Gohan is just trying to get Naruto to shut up. I mean, it's not like you two really had sex." Sakura said back

"Ummm..."

"Oh my god... Did you seriously?!"

"Weeeeell..." Videl blushed and buried her head beneath the water's surface.

"I won't judge you. I work at the hospital so you have nothing to worry about."

"It's just...so private..."Videl started then suddenly "Itwasthemostamazingexperienceofmylife!" she blurted out

"Um... I'm not sure I caught all of that. You can tell me in my mind if you're not comfortable of saying it out loud"

Videl stared at Sakura with the look of a deer caught in the headlights. How could she have forgotten that she could do that?

 _'It was the most incredible experience of my life...' she thought dreamily. 'Gohan was so gentle at first...and then, so strong.'_ Videl squealed in reality.

All of a sudden, Sakura had a flash of Gohan looking down on her pass through her mind.

 _'Woah! What was that?'_

 _'A memory, my memory of Gohan and me- OH MY GOD SAKURA I AM SO SORRY!'_

 _'Damn, you did have it good'_

 _'Sakura please, just forget you ever saw that.'_ Videl begged.

 _'Uh uh, Saiyah Girl, we're keeping that one in the vault.'_ A Voice similar to Sakura's spoke up.

 _'The fuck is that?'_

 _'The fuck are you?'_

 _'Inner, behave! I'm sorry, Videl, that was Inner. She is my inner self.'_

 _'Uh huh... ooookaayy then...'_

 _'So Sparky, you got any more of those memories you'd like to share?'_ Inner Sakura materialized in front of Videl to waggle her eyebrows in front of her.

 _'Sparky? The fuck? And, uh, how about NO!'_

 _'Oh come on. What are a couple of money shots among friends?'_

 _'Why don't you get your own and get down on Naruto! You don't need images of MY mate!'_

Inner Sakura looked up and down Videl's mental projection from atop her mental business man's chair.

 _'Ya know Me. This one isn't too bad either.'_

 _'INNER! DON'T!'_

 _'Maybe you could help us with that. You scratch our back...'_ Inner gave Videl another once over. _'And we scratch yours.'_

 _'NO WAY! Never happening!_

 _'What's never happening? What is she talking about, Sakura?'_

 _'I'd, rather not say...'_

 _'...Threesome!'_ Inner made the-imagine-this gesture.

 _'INNER!'_

 _'Or I guess in this case we could turn it into a foursome if our boys are open to that sort of thing.'_

 _'Um... Yea, no... Not only no, but HELL NO!'_

 _'Oh sure not now. We gotta get first pickings. But later on...'_

 _'NO! For one, Naruto is 16 and I just turned 18! Not to mention Sakura is also 16! That is having sex with a minor!'_

 _'Not in ninja country. Once you've made chunin rank, the state recognizes you as an adult. All the age restrictions go out the window.'_

 _'Really? Wow... That's different- WAIT! NO! The answer is still no!'_

 _'I'm just saying, statistically couples will grow bored of having sex exclusively with one another for long periods of time. What we are proposing would simply be two friends helping each other out.'_

 _'WE are not proposing anything Inner!'_

 _'Don't listen to Me, listen to me. I'm her Inner most thoughts. What Sakura would say without a filter.'_

 _'That won't happen. Even if I did agree, there is no way Gohan would agree so just give it up. Besides, I'm not a swinging type of girl.'_ Videl said sternly and darkly, her pupils vanishing for a brief moment.

 _'Man, what does a girl have to do to get a threesome around here?'_

 _'Shut up is what you have to do! We haven't even had sex with Naruto yet and that isn't going to happen overnight!'_

 _'Haven't yet, Sakura?'_

 _'...so what about the next evening?'_

 _'GAH, you are impossible! You keep this up and I'll never have sex with Naruto!'_

 _'You'd punish yourself and him just to punish yourself?'_

 _'YES, what? Maybe? Shut up!'_

 _'You shouldn't do that, Sakura. You would be missing out on something great. Just know that your first time has to be a memorable one and it will hurt, no mistake about that.' Videl said, then a new idea popped into her head. 'Also, Inner, Why don't you just create a shadow clone and transform into someone else with you in control? This way here, you get your threesome and Naruto isn't sleeping with another woman.'_

 _'Oh sure, you think that just because you've got the headband and a month of Shinobi training under your belt that you know everything about everything that has to do with ninjaing. We'll I'm got news for you outsider, it doesn't work like-'_

 _'Actually that is a really good idea, Videl.'_ Sakura interrupted. _'Thinking it over, it should be completely plausible.'_

 _'Oh wait, yeah, that is a good idea. Why didn't I think of that?'_ Inner admitted.

 _'See? This way here, everyone is happy. Inner gets her threesome, Naruto gets a night to remember, and Sakura won't have to worry about getting overly embarrassed and ask one of her own friends to have sex with her and her man. I'm a lot smarter than I look, ya know.'_

 _'That's a surprise.'_

 _'Inner, zip it.'_

 _'If you weren't inside Sakura, I'd vaporize your ass for that. But I'll let it slide for now.'_

 _'Yeah that's right bitch, you better run!'_ Sakura had to mentally hold her Inner self back.

 _'You tried to seal me away but this is my house! I run these streets! You wanna go you had better bring some of my girl Ino's cousins for some back up! What chu thinkin' bringing that weak ass mental jutsu in here? Maaaaan, seal dez nuts, bitch!'_

 _'WHAT WAS THAT?! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT WITH MY SUPER SAIYAN TRANSFORMATION I CAN BENCH PRESS THE MOON?! I COULD OBLITERATE YOU WITH MY FUCKING PINKIE FINGER YOU CHEAP WHORE!'_

 _'OK, THAT'S ENOUGH! THIS MENTAL CONVERSATION IS OVER!'_ Sakura shouted. Instantly the girls were back outside in the resort hot springs.

"Well, that was enlightening" Videl said.

"Let's never bring it up again." Sakura demanded.

"Fine by me. Sorry I lost control there."

"Don't worry about it. I just have to hear her shit 24/7."

"Anyway, what I was saying before was" Videl Paused to lower voice so that only Sakura could hear. "It really is an amazing sensation. It will hurt for the first few moments as he enters you, but after that it's complete and utter bliss."

"Right, I'll ah, keep that in mind."

"Oh hey girls. Mind if we join you?" Came a shrill voice.

Sakura and Videl turned around to face a big boobied blonde with pigtails and an equally endowed but muscular brunette.

"Naruto?"

"Gohan?"

"Shhhh, its Naruko and Gochi." Naruto whispered. "We thought that we'd keep you girls, company."

"I still can't believe you talked me into this..." Gohan groaned.

"Oh hush, you were the one who wanted to go incognito."

"What was that?" Videl asked cracking her knuckles.

 _'You idiot. Now we're both dead.'_ "I only agreed to go to shut him-HER up. I never wanted to do this, Videl. You know me better than that."

"And yet you're over here... Don't you see enough of me during the night?"

"Oh, see I wanted to peep on you guys. But Gochi here was against it. So instead he came up with the idea that if we had a disguise we could come in unnoticed by all the other women and bathe with our girlfriends." Naruto explained, remembering his lectures from Tsunade that honesty was the best policy when it came to your girlfriend.

"You don't know when to shut up, do you?" Videl asked.

"Sadly, no he doesn't." Sakura said, cracking her knuckles.

"Um, Sakura-chan?" The blond asked before being rocketed into the sky.

"Nice one Sakura. Just one more."

"I don't know, Videl. He DID say that he wanted nothing to do with Naruto's plan and Naruto did confess into twisting his arm. Do you think we should let him off easier?"

Videl eyed up her now female boyfriend. "Is that supposed to be me?" Videl asked.

"Naruto only had 15 minutes to teach me the transformation jutsu and he said it was always best to visualize someone you are familiar with..."

"Hmm... Needs work. Also I'm not that buff. A for effort though."

"What a minute. How did you use the Jutsu when you don't use Chakra?" Sakura asked in realization.

"Apparently I do have some chakra, just not a lot."

POOF!

With perfect timing, Gohan's transformation ran out of chakra and was dispelled. Resulting in an Adonis of a man taking the place of the oddly muscular girl right in the middle of the women's bath.

"Woooaaah... Videl you lucky girl..." Sakura said as she ogled Gohan and drool started to form on the corner of her mouth.

"Sakura!"

"Oh man, I'm so sorry, Inner slipped out a little."

"Yea I bet..." Videl said with indignation.

Sakura turn away embarrassed while wiping some drool away from her chin.

"As for you..." Videl began before uppercutting her boyfriend into the stratosphere to join his partner in crime.

"So much for going easy on him."

"Watch it, or your next." Videl warned as she popped her neck.

With that, the brunette settled back into the steaming waters and draped a wash cloth over her forehead. Sakura did so likewise and the girls shared a content sigh.

 _'What am I going to do with that idiot?'_ They both privately thought.

"Wait a minute, Videl. I thought Gohan can bench press a planet. How did you send him off like that when he's so much stronger?" Sakura said.

Videl was taken aback by that statement and instantly knew the reason why she was able to send Gohan into orbit so easily.

"That fucker! He lowered his power level before I hit him! Ohh...he's really gonna get hurt now." Videl said angrily.

 _'Yikes... Better cover your head, Gohan.'_ Inner said.

 _'For once I agree with you.'_ Sakura thought back. "Maybe that was a little too harsh, Videl. He was very apologetic and he even had his head turned and eyes closed the whole time. He really is a true gentleman."

"Maybe, but if he can get easily suckered into perving on us with Naruto then he isn't such a gentleman now is he?"

"Do you blame him? I mean, you did just go through that horrible experience with Orochimaru. He's probably worried sick about you."

"Yea... Maybe I'll make it up to him later. But a man has to own up to his actions."

"I can possibly see Gohan doing that, but Naruto is a different story."

"Yea, I mean, did his parents ever teach him anything about this sort of thing?"

"No..." Sakura said softly.

"Why the hell not? That's just poor parenting."

That enraged Sakura greatly. "That's because he is an orphan!" Sakura hissed, they were still out in public after all. "Since he was a baby, he's always been an orphan! The villagers always used to beat him and bring him to near death, put him down, call him names, throw shit at him and for what?! He's the container for the 9 Tails that attacked our village many years ago and THEY treated him like he was the fucking fox itself! It pisses me off when ignorant jackasses jump to conclusions before they know the whole fucking story!"

Videl was taken aback in utter shock. She had never seen this side of Sakura before, and even with her power as great as it was, she was actually starting to fear Sakura.

"I-I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea... Naruto never said anything like that when we met him and then during our travels." Videl said with shame and sadness in her voice.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry for flying off the handle like that. You didn't know and it's not something that Naruto likes talking about, for obvious reasons."

"Who where his parents?" Videl asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know for sure. There are rumors about who could possibly be his parents, but no one really knows for certain."

 _'If only you knew.'_ Videl thought, not realizing she had opened a mental link with Sakura.

"If only I knew? Wait, you know who is parents are?!"

Videl went wide eyed. She mentally slapped herself when she realized who his parents were. Videl nodded to confirm Sakura's suspicions.

"Gohan told-"

"Tell me via mental link." Sakura demanded and Videl nodded.

 _'Gohan told me that after a meeting he had with Lady Tsunade. It was on the day you left for the Sand Village. He was talking to King Kai and Tsunade requested to have two people talk to Naruto via otherworld communication once everything was set up.'_ Videl thought into Sakura's mind.

 _'Who are they?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'I can't tell you. That is something that Lady Tsunade will have to tell you when the time is right. She ordered both me and Gohan not to tell anyone.'_ Videl said.

Sakura nodded sadly and cut off the mental link. Afterwards, the girls started chatting in aimless girl talk: hospital gossip from the nurses mouths, how far along they and everyone else was in terms of gravity training, what outfits had the best mix of functional and fashionable, how best to clean dried blood of a kunai, notable battles the two of them had; eventually though it all came back to their two idiot boyfriends and possible dating ideas.

"Aside from that, I think a night under the stars would be a good make up for Gohan." Videl said.

Sakura smiled. "That's a wonderful idea. Maybe I can get Naruto to do the same with me. Supposed to be a beautiful full moon tonight and-"

"FULL MOON?!" Videl shouted in a panic.

"Y-yea, supposed to be one of the largest of the year... What's wrong with that?" Sakura said in confusion.

"I take it Tsunade and Gohan never told you." Videl said as Sakura shook her head, still confused. "Sakura, this is super important that you know this. A tailed Saiyan as myself and Gohan can NOT be out during the full moon."

"Why is that?"

"If a tailed Saiyan looks up at the full moon, they will undergo a transformation and morph into a raging 100ft tall ape. The only way to stop it is to either destroy the moon or cut off our tails. In that form, our power would be ten times that of normal. We would destroy this entire world if not stopped." Videl said in the most serious tone as possible.

Sakura was wide eyed in fear. She never heard anything about this and she was really scared about what could happen. She was about to say something but Videl cut her off.

"The other thing is not dangerous, but it will be a life changing experience for both me and Gohan." Videl said as a blush came to her face.

"W-what..?" Sakura was almost too afraid to ask.

"The full moon is also the Saiyan mating cycle. During this, a sole Saiyan's level of lust is amplified greatly as said Saiyan seeks out a mate. An already bonded couple like Gohan and myself get a much higher boost." Videl explained.

"Oh, so it's like an animal's mating ritual. During certain parts of the year, an animal's body will release chemicals into the brain to heighten their desire to mate in order to ensure that any potential mating has the greatest chance of success. In animals that hibernate it would be so that the mother doesn't give birth during the winter months. Humans actually go through similar instincts, although your species extreme levels of testosterone and the like that drives your rage and massive spikes in power would also increase both of your sex drives."

Videl looked at her a bit dumbfounded.

"What? You didn't think that Tsunade only taught me how to set broken legs and sew up chest wounds? She doesn't train medics, she trains walking hospitals." Sakura proudly stated.

"Oh, I didn't mean…" Videl sheepishly stated. What was she doing explaining sex to a doctor? "Anyway, without a doubt Gohan and I won't be getting very much sleep tonight, but that's not the issue."

"What is?" Sakura inquired.

"Simply put, the mating cycle is, by all means, a 'get pregnant quick' time of our lives." Videl stated hesitantly.

"Okay, I see. Well if you're worried about getting pregnant, we kunoichi have a handy little contraceptive jutsu I could teach you. Standard training for any kunoichi out in the field. Lest we get captured and…exploited." Sakura said, half in and half out of doctor mode.

"You don't understand. A female Saiyan's fertility increases by 400% and the potency of the male's sperm is amplified in the same manner. Any contraception medication or jutsu will not work in this matter. Condoms would disintegrate due to our energy output being at its maximum during mating." Videl explained.

Sakura, being the genius in medicine that she is, was stunned at this information. Never before had she heard of anything like this or anything similar to it. This was uncharted territory and she was eager to learn all that she could and milk Videl for everything she could get.

"So, then this is a 100% chance that you will be with child after the full moon, right?" Sakura asked and Videl nodded. "Well, then you are fucked on top of going to be fucked." Sakura stated, slightly amused. She probably shouldn't find this conversation funny, but in this situation suddenly Sakura had become her best friend Ino. Giving out life advice to another like an older sister would. "If you're worried about your baby's health care don't worry. The facilities on our planet should be more than accommodating to whatever it is you have back in your dimension. Hell, we could even keep you working in the shinobi forces until you hit 7 months. If you so choose." Sakura felt like she was back at the Konoha Hospital working shifts at the Maternity Ward. How many times had she given this speech to sexually active kunoichi from all walks of life: from women twice her age too little genin just entering puberty.

Videl shook her head. "Saiyan pregnancies don't work like that, I'm afraid. A typical Saiyan pregnancy lasts 6 months instead of 9."

"SIX MONTHS?!" Sakura shouted. "Dammit! That's so unfair..."

"Not really. From what Gohan's mother, Chichi and my mother, Fasha told me, Saiyan pregnancies are far more intense than a normal human pregnancy. The symptoms are more severe and the growth of the baby doesn't work the same. The growth is several times slower until the end of the 4th month. Then, during the last trimester, the fetus will grow into a fully developed baby and then birth is given at the end of the 6th month. This is an evolutionary trait so Saiyan women can fight longer. From what I'm told, the pain is far more intense than that of a normal pregnancy and more times than not, the mother can die from the pain alone. So, while it's shorter, it is much harsher." Videl explained.

Sakura again was stunned at this new bit of information. "Geez... I'm no longer envious now. You and Gohan have talked about all of this already?"

Videl nodded. "We have brought this subject up more than once. Each time his answer is always the same; 'I'll go along with whatever you decide.' I have decided a while ago that when this moment came, we would accept the fact of starting a family. This part of the mating finalizes the Saiyan bond. We have had sex before, but the bond never really finalized because we used a contraceptive. This time, it will."

"You've spoke of this bond before, what is it exactly?"

"When a Saiyan chooses a mate, they start the bonding process which enables both parties to communicate by thought. The other can feel what the other feels emotionally and physically. Mating is the final step without contraceptives and when a Saiyan mates, it's for life. Meaning that if either one of us is taken from the other for whatever reason, the one remaining will be unable to bond or mate with another partner." Videl explained.

"Seems like a form of marriage." Sakura stated as she got out of the hot springs and dried herself off.

"It is for Saiyan's." Videl replied as she too got out and dried off as both girls left for the changing room. "We might not be full blooded Saiyan's but even our most basic instincts are ever present."

"Makes sense then. So, should we be calling you Videl Son from now on?" Sakura asked halfheartedly.

"Probably. We'll get it all legal like from Tsunade when we get back. How far away from home are we anyway?" Videl asked as she pulled on her bra and panties.

"About two days walk. A day if we ran. Probably an hour of flying for you and Gohan." Sakura said as she put on her underwear.

"Not even." Videl said then she remembered something about some of the capsules she carried. "Son of a bitch... I completely forgot." Videl said in annoyance.

"Forgot what?"

"One of the capsules I have is a plane that can take us all home and we can be there in a few hours." Videl said.

"Plane?"

Videl deadpanned. "I take it you don't have air travel here, do you..."

Sakura shook her head as she pulled on her shorts. "Not that I'm aware of."

Videl sighed as she pulled on her shorts and her dark blue fighting dress that was remarkably similar to Sakura's red one. "Well then, I don't want to cause a panic by introducing yet another new thing this world may not be ready for yet."

"I'm sure my world would appreciate it." The two girls laughed at their own little joke.

* * *

The rest of the evening was fairly straightforward. Gohan rescued Naruto from the stratosphere and the four friends met up at Gohan and Videl's room for a friendly game of poker. Inner Sakura insisted that they spice things up by changing the game to strip poker, but Sakura kept those thoughts from being vocalized.

The first few games Naruto had to team up with Sakura to help teach her how to play. This caused Videl and Gohan to team up as well, leading to several very close matches. All of which team narusaku won. Except for the last match when Sakura took the lead. The past few victory getting her extremely riled up for the game.

It was then that they were called away for dinner. Much to Sakura's displeasure at killing her "momentum".

Once their bellies were satisfyingly stuffed (and Yamato's wallet was pathetically empty) they returned to the room for another few hand of cards.

This time they switched things up with boys verses girls which led to more close calls, yet they always landed in the boy's favor. Until they switched teams again with Videl and Naruto completely dominating Sakura and Gohan. Until finally they broke up into a free for all. There everyone's individual luck became quite clear.

Naruto had the best luck out of any of them, but had the worst poker face.

Videl had pretty good luck and the best poker face.

Gohan had average luck and a decent poker face.

And Sakura...her luck was atrocious. It didn't even matter how good her poker face was because her luck with gambling over powered it every time. It was uncanny, she would always get the worst hand in the most crucial moment. You would think that after a while she would just give up, but she was hooked on her victories from earlier. She kept pressing and pressing and it never paid off.

"Naruto…" She growled after being knocked out of the most recent game.

"Yes, my Flower?" Naruto tentatively asked.

"Get back over here, you're my lucky charm."

"No way Sakura-chan. I'm about to win this round." Naruto declared, to which Gohan decided to fold. He pulled on his robe to let some air in. God was it hot in here.

Opposite Gohan, Videl was feeling the same sense of anxiety. It had been building and building ever since they had gotten back from dinner after dark.

Soon it became too much for the half Saiyans, causing Videl and Gohan began sweating profusely. Naruto looked up as he heard their labored breathing increase in rate and was shocked at what he saw. Their tails were trashing about, their eyes narrowed and became red, their canines grew in length and both of them were making low tone growls as they eyeballed each other with an enormous amount of lust. Gohan then turned away from Videl for a brief moment to see Naruto staring at both Saiyan's. Gohan gave Naruto a grin that made the blond chunin's skin crawl.

"Join in or fuck off Naruto. Either way, this is happening." Gohan growled as he strips the yukata off of Videl's shoulders and attacks the soft spot between her shoulders and her neck.

"Sakura, we need to go. Now." Naruto ordered.

"But I've got a good feeling about next round." Sakura whines.

"Games over!" Naruto declares before scooping up Sakura like a sack of potatoes despite her protests.

The blond makes a beeline for the door as Videl's claws began to tear into Gohan's backside.

Once inside their room, Naruto set Sakura on their bed and watched as Sakura gave him the iciest stare he had ever seen.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. But Gohan and Videl were acting really weird and it scared me." Naruto said.

"What are you talking about, Baka? They were acting fine!" Sakura shouts before her gaze turns to the open window in their room framing the full moon.

"Oh, oh wait!"

 _'Full moon, right...'_

"What is it Sakura-chan? Are Gohan and Videl gonna be alright?"

 _'Nope.'_ Thought Inner Sakura. _'They're gonna get fucked.'_ She snickered.

"It's nothing Naruto, don't worry about it. Videl and Gohan just have some...pent up issues they need to resolve."

"If there is something wrong with our friends and team mates, then I need to know. Please tell me they'll be okay." Naruto pleaded.

"I just said they will be ok. Just drop it ok!" Sakura said with a blush forming on her face.

At that moment, loud moans and growls as well as thumps and thuds could be heard from across the hall. Naruto began to panic that something, or someone, might be hurting his friends.

"You can't possibly expect me to believe that all of that noise is just nothing." Naruto said, now growing stern and serious. "If you don't tell me what the hell is going on, then I'll march over there and find out myself!"

"No wait, Naruto please! I'll tell you just don't go over there!" Sakura begged.

"Alright, fine. Now, what's going on?"

Sakura then proceeded to tell Naruto EXACTLY what was going on over in their teammate's hotel room.

When she was done, both chunin were red as cherries.

"Uh... well... uh, I'm glad I didn't go over there now... But if they're going to be at this all night, how are we going to sleep?"

"Silencing jutsu, duh." Sakura said.

"Right, right." Naruto sheepishly replied.

The two of them proceeded to activate the noise cancelling jutsu on two walls a piece.

The jutsu was designed to block out long distance sound while still allowing in nearby sounds such as footsteps and tapping near the wall. Ideal for Frontline warfare so that soldiers could get some shut eye with battles being fought only miles away while ensuring that the enemy couldn't sneak up on them and slit their throats.

Satisfied with their seals, the couple retired to the coffee table. Sakura wanted to start up another card game, but Naruto had had his fill for the evening. In light of the evening's events, there was nothing else to do but go to bed.

 _'Bed...'_ They both thought.

The thought was terrifying, as terrifying as any battles they had ever faced.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I'll just sleep on the floor." Naruto offered.

"Nonsense!" Sakura cried. "I mean... It's fine Naruto, really."

Sakura placed her hands on Naruto's shoulders. In reality, Sakura was terrified of taking this plunge, but that pretty much summed up their relationship so far, it had just been one long freefall.

As soon as they reunited after Naruto's journey the two of them took a risk and jumped right into a relationship. Now they were in freefall, everything seemed to be happening so fast and at them same time the two of them just kept falling more and more in love with each other. Sakura had heard of whirlwind romances like theirs all the time among the nurse's station. They started out fast and they ended just as quick. Sakura didn't want that. She had finally gotten Naruto back after years of separation. Before they had decided to start dating their friendship was better than ever. Now everything seemed to hinge on the edge of disaster if mishandled.

 _'You're overthinking it.'_ Inner Sakura chimed in.

"We won't do anything Naruto. You just keep your hands away from my bathing suit area and I'll do the same and it'll be fine." Sakura explained, with a few weird flashbacks to sex-ed crossing her mind.

"Wait, are we talking one piece swim suit or two piece with you?" Naruto asked with concern, no way was he going to overstep his boundaries while Sakura had her gravity training strength and her chakra enhancing monster strength.

"Two piece! What are you..?" Sakura said. Honestly her boyfriend's idiocy could so rag on her.

"Ok Sakura, ok." Naruto defended. "Maybe you should just set the tone. I've got no problem with you touching me but you…well I don't want to do anything you would feel uncomfortable with."

 _'He is so considerate.'_ Sakura thought.

"Ok then. Naruto, lay down on the bed." She ordered. The blond ninja wordlessly obeyed, sliding into the bed with such hesitation. As he finished laying down he got an idea. He took up what he thought was a sexy bed pose from walking in on his Master Jiraiya at a brothel as the Toad Sage was waiting for his order to arrive. It seemed appropriate so Naruto put on the most confident smile he could muster.

"What are you doing?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Um, getting ready to embrace you?" Naruto suggested. His right arm draped over his raised knee.

"Well stop it, it looks weird." Sakura said. "Put your knee down and just relax." The blond felt dejected, but obeyed. Now it was Sakura's turn.

"Ok, and now I will…get comfortable." Sakura squeaked out, more nervous than ever before. She turned her back to her lover and sat down on the bed. Then, she brought her feet up to the top of the mattress and leaned her shoulder on Naruto's stretched out arm. Once she was comfortable on her side, the pinkette decided to move back a bit to get even more situated. She scooted her bottom back an inch, then two inches, then…she felt a poke.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura I am SO sorry!" Naruto frantically sputtered out. Instantly he scooted his own pelvis back. His face lighting up like a ripe tomato. Meanwhile Sakura's cheeks were trying to invent a new shade of red. Her inner self was going crazy with joy, it was starting to cloud Sakura's thoughts.

Naruto braced himself for impact. Any moment now Sakura was going to punch him into next week for poking her with his boner. And after all his talk of respecting her boundaries, he had to go and literally cock it up. _Why is Sakura scooting back?_ He thought.

While Naruto was silently begging for mercy, Sakura had regained her focus and reached out behind her to hold Naruto in place while she back up into the dimwitted boy again. Naruto was at a loss for words, certain that he had offended her with his uncontrollable urges.

"I told you its fine, Naruto." Sakura said. The pink haired medic nuzzled her head deeper into the crook of Naruto's elbow, her pink locks tickling the blond's skin. Likewise, Naruto's warm puffs of breath were tickling the back of Sakura's neck. Content with how she was positioned, Sakura reached back and draped Naruto's arm over her tummy like a blanket. The pink haired medic sighed and began to drift off to sleep.

"Uh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"We are still in our robes…and I usually sleep in my boxers soooo…"

"Oh right…" Sakura replied. She had gotten so caught up in the thought of sleeping (and only sleeping) with Naruto that she had completely forgotten to take off her evening wear.

Or turn off the lights.

Or brush her teeth. ' _OH GOD, does my breath stink?!'_

Sakura untangled herself from Naruto and darted to the lone bathroom they were provided. Leaving Naruto and his blue balls to prepare his own bedtime rituals.

Inside the bathroom, Sakura was frantically brushing her teeth, cursing the fancy cheeses from the west she just had to sample at dinner.

 _'Good God this is pathetic.'_ Inner Sakura commented.

 _'Shut up, I'm nervous ok?'_ Sakura countered, causing a mental lapse which led to her sticking her toothbrush too far back in her mouth which made her gag.

 _'Yeah, that's why it's so pathetic. It's just sleeping together, and not even the fun kind of sleeping together.'_

 _'Well what do you want from me? Everything is happening so fast and I don't know how to deal with things.'_

 _'True. Our only real example of a brand new relationship to go off of is between Videl and Gohan. And the two of them we wouldn't describe as perfect examples of taking things slow.'_

 _'Psshh, yeah.'_ Sakura agreed.

 _'Look, this is all new to the blond idiot too. He is just as nervous, but was willing to let you set the tone.'_

 _'You think I'm not guilty enough already on being less willing then him.'_

 _'This isn't about feeling guilty, it's about trust.'_

Just then Sakura heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Hey Sakura-chan." Naruto spoke.

"Yea? I'm almost done."

"I was thinking. What if we just went to sleep normally?"

"Normally? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean we get in our PJ's, get under the covers, and go to bed. No stress, nothing fancy."

"Oh... I see... What brought this on all of a sudden?" Sakura said, nervous to the answer. Had she tried going too fast like she feared? Was Naruto not really ready for this?

"I don't know. I just think that with everything that's been going on. You might think that you need to try too hard for my sake. And that's just not true. You don't need to put on a show for me, Sakura-chan. That's something I admire about you, you're so honest. And I am so grateful that you would trust me to sleep in the same bed as you."

It was in that moment, Sakura wanted to cry tears of joy. She had thought she was rushing into things to benefit Naruto that she completely forgot that he is an easy man to please and likes to keep things simple. She mentally breathed a sigh of relief before speaking back up.

"Yeah. Yeah that sounds like a great idea, Naruto." She smiled. "I still want you to hold me though." Sakura added with a blush.

"You'll have to come find me in the secret fortress though." He smirked.

"Secret fort? What are you talking about?" Sakura opened the bathroom door to see the room was completely pitch black. The shades drawn and the lights turned off. Except for one lamp that was kept on inside a huge pillow fort on the bed, giving it the appearance of the glowing entrance to a magical cave. The whole thing was constructed out of pillows and cushions from the couch. With several blankets draped over to give it a roof.

"TAADAH!" Naruto shouted with his arms outstretched.

Sakura then started giggling. "You are such a child sometimes, but that's what I love about you the most."

"You like it? I was thinking of how I could ease the tension and then I thought of us just having a sleep over. I've never had a sleep over before, but I've heard from other kids that you build pillow forts for sleep overs. So I did."

"Actually, yea I do like it. I have had plenty of sleepovers with Ino and we used to do this a lot. This brings back a lot of happy memories for me. Gotta say, it seems to be pretty well constructed."

"I uh, had some help." Naruto quickly made the sign he normally would to make shadow clones.

"Not surprised. Would have taken longer than the time I was in the bathroom to make this. Aren't you going to let a fair lady enter this wonderful castle?" Sakura giggled.

"Right this way, M'lady." Naruto made a big show of bowing like a proper gentleman before taking Sakura's hand and showing her the moat. Which was just the floor, but with a rug acting as the drawbridge.

Sakura also made a show of being all prim and proper. Swanning about and fanning her face with her hand as she was shown the impressive hallway with the high ceilings, the corner that served as the eatery, and the sub room where the rest of the pillows could act as their beds.

"Wow. This is really well done. Ino and I could have only dreamed of making something this awesome!" Sakura said, her inner child overflowing with the intricate design of the fort Naruto built.

"Glad you like it, M'lady. But that is not all." Naruto grandly declared. He clapped his hands and a few moments later a shadow clone hedged into wearing a butler outfit poked his head past the front door carrying a tray with sodas poured into those fancy hotel glasses.

Sakura giggled. "You are too kind, M'lord." She took one of the glasses and sipped on some of the soda.

"Seriously though. Thank you for doing this. This is really what I needed after the past few weeks of hell on Earth. You as well, I'm sure."

"Oh think nothing of it M'lady." Naruto said, keeping up his fancy accent. He raised up his glass as high as the blanket ceiling would allow. "To us and to easier days ahead." He toasted.

"To us and a bright future together." Sakura toasted back, their glasses clinking together as the pulled away and took a sip from their glasses.

The clone refilled their drinks and the couple made another toast to friends and comrades. Then another to lost friends. Then to ramen and dango. Then to cakes and other sweets. Then to getting an eyeful of Sakura's goodies in the bath earlier. A toast that normally would have gotten Naruto skyrocketing upwards, but Sakura was far to giddy from the atmosphere to muster up anything more than a playful slap.

The both of them had been acting like they were their masters on the happy juice. Before either of them knew it, they were completely drunk as far as their brains were concerned.

They kept swaying back and forth, leaning against one another, getting more and more comfortable with each other as the hours rolled by.

At one point, Naruto leaned against the wall too hard causing it to collapse on top of him. Sakura grabbed his lifeless corpse, trying not to giggle as she declared to all the heavens that she would never love again. She cradled Naruto's uninjured head in her lap, stroking his hair as she pondered how to save her lover's life.

Like a scene from a play, one of the clone butlers entered the fort and proclaimed that only a true love's kiss could save him now.

Desperate to save her love. The Lady Sakura leaned forward to kiss her prince charming, only to burst out in laughter at the last minute. Naruto laughed with her at how ridiculous things had gotten.

The two did share a kiss, but only after it was revealed that the butler clone had been the mastermind orchestrating the collapsed walls to kill Lord Naruto and claim Lady Sakura as his own.

Lady Sakura declared the shadow clone to be a dastardly cur and Lord Naruto challenged his own servant to a duel, right there in the fireplace den where they kept the lamp.

Ultimately, Lord Naruto won and claimed the fair maid's lips as his prize. The two then collapsed on top of one another in a fit of giggles. Utterly spent from the evening's activities.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked sleepily.

"Yea Sakura-Chan?"

"Thank you for everything. I love you, so much."

Naruto leaned over and somehow found the top of Sakura's head in the mess of tangled limbs and kissed the crown of her forehead. "I love you too, M'lady."

Sakura giggled. "Good night my Lord." She whispered.

"Goodnight my Lady." He replied.

A surviving butler clone turned off the lamp and dispersed himself. Leaving the royal couple alone beneath the rubble of their pillow fort. The soft moonlight peeking out through the cracks in the drapes.

With nothing but the sound of each others breathing. The two of them drifted off to sleep.

 _'Aaaaand scene!'_ Inner Sakura declared.

* * *

The next morning, the sun shone brightly and the birds chirped happily, until a stray Ki blast was sent rocketing out of the window at the noisy birds.

"That's enough of that... My head hurts enough as it is." Videl said as she tried to gather her thoughts.

She looked around at her and Gohan's now virtually destroyed hotel room. Videl then noticed she and Gohan were buck naked on the floor, tails intertwined.

"What in the hell happened here?" Videl thought out loud. Suddenly, the images from last night replayed in her mind and right then and there, she knew what happened. _'Now I remember. God, I didn't realize it would be that intense. I hope it was just that one night seeing as I'm more than likely knocked up now.'_ Videl thought.

It was in that moment Gohan woke up with the same splitting headache Videl had.

"Ugh... my head... Why is the room spinning..?" Gohan groaned.

"The mating cycle started last night." Videl said.

"Mating cycle?" Gohan question, then the memories from last night hit him as well. "Oh... The full moon came earlier than expected."

"Yea, Sakura told me. I meant to tell you, but it slipped my mind."

"Would have been nice if you had told me. I wouldn't have invited Naruto and Sakura if that was going to happen."

"They're fine. I sense they are still sleeping in their room and peacefully from the feel of it." Videl said as she then turned her attention to her bare belly and smiled softly. "After last night, there is little doubt in my mind that we're going to be parents in 6 months."

Gohan stiffened. "You mean... You're-"

"More than likely. Too early to tell for sure, but I could almost guarantee that I am, considering we went at it 6 times and you never pulled out once." Videl stated bluntly.

"Yea, I remember..." Gohan said, blushing. "I just hope I'll be a good father."

"Are you kidding? I have seen how you took care of Goten. You'll be an amazing father, I just know it." Videl said, reassuring.

Gohan smiled warmly at Videl. "Thank you, and I know you'll make a great mother. You remind me a lot of mine honestly."

Videl cocked an eyebrow. "In what way?"

"Attitude, kindness, strictness, you two share a lot of the same personality traits, which is a good thing."

"If you say so." Videl stated. She got up albeit clumsily. "Might as well get cleaned up and get on with the day. We'll need to clean this place up though. I don't think the resort staff would take kindly to us trashing this place."

Gohan looked around the room and saw that the table they played poker on was in pieces as well as the sheets to their bed, the wooden bed frame was also damaged, the couch was shredded and the curtains were half gone. Gohan nodded and followed Videl into the shower with a change of clothes for both of them. Once they finish with what they have to do, they would need to talk to Kakashi and Yamato about the events that took place last night, as well as apologize to Sakura and Naruto. Gohan has the feeling that he may have inadvertently scared them off because of what happened.

 _'Time will tell.'_ Videl and Gohan thought at the same time.

* * *

 **Chapter 11 finally up! So Sorry that took so long. Lots of stuff happening all at once and little time to work on this. That and we needed a bit of a break. Yes I know, its a filler chapter, the next one is going to be filler as well. However, the next chapter will be the start of a completely new and completely off-canon arc that we think will turn out to be awesome. Stay tuned all and thanks for all of you that have been following along thus far.**

 **Next time: Voices from the past.**


	12. Chapter 12: Family Matters Part 1

**This chapter is going to be a two parter. This half will be about Gohan and Videl, the next one will be about Naruto and Sakura for the most part as well as the opening for the next Arc. If left whole, this chapter would be long and drawn out.**

* * *

A few days later, the group of warriors had finally returned to the leaf. Not wasting any time, Kakashi ordered the group to the Hokage tower to debrief Tsunade on the events of the mission. By all counts, this mission was a failure. However, they did succeed in taking out a very dangerous criminal that Kakashi was sure the world would be eternally grateful for.

The next hour was spent going over the mission that had occurred. Tsunade was impressed at the start, but her attitude quickly changed when Kakashi got to the part about Kabuto. Tsunade's tone shifted from content to surprise as Kakashi explained in detail how things played further on. Then she shifted to disappointment and concern when learning about Naruto transforming into the 4 tails. Sadly, that was just the tip of the iceberg for her disappointment.

"It was at that point, Videl took after Naruto and had gotten captured by Orochimaru, even after I told her to stay put." Kakashi explained.

"I see. And Videl, at any time did it occur to you to stay behind with your team to plan your next move instead of going off on your own against an S ranked criminal?" Tsunade asked.

"There's more to it than that, Lady Tsunade." Kakashi interjected.

"I don't think there is." Tsunade countered. "She acted impulsively and rushed into a battle half-cocked and got herself captured. Putting her squad in even more danger."

"Please, if I may, Lady Tsunade. Gohan showed up not long after and we went after Videl to save her. We were about half way there when we witnessed a massive explosion of Ki. Gohan had confirmed that it was from Videl at whatever location she was in. Gohan went ahead with Sakura to help her if she needed it." Kakashi explained

"Once Gohan and I arrived, we saw Videl take on a lesser form of Super Saiyan as well as a 500-meter crater where Orochimaru's base used to be." Sakura added

"Once the rest of us arrived, Naruto and myself looked around to see if Orochimaru or anything for that matter was still there. Gohan had said he couldn't sense Orochimaru anymore, and with what little we could find of him, we confirmed that Videl obliterated him." Yamato finished

Tsunade paused at this revelation. She looked at team 7 with a quizzed look on her face.

"Are you telling me that Orochimaru, the S class rogue ninja has been killed?"

"There isn't much left of him to bring back a body." Kakashi said

"My attack was set to launch him into space, but at the time I was completely out of control from the images from the genjutsu he cast on me that I put in a lot more energy into that attack than I originally wanted to." Videl explained.

Tsunade raised her hand to silence Videl. "I don't care how you did it. What I want to know is did you confirm the kill?"

"I was in a state of intense rage, but I saw with my own eyes as he was disintegrated from my blast. The only thing we could salvage was a hand that Kakashi-sensei has in a scroll." Videl explained.

Kakashi handed Tsunade the scroll, which she passed on to a nearby ANBU to take it to the medical ward for examination.

"We lost track of Kabuto, but I don't think he was caught in the blast." Yamato said.

Videl shook her head. "He fled long before I transformed."

"Be that as it may. This is not how we do things in the Leaf. Videl, from what I have heard, your supposed victory against Orochimaru was decided not by skill or power, but by luck. You were lucky that Orochimaru did not kill you outright, that Kabuto didn't slit your throat while you were unconscious. You were lucky that you were able to activate your saiyan power up and that Gohan just so happened to be on his way. These were risks that could have been avoided if you had stopped and surveyed the situation with your more experienced teammates. And for that, I do not award you the rank of chunin." Tsunade said flatly.

"How would you know what I did and didn't do aside from what you are being told? You weren't there! And you don't know anywhere near as much about Saiyan's as you think you do!" Videl shouted in anger. She knew she fucked up during the mission, but to have this old hag talk down to here like she got her whole team killed was enough to set her off.

"Watch your mouth brat!" Tsunade sternly told her. "I may not know much about Saiyan's, but you know so much less about ninjas."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" Videl screamed, her aura flaring up and then felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough, Videl." Gohan said as he had just entered the room. "My apologies, Lady Tsunade. She doesn't mean it. The full moon came early and we can be quick to enrage until it passes."

"That is no excuse. I expect all my kunoichi to keep their composure during their menstruation cycles and I will not make an exception for your girlfriend. But that is beside the point. Ninjas operate as teams, not as individuals. Powerful as you may be, you cannot do everything. That is what your team is for. That was the last thing my jounin taught you before awarding you the rank of genin. If you cannot work as a team with others and you cannot respect the chain of command, I will remove you from my forces. Are we clear?" Tsunade asked in a tone that left no room for argument.

Videl was getting even angrier the more Tsunade spoke. Her eyes had switched to solid teal for the briefest of moments and Tsunade could see this.

 _'This must be part of the transformation. I have seen Gohan do this. It would seem this Kekkei Genkai is triggered by intense emotions and anger.'_ Tsunade thought calculatedly.

Videl was about to unleash her full fury on the old woman before her, but the firm grip from Gohan increased. She looked up at him to see a stern look of his own.

"She's right, Videl. The same rules apply to my team as well. If you can't follow orders or work as a team, then you have no place being on one. This isn't Satan city, Videl. You can't do things on your own and expect the same outcomes as before I arrived."

Videl was taken aback by Gohan's statement and felt a little hurt that her mate would side with the Hokage. Before she could speak again, Gohan continued.

"You also overestimate yourself greatly. You didn't even know what a Saiyan was until two months ago and then found out a month ago that you are one. If anyone here has the most knowledge about Saiyan's it's me. I've known about them since I was 4."

Tsunade waited for Videl's response. Her choice of words would dictate Tsunade's decision whether or not to keep the half saiyan on team 7.

"You are a very capable fighter and you make a decent Shinobi for only having a month's worth of training. But you still have a lot to learn. It took me my entire life to get to the level I'm at now." Gohan continued.

Realizing that she was in a no win argument, Videl relaxed and her temper subsided. She knew they were both right and that she let the power she recently gained go to her head, something she promised herself that she would never let happen. A single tear strayed from her eye as she looked up at Tsunade.

"I'm waiting, brat." Tsunade spoke.

Videl didn't even let the comment Tsunade made offend her and pointed her head towards the ground.

"I'm sorry... You and Gohan are right... I promise to work harder at being a team player. I'm sorry for my harsh words before and I'm sorry for putting everyone in danger. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn't let power go to my head and I did just that." Videl sobbed.

Tsunade sighed, grateful that she didn't have to fire such a promising young kunoichi.

"That's better. Now wipe those tears from your eyes girl, it doesn't suit you."

Videl sniffed as she wiped her eyes with her gloved hand and then was pulled into a loving embrace by Gohan.

"It also upsets me when you cry, you know that." Gohan said softly as he held onto Videl tightly.

"See here Videl, you have potential. The progress you have made learning our ninja techniques in the short time you have been here is nothing short of astonishing. Even now you are more powerful than me in terms of raw strength. But power is not everything. You understand?" Tsunade said before she continued. "From what you have told me your teamwork was excellent at the beginning of the mission. Expand upon that and I am certain that you will attain the rank of chunin." Tsunade finished and Videl made a shaky nod. She was still upset that what she thought was the right thing, turned out to put everyone else in danger and she was too proud to admit it, until now and it hurt to do so.

"I'm sorry for saying what I said, but-" Gohan started but was cut off by Videl

"No, it's okay. I needed to hear it from you to make me realize what a fool I have been. I need to smarten up if I plan to be a mother to our child." Videl said, to which Tsunade gaped in shock.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Tsunade asked, switching from Hokage mode to doctor mode. "You said you are pregnant? When did this happen?"

"Gohan told you what happens during the mating cycle, right? Well it started two nights ago. We don't have any confirming evidence that I am with child, but considering the facts that involve the Saiyan mating I'm all but certain that I am." Videl said.

"Yea I can confirm that. We were playing poker in their room a few nights ago and they took on very feral looks and actions. It was like they were wild animals or something." Naruto added.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. Sweet Sage she did not need this right now. "Ok then, fine. As soon as this briefing is over, Sakura I want you to grab Shizune in the medical research ward and bring her to the maternity ward where you two," Tsunade pointed her finger back and forth at Videl and Gohan, "will be waiting for us. There we will discuss how the two of you are going to have half alien babies in my hospital."

"There really isn't anything different from delivering normal babies." Gohan started. "The pregnancy term is shorter and the baby is just born with a tail. Other than that, it's still pretty straight forward. I helped my mom deliver my baby brother."

"Not. Now." Tsunade cut him off.

Gohan looked at Tsunade in confusion. "Um... Okay? Sorry."

She took a sip of her secret stash. It was bad enough having one rambunctious powerhouse to deal with. Now she seemed to have three.

As Tsunade was taking a sip, Videl remembered something that her mother told her. "I forgot to tell you, Gohan, but apparently twins run in my family."

Tsunade spat out her sake in shock. _'Make that four.'_ Tsunade thought. Speaking of...

"As for you Naruto."

Naruto looked shocked that his name had been mentioned.

"We need to discuss your own rampage."

Naruto looked down dejected. He knew exactly what this was about.

"Twice now you have lost yourself to the Kyuubi's influence on missions and gone on a rampage. Putting your teammates in jeopardy."

 _'What is she talking about, Videl?'_ Gohan thought into Videl's mind.

 _'He transformed into the 4 tails and it was the most horrific thing I ever saw. You probably felt it, didn't you?'_

 _'Oh... Yea I felt it alright. He was stronger than Freeza then.'_

"I say this because as soon as this mission report falls in the hands of my advisors or God help us, Danzo, they will be in my office demanding to know why I haven't put you on a leash. And I am not using a metaphor right now."

Naruto gulped to that info.

"Restricting your freedoms is the last thing I want to do. But between the paranoia of the civilian council and the threat of the Akatsuki, who are still at large and hunting jinchuriki, my hands are about to be tied. So I need to know if I should be ordering Jiraiya to strengthen your seal or if I should pull you off the front lines entirely?" Tsunade spoke, a hint if desperation in her voice. Naruto was like a son to her, it killed her to have to treat him like this. But being Hokage meant making personal sacrifices and this would be her biggest one yet.

"No, Granny Tsunade, no. It's true I've been tapping into the Kyuubi's power to give myself an edge, usually when I was angry. But no more. I almost hurt Sakura-chan and the rest of my team. I won't be using the Kyuubi's power any further."

"Are you sure?"

"I swear, believe it." Naruto smiled while pounding his chest.

"Very good."

"Lady Tsunade, If I may, I have an idea." Gohan interjected.

"Yes Gohan, what is it?"

"I learned a variety of mental and meditative training styles that would have a high success rate of Naruto gaining full control of this power he has. In time, he would have the ability to control the power he needs to use without losing his mind." Gohan explained.

Everyone paused and was deep in thought for a moment before Gohan continued.

"I can also do the same for Sakura with her transformation." Gohan finished

"I will agree to that type of training for Sakura, but what Naruto has is not an anger problem, but a sentient demon inside him. Unless you have experience with that sort of thing, I would much rather have Naruto's time be spent focusing on training his skills outside of the realm of using the Kyuubi's chakra." Tsunade said.

"The type of mental training I'm talking about isn't focused merely on one's emotions, but to get a better understanding about themselves and where their power comes from. My sensei Piccolo taught me this and he has two beings in his body from his races form of fusion. If he were to merge the Kyuubi's power with his own and the Kyuubi be willing to aid Naruto, he could become even stronger than I am as I am currently." Gohan explained, hoping Tsunade would see this as the most probable and beneficial course of action.

"I appreciate the offer Gohan, but I'm with Tsunade on this one." Naruto interjected. "I have spent the last few years trying to learn how to master control over the fox and it still led to me hurting my friends. I would much rather just become stronger through my own power and not by the Fox's."

"I get where you're coming from, Naruto. Really, I do. I have a massive and rather frightening amount of sleeping power in me and I was always scared to use it, until the fate of our world came down to me using that power. Since then, I have learned to control it and use it when I need to. You just need the right motivation and so does the Kyuubi to agree with this. In time, I hope that motivation comes to you. The offer will always be on the table when and if you change your mind." Gohan said and Naruto nodded.

"Thank you, man. But I don't think I'm going to change my mind about this."

"Well, the offer will stand either way. In the meantime, Lady Tsunade, would you care to do the honors in presenting Naruto's and Sakura's new gift?" Gohan said.

Naruto and Sakura looked at Gohan and then to Tsunade with a deep amount of confusion on their faces, to which Tsunade smiled.

"Ah yes, with all the chewing out I have been doing I nearly forgot go tell you the good news." Tsunade opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out two brass plated headbands. The design was a large Z carved into the metal with a circle in the center. In the circle was the Leaf symbol instead of a four-star symbol like Gohan's.

"The two of you have been invited to join the Neo Z Fighters. A newly created global peace keeping task force. Made up of Shinobi from every major village. You two will be the first to represent the Leaf Village. I hope you will do us proud." Tsunade smiled.

"I also want to extend that invitation to Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuuga, should they show interest." Gohan added.

Tsunade nodded. "I will send for them when they are not busy. Neji is on a mission right now and I'm not sure where Shikamaru is, but I will let them know."

"Hey! I don't get one Gohan?" Videl said in protest.

"Once you're trained up more, you will." Gohan said with a smile.

"If that will be all then you are dismissed. Sakura, Gohan, Videl, I will see you all shortly."

"Right." They all said, Sakura and Naruto taking their new headbands with them as they walked out of the office.

"This is a really intricate design. But why gold out of all colors?" Sakura asked

"I didn't choose it, the Raikage did. The plate is made out of brass so be careful with it." Gohan explained

"Looks cool, I think I'll keep my old headband around if it's all the same." Naruto said.

"You can keep your old headband around if you want to, but I want you to wear the new one. It's a symbol of diplomatic immunity. This way here, you can travel the world freely because you are a member of my team." Gohan explained, hoping Naruto would understand.

"Thanks, it's just that my old headband was a gift from Iruka sensei. One of the first people to ever acknowledge me. This headband means more to me then you will ever know." Naruto reminisced.

Sakura too thought back to the first time they faced Zabuza back in wave country and Naruto had risked his life to get that headband back.

"I understand. If you want, I can have your old headband brass plated and re-carved to look like the new one, or I can fashion it into a belt if you still want to wear it. I know what it's like to have something that reminds you of your loved ones." Gohan said, sadness evident in his voice.

"If I could just have this new headband turned into a belt, that would be perfect. Or an arm brace like what Shikamaru does. That would be perfect."

"Well, I'm gonna wear mine." Sakura said as she removed her old headband and tied on her new one in front of her forehead. She would put it back where the old one sat, but for now, she wanted to show it off.

"Well, Naruto? What do you think?" Sakura said as she made a pose as if she was a model.

"Oh very sexy." Naruto laughed while making a camera pose with his hands. "Yeah, work it girl, rock that headband."

Sakura giggled at the attention she was getting. "Now, let me see you with yours on. You don't have to leave it on if you don't want to." Sakura asked

Naruto shrugged, not seeing the harm in it. He turned around so that the three of them couldn't see his face while he put on his new headband.

He whipped around and greeted his friends with the best puppy dog pout he could muster.

"Hey not bad." Videl said with a wink.

"Looks good on you, really it does." Gohan said.

Sakura laughed at how ridiculous a face Naruto was making.

"Well? How do I look Sakura-chan?"

Sakura then looked over Naruto now with the headband and her heart fluttered a bit. She smiled warmly at Naruto. "Like a true hero, Naruto."

The blond was caught off guard by his girlfriend's answer, but warmly smiled at her with his biggest ear to ear grin.

"You look amazingly handsome with that headband and would love to see you wear it around more often. I know you will miss your old one, but if you let me, I'll do something with it that you will love. Would you be okay with that?" Sakura asked

"Sakura-chan..."

Naruto looked at his girlfriend's own puppy dog eyes and sighed. "Sure thing, Sakura-chan." He smiled.

"Trust me, what I have in mind, you will love it. Now come here and cheer up." Sakura said. Naruto obliged and Sakura wrapped him in a warm and loving hug and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"That headband does make you look like a hero, now you just have to live up to the look. Think you can do that?" Sakura said in Naruto's ear

"Chhh, who do you think you're talking to huh? I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The orange ninja declared.

Sakura giggled. "Baka." She said as she pulled away from their embrace. "That's what a love about you, no matter what, you always seem to put a smile on my face."

"Oh get a room, you two." Videl groaned in protest.

"This coming from the pair of Super Saiyan's that started fucking like a pair of wild animals before we left the room." Sakura retorted.

"Ooooohhh!" Naruto hollered.

"She's got a point, Videl." Gohan added in.

"A-Wha-Bu-You- ughhh... Fuck..." Videl protested

"Another victory for team narusaku." Naruto said, giving Sakura a high five.

"Yea, yea... Laugh it up...Lets just get to the hospital and get this over with." Videl growled.

"And as much fun as it sounds to tag along with you guys while you talk about baby stuff. I kinda promised Konohamaru some training when I got back so I'm just gonna go do that." Naruto stated.

"Oh! Right. Here is the capsule for the gravity room." Videl said as she handed the capsule to Naruto. "Just place it in the field, hit the plunger on top and toss it. You already know how to work the controls."

"Gotcha, thanks Videl. Good luck with your babies or whatever. And as for you..." Naruto turned to Sakura and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you later."

"Count on it." Sakura said as she returned the kiss.

Regrettably, Naruto broke the kiss and waved to all his friends good bye before sprinting off to find Konohamaru.

"Alright, let's get going. Follow me and we'll be over and done with this shortly." Sakura said as she walked towards the hospital with Gohan and a reluctant Videl in tow.

* * *

Inside the maternity ward, they met up with Tsunade who had somehow beaten them to the hospital. The Hokage/Head Medic sent Sakura to fetch Shizune and sat the expecting couple down in a private room.

"Ok, Videl, I'm going to do a simple chakra scan over your pelvic region. This should tell us if there are any changes to your body that would indicate conception."

"Alright. Have at it." Videl said.

Tsunade waved her hand only a few centimeters above Videl's clothed skin.

"Remarkable." Tsunade said.

"What is it?" Videl asked

"Tell me. How many times have the two of you had sex?"

"That's a good question. Gohan, your memory is better than mine."

"Since our second night here we have had sex every two or three nights and we had it 6 times the night the mating cycle started." Gohan said. "Why?"

 _'Lucky bitch.'_ Tsunade thought. "Based on what I am sensing, if Videl was a normal human I would estimate that she has been pregnant for over a month. Depending on exactly when conception was, I am still surprised that we are seeing results this quickly. Normally we wouldn't be able to tell until you were 25 days along but you have been here for less time than that."

"Saiyan pregnancies last 6 months instead of 9. That's probably why." Videl stated.

"Yes. The problem is, that you are not a full saiyan. You are half human. The both of you are. Here is where genetics get tricky." Tsunade began to explain while Gohan took Videl's hand in his own.

"Bluntly speaking. It should be impossible for two species from entirely different planets to reproduce. Genetic codes and ecosystems would be entirety too different. It's the same reason why cats and dogs can't impregnate one another. But by a million to one shot, that doesn't seem to be the case since the both of you exist. So that means that the saiyan race and the human race are similar enough to allow for cross species breeding. Such is the case with horses and donkeys, to create mules."

Videl looked like she was going to lash out at the old hag for suggesting that their children would be mules, but Tsunade held up her hand to signal to Videl to let her continue.

"I say this because mules have an alarming tendency to be born sterile and have other birth defects. And that is what is my biggest concern, your health Videl and the health of the baby or babies."

 _'Your concerns are not without merit, Tsunade. But in this instance, you're over thinking things.'_ King Kai said into their minds. _'Saiyan's have been cross breeding since their species was new and not a single half Saiyan child has been born that way, I can assure you that. Videl's pregnancy may have risks like any typical human or Saiyan mother would normally have, however Videl is only half human by blood. Her DNA structure is almost completely dominated by the Saiyan DNA, which is why only a few of her features are human based. Like her eyes and hair.'_

 _'That may be comforting to some, but the day I leave the health of my patients up to God is the day I toss my medical textbooks into a fire and take up praying.'_

 _'Hey, I'm telling you what you need to know. This information I got directly from the deceased King of the Saiyan's, who was once a highly trained doctor before he became King. I can assure you that there is no need to worry all that much. Also, I wanted to tell you that the arrangements you wanted for Naruto's parents are set and they're ready when you are.'_ King Kai said.

Tsunade growled at having her authority undermined, but at the same time was delighted to hear that her arrangements were being put into effect.

 _'Best news I've heard all day. We can set up a meeting tomorrow after we've sorted everything here.'_

 _'Regardless, King Kai.'_ Videl said. "Lady Tsunade, do what you need to do. I want my children to be as healthy as can be. I'll do whatever it takes to have them healthy and happy." Videl said in a concerned tone, then got serious. "Also, if you even suggest I abort, I will pop your head off like a cork from a wine bottle. Hate to be harsh and rude, but I WILL NOT do that..."

"Well then we should lay down some ground rules. As your doctor I have sworn to do no harm, so do not think for one second that any action I take or suggestion I make is not entirely in the best interest of you and your baby. However, by laws placed down by me and the Third Hokage, until the end of the second trimester, your life takes priority over the baby's without the written consent of both the father and the mother. So I will make that suggestion vocal, along with every other alternative suggestion we have available and we will make that decision when and if it happens."

Tsunade placed her shoulder on Videl's.

"However, it won't come to that. Because in the opinion of any member of the medical profession worth his salt. I am the best damn doctor you can find. Trust me Videl. You and your babies are in good hands."

"Thank you-wait, babies?"

"She's really pregnant? And she's carrying more than one? How can you tell?" Gohan said spouting off question after question

"I sensed two chakra networks forming inside your lover. Normally that would indicate twins, however given the fact that the two of you have two networks a piece. This could also indicate a single child with two chakra networks. We should know for certain in a couple of months when the two have distanced themselves from one another."

"King Kai told me one day that having an extra dormant power network is common among Saiyan hybrids." Gohan explained.

"Yes. Still forgive me if I'm not comfortable relying on word of mouth when it comes to my patient's health. So during the course of your pregnancy you will have my personal attention. Be grateful, I wasn't planning on returning to the maternity ward until Naruto and Sakura came in here."

"Wait, what?" Both Gohan and Videl said in shock.

 _'Oh shit.'_ "Awe shit, don't tell them I said that."

"Sakura told me she and Naruto haven't done it yet. Unless they did it two nights ago after they left our room. " Videl stated

"Well I didn't expect to do it over night. I was thinking years down the line!" Tsunade stated.

"Oh!... Okay, that's different." Gohan said.

"I have noticed with each passing day; Sakura can hardly stay away from Naruto. It's almost like they are glued to the hips, one doesn't go without the other. Except in this case." Videl stated. "She really has fallen hard for that bonehead."

"I know right? Maybe the one bet I've ever won against the old pervert."

"That reminds me... I've seen the two of you acting a little much more friendlier towards each other lately." Videl said slyly

"Alright, so we've had sex on the Hokage desk, what of it?"

"WOAH! WHAT?!" Videl said in shock

"Lady Tsunade! You didn't...!" Gohan said in shock as well

"Oh yeah. Old age hasn't slowed that old toad down one bit. Not that I've lost any of my skills either." She winked at Gohan.

Gohan gulped and blushed madly. Videl had a tick mark form on her head with a look that said, Back off of my man or else.

"What? Every Hokage has done it. With the robes and the hat on and everything. I'm almost certain Naruto and Sakura will eventually do it if they keep this up. I swear you kids today are too prudish. Always so damn careful not to start anything with your teammates. Back in my day, sex with your teammates wasn't an emotional taboo it was a way to pass the time during long stake outs in the freezing cold."

"Ooookay we heard enough about that..." Videl said, now clearly disturbed. "And you can't have Gohan either. No one can."

"Keep your panties on. I wouldn't touch your baby daddy. I've got my own main squeeze, didn't you here."

"Baby daddy? Gohan, you sure we're not in a different country of our own world?" Videl stated.

"More than sure." Gohan stated. "And what Videl means is that for Saiyan's -even Half Saiyan's-when Saiyan's mate it's for life. If something happens to either me or Videl, the other cannot bond or mate with another person so long as the remaining Saiyan lives."

"Oh. So it's like a form of marriage then. Makes sense." Tsunade said and Gohan nodded.

"I swear to god, I think people with iPods and iPhone's are going to start showing up as well as all the damn Twilight fangirls." Videl ranted, the last part catching Tsunade off guard.

 _'How the fuck do they know about my book title? Not even Shizune knows that I'm writing.'_

"I doubt it. It was horrible in our time. I seriously doubt it will come here. At least I hope not. Sparkling vampires... I've met real ones and they don't sparkle." Gohan stated, to which Videl laughed.

 _'Oh, so they think my idea is crap huh? Well if Jiraiya can get away with writing smut, then I can make a fortune off of sexy teen vampires. But maybe if I just didn't call them vampires and just referred to them as immortals...yeah that'll work.'_

"I was just glad they got done making the movies. One less thing to pollute the theaters." Videl stated and Gohan chuckled.

"I would agree with you, but the time you, me, Erasa and Sharpner went to see that horror movie was the first and only time I've ever gone to one."

"The movies had horrible ratings and an even worse fan base that consisted of teenage girls below the age of 15 and younger." Videl added.

 _'Holy shit, my books will get made into a movie? I'll be able to pay back all my gambling debts with that kind of cash.'_

"Who knows Videl. It could be really successful here and it could be a thousand times better than the one in our world. So long as the writer of it doesn't try to make this about 'the world's first book for adults,' or something stupid like that." Gohan said, to which Videl agreed.

 _'Call the werewolves shapeshifters instead and have them always take their shirts off. That's what I'll do.'_

"Well, whatever. It's not like anyone we know would make something like that. I bet even Lady Tsunade could come up with a better story than that." Videl said. "Right, Lady Tsunade?"

"And the ghost writer will can it Fifty Shades of-" Tsunade mumbled to herself. "sorry what was that?"

Gohan and Videl looked at each other. They both heard Tsunade clear as day when she cut herself off about Fifty Shades of Grey.

 _'Should we tell her?'_ Gohan asked mentally.

 _'Let me take care of that.'_ Videl stated back. "We heard what you said under your breath. Saiyan's, even half breeds, have very sensitive hearing." Videl said to the now stunned Hokage

"Well whoopty doo. What are you going to do, stop me from writing?"

"Oh no, not at all. But I can help you make it better. I can share with you all that I know about Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey and how badly they flopped in our world and help you improve upon their failures and make them good. And Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Videl said calmly with a smile. "You have done so much for Gohan and I, the least I can do is help you so your novels don't turn out to be like the ones in our time."

"Please, like anyone would believe you if you told them I was writing. The same way they wouldn't believe you if you told them I was doing the deed with Jiraiya."

Videl, now hurt by Tsunade's tone, looked at the Hokage and sighed.

"That's not the point. The point is, these two novels that eventually became a series of movies, brought poor ratings and eventually left the creators and authors bankrupt, or damn near it. I want to help you succeed so what happened to them, doesn't happen to you." Videl said as sincerely as she could.

"Oh, well on that case, yes I would love your help."

"Sure, just let me know when it's a good time for me to come around. Now, about my child or children." Videl said, getting things back on track.

"Right. Well if there are no adverse medical conditions in your family that I would need to know about I would say that you are in the clear. Your vitals look good and it is too early to concern ourselves with anything major until you are farther along into your pregnancy. But again, since this is the first case of its kind in our world, I will ask that you return here once a week for regular check-ups except for when you are on missions."

"My father contracted a rare heart disease when I was 9, but was cured of it. Not sure if its hereditary." Gohan informed.

"My mom died when she gave birth to me. That is the main concern I have. I was told that because the term for a Saiyan pregnancy is shorter, it's also a lot more painful to the point where the pain can be lethal." Videl informed.

"And that right there is a major cause for concern, one that we will be monitoring closely."

 _'Hey King Kai, are you still there?'_

 _'Yes Tsunade?'_

 _'I don't suppose you could get me the medical records for Videl's mother during the time of her death?'_

 _'I can try, but honestly I wouldn't know where to- Wait. I'll contact Bulma from their world. If anyone can get them, it's her. She's a doctor in science as well as in medical. I'll get back to you in a few days.'_

 _'Good. I want a word for word report on what it contains.'_

 _'Well, King Yemma would know exactly how she died. He knows about how everyone dies really.'_

 _'Everyone? How about Orochimaru?'_

 _'Hold on a minute.'_ King Kai said as he cut the link off for a moment. He then contacted King Yemma and was told everything he needed to know and returned the mental link with Tsunade.

 _'King Yemma said that Orochimaru passed through his station a few days ago. Said he was killed by a powerful blast from Videl and was obliterated.'_

 _'So he really is dead.'_ Tsunade paused for a brief moment in honor of her fallen teammate. He might have been a sick son of a bitch, a traitor to the Leaf, and the killer of their sensei; but he was still once a fellow teammate since Tsunade's genin days. And that would always count for something. _'Thank you for confirming that. Now, about Videl's mother.'_

 _'He said something about a massive loss of blood due to a torn aorta from over straining her delivery and refusal of pain medication. That was typical Saiyan stubbornness at its prime, really.'_

 _'Is that right? I'll keep that in mind, but I still want that medical report containing information leading up to her death.'_

 _'I'll get right on that.'_

"Good news, I've now got a clearer picture of what killed your mother during childbirth. Lucky for you, it is a fairly common ailment in our line if work and is something we practice treating above all else." Tsunade said.

"You talked to King Kai didn't you?" Gohan inquired.

"I did. He and I will be getting to know each other quite well over the course of the next six months since he is my only link to medical information about Saiyan's. No offense to either of you but you are not doctors."

"None taken" Videl said.

"I learned a great deal from my friend Bulma, but as far as anything legal like, no I'm no doctor. But, who's to say I can't become one? I may even be able to offer tips based on treatments from our world that would work wonders here." Gohan said.

"If you're willing to put in the effort, I can train you myself. However, be warned that I am a strict master. Just ask Sakura."

"My first master left me alone in the wilderness to survive for 6 months when I was 4, sent off to another planet and almost died at age 5, saved the world from an evil bio-mechanical android at age 11. Unless you're subjecting me to any of that, I should be all set. Not to mention My mom had me studying collage level material at age 4." Gohan explained.

"It's true. He's a regular nerd." Videl added.

"I even have some medical texts books from my world if you wanna look at them." Gohan added

"Impressive, then you should have no trouble performing open heart surgery out in the field after a night of memorizing the 186 chakra points on the human body. If you manage that, I might let you sit down to have a meal that week."

"I'll be sure to pack plenty of senzu beans. They not only heal you, but give me enough nutrients to let me go without food for 3 days. Anything I can do to help others, I will gladly do what I can." Gohan declared

"No senzu beans. The medics I trained didn't have senzu beans and neither will you. My medics are trained to be walking hospitals. Able to keep their patients alive under the worst of circumstances when they themselves are a hairs breathe away from death."

"That just gives me more of a reason to learn how it's done here. If I'm going to be protecting this world, I wanna be prepared in case a medical shinobi isn't readily available. Too many times have I watch friends or family die and I just stood there unable to do anything." Gohan said, fierce determination evident in his tone and on his face.

"That is precisely what I want to hear." Tsunade smirked.

Just then. Shizune and Sakura entered the examination room.

"Sorry we're late Milady. The autopsy was being held up by a previous case and-"

"Save it, Shizune. Go and fetch me all the basic medical textbooks."

"Milady?" Shizune asked confused. Tsunade never asked for the basic text books unless...

"Let me introduce the two of you to my newest apprentice. Gohan Son." Tsunade patted him on the back. "Shizune I'm putting you in charge of Gohan's training for now. He is still an amateur with chakra so send him my way when he is worth my time."

"Y-yes Milady." Shizune squeezed. A little overwhelmed at everything happening so quickly.

"As for you Sakura, try not to haze Gohan so harshly. Also you will be my assistant on treating Videl during her pregnancy. We should be receiving files from King Kai soon pertaining to how the patient's mother died during childbirth and I want you working on solutions should the same problem occur during Videl's pregnancy as well as preemptive steps we can take beforehand."

"Of course, Milady."

"I should've mentioned that I do have some skills healing with Ki. Although, I'm not very good at it." Gohan stated.

"What really is the difference between Chakra and Ki anyway?" Sakura asked.

"Chakra is made of life and spiritual energy whereas Ki is made up of either life or spiritual energy. If you combine the two of them, you... make... chakra..." Gohan trailed off as he came to the sudden realization. "Sweet Jesus. I can't believe I had the ability to do that the whole time and never thought about it."

"You did in the hot springs." Videl added.

"I didn't really think much about it. I was just trying to shut Naruto up. But this is essentially a breakthrough. If a Chakra user can separate one source of energy from the other, then they can use Ki as well! Why didn't I think of that until now?!"

"Well this day is just full of revelations." Tsunade said.

"Is it really that simple?" Sakura asked.

"It would require extensive meditating, but it can be done. You would have to learn which energy is your life energy and which is the spiritual energy." Gohan said.

"What happens when someone uses their life energy?" Videl asked, the same question wondered through Sakura's and Tsunade's minds.

"While your life energy is the most powerful, if you use it, there is no getting it back. If you use it all, you die." Gohan explained darkly

All three women gulped in nervousness.

"So, if someone who has extensive knowledge of Chakra tries to use Ki for the first time and then accidentally uses their life energy, they will either shorten their life or die?" Sakura inquired, to which Gohan agreed.

"Okay. That's not happening to any of my Shinobi. Gohan, you just forget ever having this revelation about Chakra vs Ki. I'm not going to have my people risk their life to use a new energy source." Tsunade ordered, to which Gohan nodded. "Now, if there's nothing else, you are all dismissed. Gohan, I want to see you in my office in two hours to start your training."

* * *

After a short while, Gohan, Videl and Sakura were walking back to the gravity room to check in on Naruto and Konohamaru. They made small talk about random things, until Videl brought up an interesting subject.

"Which would you rather have, Gohan? One child or two?" Videl asked sweetly.

"As many as you want. I don't mind." Gohan said with a smile.

"As many as I want, huh? Well, then I want 6."

"SIX?! Damn girl! Get ready for the two you have coming first." Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

"Was that inner talking or you?" Videl asked.

"Both."

"We don't know for sure if we are going to have two children." Gohan stated.

"Hold on, let me check. My chakra sensing is a bit better than Lady Tsunade's" Sakura stated. Videl stopped walking and laid down on a nearby bench. Sakura scanned Videl's belly and found the two chakra signatures Tsunade had. She focused a little more and could make out two additional sets of chakra each within the vicinity of the first two. all three sets seem to blend into 3 chakra networks each, earning a grin from Sakura.

"Oh yeah. Definitely twins." Sakura said. "I can pick out the secondary network as well as the network belonging to what will be the tails. They are extremely faint and almost couldn't make them out at first."

Videl started tearing up with joy as well was Gohan. They would soon be proud parents to two children of their own and they couldn't be happier.

"I'm really happy for the two of you. I always loved being around children and want some of my own. 3 at most." Sakura said dreamily.

"I'm sure Naruto would be willing to oblige." Videl said softly.

Sakura blushed with a smile. "I don't know about that. I mean I know he would. He is such a good brother to Konohamaru and to the children of the village. I think he would make an excellent father to our kids when the time comes. But I don't know when he wants to have kids and I definitely don't want kids just yet. Maybe when we're married and settled but still-" Sakura stuttered. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that it was Videl's.

"You're absolutely right. And I know my Gohan would be a great father too. He has to be now." Videl said.

"And I can't wait." Gohan said with a smile.

"Good, because we gotta think of names now." Videl stated seriously.

Gohan thought for a second and then an idea popped into his head. "Why not after our parents? If its two girls, we can have Fasha and Chichi, or if its two boys Goku and Hercule."

"Hercule isn't my dad's real name. It's Mark." Videl corrected.

"Okay, Mark then. Or if it's one each we alternate between the four."

"But that only covers 4 out of the 6 children I want to have." Videl said.

Gohan thought about it again and then came up with another idea. "How about after my grandparents? Bardock and Gine."

"That sounds good, if we have an equal number of boys and girls." Videl pointed out.

"I'm gonna go see Naruto. I'll meet you guys at the gravity room." Sakura said as she stood up.

"Sure thing. We'll catch up in a bit." Gohan said and soon Sakura was sprinting towards the gravity room. "Well, if we end up with more girls, one of them can be named Bulma and if we have more boys, we could name one of them after Piccolo or Sharpner."

"I'm not naming a son of mine after that idiot. Do you know that even during our talks to him and Erasa every morning he's still trying to ask me out?"

"Well, he's in for a surprise this time now ain't he." Gohan stated with a grin.

Videl laughed. "Without a doubt."

"We'll have to do some shopping for baby clothes and such sooner or later."

"Once I know what the sex is of our children, we can work on that. For now, let's just enjoy these next 6 months together, because I'm more than certain we won't get a moment to ourselves when the children are born." Videl said with a warm smile.

Gohan nodded and sat down beside Videl and placed an arm around her shoulder. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He stared into her cerulean blue eyes as they sparkled in the remaining daylight. He got lost in them as they both inched closer together and pressed their lips into a heated and passionate kiss. Gohan placed his hand around Videl's waist and pulled her closer as their kiss deepened to levels they had yet to experience. Even with the mating season still in effect and the fact they had done so much in a short amount of time, the fiery passion of their love grew stronger with every passing moment. sure, they'd get on each others nerves from time to time, but any normal couple would. Even the super powered alien variety.

* * *

 **Before anyone says anything about the real differences in Ki and Chakra, let me remind you that this story doesn't follow canon Naruto or DBZ in that way. in fact, we have plans on the Naruto characters using Ki attacks and abilities in the future. I won't go any further than that. I know there is a difference between both energy sources, but for the sake of this story, there isn't much difference between them. Don't like it? Too bad. I had enough of the trolls and scrubs giving me a hard time about that with Transfer Students and don't want it here. If you want canon, read the manga or watch the anime.**

 **Anyway, Part 2 is already written and written by samuraipanda85. He will also be the one doing the next arc as this arc is his idea. He just has to go over a few things with the next part and it should be live either tomorrow or Wednesday. So stay tuned.**


	13. Chapter 13: Family Matters Part 2

It was three days after Team 7 had returned to the Leaf safely. Things had gone back to whatever passed for normal to the life of a ninja.

Team 7 had been granted a week's vacation after successfully completing their last mission, although complete might have been the wrong choice of words.

What was an intelligence gathering snatch and grab had ballooned into taking out the Leaf's most wanted criminal and scattering his forces to the wind. The infamous Sound village was now a monster without a head and the Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves couldn't be happier. There was talk of throwing a parade for the concurring heroes, a majority of whom wanted to shift all the credit over to Videl, but the Saiyan kunoichi wouldn't hear of it.

To her, it had been a team effort through and through. Plus (and she wouldn't admit this to anyone outside of those who were present at the time) Tsunade was absolutely right, once again her victory was not decided by her own skills in battle, but by a power-up granted to her by her saiyan bloodline. Had this been a power she could turn on and off at will it would have felt like just another technique at her disposal. Instead it felt like a get out of jail free card she had stumbled upon. Videl couldn't help think of her time stopping criminals back home. Looking back, all those bumbling bank robbers could never hold a candle to the likes of Orochimaru or any of the other opponents Videl had faced since meeting Gohan, but she always found a way to win by her own practiced skills. Never relying on luck or hidden powers to defeat her opponents. This renewed her already burning desire to train more. If she could master the Super Saiyan form as Gohan had, it would be just another tool in her kunai pouch.

Which brings her and a majority of the Konoha 11 back to the gravity room, the now hot spot for up and coming young ninjas to train. When word of Videl and Gohan's feats reached the gossiping ring of Konoha's streets, suddenly every ninja from Genin to Jounin wanted to try out the outsiders' miracle training room. Requests became so frequent that Gohan and Videl had to bard usage of the gravity room down to just their friends if they didn't want to be stuck at 10x gravity to accommodate the other ninjas. To compromise, Tsunade had sent the Leaf's R&D team to pick apart the gravity room and find out what made it tick. Initial reports said that a replica prototype would be in the works by the end of the month and a working beta would be ready for testing within six months. Tsunade had also sent her team's findings to the other village sponsors of the Neo Z Fighters at the request of Gohan.

For now, usage of the gravity room was restricted to members of the Neo Z Fighters and their comrades. Which of course meant the Konoha 11 and their sensei.

Right now for instance, Videl was enjoying a light spar with Sakura while on the lower gravity side of the room, Naruto was fulfilling his promise to Konohamaru and was helping him master training at 15x gravity.

"Come on Kono, keep your guard up!" Naruto shouted while swiping at Konohamaru with the most telegraphed punch he could manage. Konohamaru, who was drenched in sweat tried to raise his forearm in defense but the gravity won over and the young Genin was slapped aside.

Naruto sighed and waddled over to the control panel for their section of the room. Sakura and Videl had to halt their spar for a minute to keep themselves from laughing out loud at Naruto's training outfit, a padded full body fat suit that Choji's clan would call obese. Naruto, having recently mastered 150x gravity, didn't yet know his own strength, making even light spars with Konohamaru at even 15x gravity extremely dangerous. To compensate, Jiraiya and Gai had taken a fat suit from the local costume shop and sewn in enough weights and gravity seals to hinder Naruto's base strength enough to safely spar with Konohamaru while at the same time giving Naruto a work out. Yet it seemed that this was still too much for Konohamaru. As soon as the gravity in their half of the room was lowered to the normal 1 G setting, Konohamaru collapsed in a heap. His mouth opened wide, filling his lungs with precious air after the high gravity had relieved its constant pressure on his ribs.

"Ya feeling the burn there, Kono?" Naruto asked.

"Y-you kidding Boss? _Wheeze…_ I could- _Gasp._ I could do this all day. (Oh God my sides.)" Konohamaru gasped out, his arms quivering just from the effort required to keep the boy kneeling on all fours.

"The Hell you could, we're taking a thirty minute break and then we're going back down to 10x gravity." Naruto instructed.

"WHAT?" Konohamaru sputtered, he tried to stand up but could only manage to get up on one knee. "I told you, Boss, I'm fine."

"Then what was with that last block, huh? I damn near sent you a messenger hawk that my attack was coming and you still couldn't raise up a defense." Naruto lectured.

"I'm just a little winded that's all. Five minutes of rest is all I need." Konohamaru defended from his knees.

"What you need, is more training at a lower gravity setting before we bump you up to 15x gravity."

"Awe come on, Boss. If I stay on the lowest settings I'll never catch up to you!" At this, Naruto smacked his pupil upside the head. The genin was still so exhausted that even that was enough to stager him back to the ground.

"OUCH! What was that for?!" Konohamaru cried, clutching the huge bump on his head.

"Kono, what was the first thing that I taught you?" Naruto sternly asked, his arms crossed in a serious manner that was completely undermined by the ridiculous fat suit that he was still wearing.

"The Sexy no Jutsu?" Konohamaru guess while rubbing his head. Immediately Sakura and Videl stopped their spar to observe the two perverts to make sure that they had heard them right. Sakura cracked her knuckles ready to pound the daylights out of her boyfriend if he didn't correct his pupil's slip of the tongue that reminded her of that stupid jutsu. Videl, likewise, was getting her own fist ready to join Sakura in sending the two dead men rocketing into space.

"Not that." Lectured Naruto, not realizing that he was on thin ice yet was still navigating his way out of trouble fairly well. "The other thing. Regarding the path to being Hokage."

Konohamaru's memory clicked and he felt ashamed for forgetting that most crucial lesson. The one that would forever change his life.

"There are no shortcuts in life…" He hung his head low. Some pupil he was.

"Damn right. You think training with me at 150x gravity is going to make you my rival for the Hokage seat? 150x gravity means nothing if you can't hack it at all the lower gravity settings first. It doesn't matter how much faster everyone else excels at something, what matters is that you get the quality training you need. If that means you take longer to master something than everybody else then so be it. I'll gladly fight you for the title of Hokage, Konohamaru. But if you rush into it and face me half assed I won't hesitate to smack you down to the curb." Naruto lectured. Pretty sure he had said what he needed to say.

The girls were honestly taken back at the wisdom coming for such a widely-known dunce. Sakura in particular felt a well of pride swell up in her chest. Konohamaru looked up at his mentor in awe. Big Brother Naruto could be so cool when he wanted too.

"Heh, same to you, Boss!" Konohamaru declared.

"That's what I like to hear." Naruto smiled. "But we are going to take a break. It's hot as balls in this stupid fat suit." Naruto unzipped his suit and loudly sighed when the hot air escaped his suit and cool air flew inward. Sakura and Videl giggled at the blond's antics and resumed their sparring.

The boys sat down on the opposite side of the room with water bottles in hand and enjoyed the show.

Sakura and Videl were dressed in simple tight fitting workout clothes. Need more be said?

Videl was in her usual purple unitard with yellow combat boots and a loose white undershirt that flapped wildly from all the wind that picked up from the girls' spar. From what Konohamaru could see, the unitard hugged Videl's fit curves perfectly. Thank the Sage her boyfriend wasn't here.

Naruto on the other hand was enjoying his own show. His girlfriend was dressed in a two piece of black nylon: a sports bra and training shorts. The sports bra was of little interest to the blond. While most boyfriends might secretly complain about their girlfriend's cherry sized breasts, Naruto would neither complain nor wish them to be melon sized bazongas. He always loved Sakura just the way she was, which is probably why he had become an ass man over the years.

Over the years, Naruto had observed that Sakura was always a fan of short leggings with her ninja outfits. The way they hugged her bottom left just enough bounce in all the right ways. Her training with Tsunade had done nothing if not kick her ass, which left it fit and firm. Yet the long shift hours spent at the hospital and the high calorie food Sakura had to digest to keep going had brought back just enough bouncy fat to her rear to be the best of both worlds.

To see it in motion with all the new highly acrobatic kicks Sakura had been trying to incorporate into her new style of fighting was truly a pleasure for the young blond. It would have been a pleasure for the brown haired boy too if he his big brother hadn't put the fear of God in him if he tried to peep on his girlfriend. They might not have been dating long, but Naruto could be very territorial with his possessions and that ass was his.

Just as Naruto was starting to grow restless a heavy metallic knock interrupted the sound of Sakura and Videl's spar. Naruto quickly got up to answer the door and was greeted by the emotionless ferret mask of an ANBU elite.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" The black ops ninja eyed up and down the blond's form, taking in the sight of him half out of a ridiculous fat suit.

"Yeah huh." Naruto absentmindedly answered.

"The Hokage has requested your presence in her office immediately. Yours and Sakura Haruno's." The ANBU reported.

"Did she say what for? We're kinda busy at the moment." Naruto gestured towards the girls who were still in the process of sparring.

The ANBU was taken back, what kind of balls did this kid have to disregard a direct order from the Lady Hokage? He was either the cockiest young ninja he had ever seen or the stupidest.

"Lady Tsunade did not say, however she did say it was urgent and that the two of you wouldn't want to delay."

"Ugh, alright. Tell the Old Bag that we'll be over as soon as we clean up." Naruto turned back to his pupil, wobbling away in his fat suit.

The ANBU was astonished. Such arrogance from this child. He had heard of the demon brat's lack of proper respect to authority figures, but to witness it in person fueled his anger. The boy thought he was above his leaders and betters, no doubt the power of the Nine Tails and this outsider's training had corrupted his judgement towards the pecking order. Perhaps Danzo was right, the chain of command in the Leaf village had grown soft and needed reforming. As soon as his shift was done, Ferret would eagerly await contact from the leader of ROOT again.

* * *

Tsunade was in the process of gathering the paperwork necessary to assemble a task-force consisting of a company's worth of ninja to hunt down a duo of Akatsuki members that had been spotted in the Fire Country. She was halfway considering asking Gohan to join the Leaf's forces for this assignment when she heard a knock at the door. Before she could even reply, Naruto burst through the entryway, much to the displeasure of the Hokage's apprentice and secretary.

"Baka! You can't just go barging in like that!" Sakura scolded, trailing right behind the blond.

"Relax, Sakura-chan! Granny said it was urgent so I'm sure she was expecting us." Naruto said with easy going grin on his face. Tsunade couldn't help but smile too at the thought of what was about to happen.

"Its fine, Sakura. At least this time it is. Next time I'll throw you out the window if you barge in here again unannounced." Tsunade casually threatened.

"Sure thing, Granny. So what is it you wanted to see us for? Is it some awesome new mission? A Priestess that needs escorting? An old enemy nation of the Leaf come out from hiding that you need us to go preemptively tromp? Whatever it is I'm ready for it!" Naruto said, getting excited. Sakura could only shake her head at her boyfriend's childish antics. Which, while endearing and something she loved, needed to be distributed in small doses.

"Sorry, brat, no mission for either of you, but I do have a couple of people who have been dying to meet you and Sakura. And I think you will enjoy meeting them as well." Tsunade smirked.

"Really, I don't see anyone here with us." Naruto said looking around.

"These two aren't actually here with us, but I've asked King Kai to contact them and set up a mental link between the four of you."

 _'Hey there Naruto, Sakura.'_ King Kai spoke into both their minds.

 _'Yo, King Kai, what's up?'_ Naruto replied.

 _'Oh you know, just the overseeing God of the Northern Universe acting as the gofer of one bossy mortal.'_

 _'What was that?'_ Tsunade butted in, sending a shiver down everyone's spine.

 _'Nothing, nothing.'_ King Kai hastily replied.

 _'Whipped.'_ Naruto said.

 _'Shut up. Look, I've got Minato and Kushina waiting on the other line and I've got other things to do. So Naruto, grab Sakura's hand and the both of you close your eyes. You'll want to get a good look at these other two.'_

The two shinobi nodded and did just that. As soon as they closed their eyes the bright and sunny room seemed to turn pitch dark immediately. Naruto and Sakura could feel their feet still planted on the carpet inside the Hokage's office and feel each other's hands, but it felt far away. Even with their eyes closed, Naruto and Sakura could still see one each other standing next to one another clear as day. The distant feeling of warm sunlight shining through the Hokage office windows seemed to be overpowered by the cold isolation of the mental realm they now occupied. It was comforting to know that the two of them had each other to keep company.

 _'Hello, Naruto.'_ Came a beautiful voice. Quickly, Naruto and Sakura turned around towards the source of the voice and saw two distinct figures: a man and a woman. The man was tall with blue eyes and long spiky blond hair, similar to Naruto, wearing a white trench coat over a standard jounin uniform with a leaf headband on his forehead. The way he carried himself gave a sense of relaxed authority and power. The woman (who Sakura deduced was the source of the voice) was a head shorter than the man with violet eyes, a more roundish face like Naruto's, and extremely long red hair that almost went down to her ankles. She was wearing a simple dress with an apron, common attire for a housewife, yet she too carried an aura of nobility even as she smiled in a slightly mischievous way, kind of like how Naruto smiles when he is waiting for you to pick up on a joke he already knows. Come to think of it, the more Sakura looked at the two strangers, the more similarities she could make between them and Naruto. Something started to click in Sakura's head, but they couldn't be…

 _'Um, hello?'_ Naruto said, not sure what to make of the two strangers.

 _Naruto,_ the woman spoke. ' _It is so great to finally see you again. It has been far too long.'_

 _'I'm sorry, do I know you?'_

 _'No, I suppose you wouldn't remember us. You were barely a half an hour old when we last saw you.'_

 _'Half an hour? Are you crazy lady? Start making sense.'_

Sakura could only stare at Naruto. Was he seriously this thick headed, those two were obviously-

 _'Oh come now Naruto, why don't you try to guess who we are?'_ The woman spoke as a mother would to her cute little child. Naruto closed his mental projection eyes to really concentrate. Finally the realization came to him.

 _'You're Gaara's mom aren't you!'_ Naruto pointed at the woman and declared. Sakura did a massive face palm while the man and the woman who was obviously not Gaara's mom just looked dumbfounded.

 _'Baka! Of course that isn't Gaara's mom!'_ Sakura scolded while bringing her fist down on her clueless boyfriend's empty skull.

 _'Ouch! Come on Sakura, of course she is, she has to be. Look at her hair, it's the same shade as the Kazekage's, ya know.'_ Naruto pointed out while shielding his head from more of his annoyed girlfriend's blows.

 _'Um…that's not…'_ The man spoke up for the first time. Worried that his son might have been dropped on his head at some point.

 _'I am NOT the Kazekage's mother, ya know!'_ The woman shrieked, having lost her patience with her dimwitted son.

 _'Well his aunt then? Who else has such red- Wait, did you just say 'ya know'?'_ The light bulb finally went on and Sakura ceased her beatings.

 _'Did I really say that? Sorry, I get over excited really easily and it just slips out sometimes.'_ The woman sheepishly explained while rubbing the back of her neck the way Naruto usually does when he is embarrassed. Naruto felt the onset of tears coming on.

 _'But did you finally figure it out? Took you long enough, ya know.'_ Slowly, Naruto got to his feet, never taking his eyes off of the beautiful woman.

 _'That's right, I'm your-'_ She never got to finish her sentence for she was interrupted by the blond boy glomping her for all he was worth. His arms ensnaring her in the tightest hug he could muster. He was literally shaking from melancholy.

 _'I…I've always wanted…to meet you…Mom…'_ Naruto sniffed out through tears of joy. His mother had a soft smile on her face as she gently hugged her son back. The man's face was full of pride as he saw his son hug his mother for the first time. Sakura was at a complete loss for words. She cupped her hand over her mouth, tears threatening to fall, it was so beautiful.

After a minute, Naruto pulled away with the biggest smile on his face, not since Sakura-chan had asked to be his girlfriend was he this happy.

 _'There are so many things I want to ask you, ya know!'_

 _'Hold on there, Naruto, don't you want to be introduced to the man over there?'_ Kushina pointed at Minato who had been waiting patiently in the background. Wondering if her son could pick up on the man's identity quicker.

Naruto's attention turned to the man in the white trench coat and immediately his expression fell.

 _'I recognize you.'_ Everyone was taken back with the blond's dark shift in tone.

 _'You're Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.'_ Sakura's eyes shot open. How could she not realize it sooner? The man before her was a spitting image of the Fourth's portrait hanging in the Hokage Office. Or course it was, it was his picture. His face was in all of Sakura's history textbooks about the Leaf. His face was the on the freaking mountainside hanging over the village for Sage's sake!

 _'Yeah, that's right, but can you tell us who else I am?'_ Minato teased the boy like a father would tease his son.

 _'Yeah, YOU'RE THE ASSHOLE THAT SEALED THE NINE-TAILED FOX INSIDE ME!'_ Naruto slugged the Fourth Hokage right in the gut, doubling the older blond over.

 _'DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MY LIFE HAS BEEN LIKE BECAUSE YOU DID THAT?!'_ Sakura had to run up and secure Naruto into a full nelson to stop him from assaulting the deceased Hokage further.

 _'ALL THE VILLAGERS HATED ME! ALL THE ABUSE, THE ISOLATION, THE BEATINGS! ITS ENOUGH TO DRIVE A PERSON CRAZY! THEY DIDN'T EVEN TREAT ME LIKE A PERSON! EXCEPT FOR A FEW OF MY FRIENDS! AND EVEN THEN THE FOX'S CHAKRA MADE ME HURT THEM! IT MADE ME HURT SAKURA-CHAN! YOU MADE ME HURT SAKURA-CHAN!'_ Naruto screamed. 15 years of abuse finally spilling out at its source.

Now Kushina got in on physically holding Naruto back. ' _Naruto, STOP! It's not what you think!'_ She pleaded.

 _'NO, ITS ALL HIS FAULT! HE TOOK ME AWAY FROM YOU MOM! I BET HE KILLED YOU TOO AFTER HE STOLE ME FROM YOUR ARMS! JUST SO THAT THERE WOULD BE NO ONE ALIVE TO TARNISH HIS REPUTATION WHEN HE SEALED THE DEMON FOX INSIDE A RANDOM BABY BOY!'_

 _'THAT'S ENOUGH, YA KNOW!'_ Kushina pounded her son's head in harder than Sakura had ever done, slamming the boy head first into the floor. Everything grew quiet.

 _'I didn't…use a random baby boy…'_ Minato wheezed out. ' _I would never…ask a parent to make a sacrifice I wouldn't be able to make with my own son…'_

This got Naruto to look up in astonishment. ' _What?'_

 _'He's saying that he is your father, dumbass.'_ Sakura huffed out, her patience spent after holding back Naruto during his well-justified temper tantrum. Her hands were on her knees as she stood over Naruto. While Kushina had retreated to Minato's side to check on him.

 _'Yeah, and hoooooly crap! That means our hubby is the son of the Fourth Hokage. That makes him like, royalty!'_ Inner Sakura raved. Everyone's gaze turned to the fifth apparition to appear in this mental conversation. Who looked exactly like Sakura, only with more curvaceous features.

 _'Just went from an 8 to a 9.5.'_ Inner Sakura said mostly to herself.

 _'Excuse me, who are you?'_ Minato asked.

 _'9.5? Why not a 10?'_ Naruto inquired.

 _'Inner, what are you doing here!'_ Sakura shrieked.

Inner Sakura ignored everyone's questions and chose to focus on Naruto.

 _'Yeah, 9.5, we haven't gotten a look at the 'hardware' yet.'_ Inner Sakura winked at the blond. ' _Gotta think long term when it comes to these sort of things. Although 'length' isn't everything.'_ She gave a sultry giggle towards the increasingly uncomfortable boy.

 _'Ok, none of this! Get out!'_ Sakura shouted while pushing her inner self away from the group.

 _'Oh come on, I want to meet the in-laws. And Naruto was gonna learn about me sooner or later.'_

 _'Well not today! God willing, not ever!'_ Sakura berated before giving her inner self a final push that caused the pink haired mental projection to fade from existence back into Sakura's subconscious.

Sakura sighed in relief before remembering that she had an audience. She turned to look back at the perplexed faces of the reunited Namikaze/Uzumaki family.

 _'Uh, hi.'_ She squeaked out while giving a tiny wave. ' _I'm Sakura Haruno, Naruto's teammate and…um, you know what? You guys probably have enough catching up to do so I'll just see myself out.'_ Sakura offered without actually knowing how she was supposed to leave the black void.

 _'Its fine, Sakura, really.'_ Kushina laughed. ' _We know that you are dating our boy and it's because of that reason that we wanted to talk to you.'_ Minato also offered a reassuring smile.

 _'No I shouldn't. This is a private family moment and I shouldn't be-'_

 _'Sakura-chan.'_ Naruto interrupted. ' _It's okay. I don't mind you being here in the slightest.'_ Naruto's ear splitting smile warming Sakura's heart. Giving her the reassurance she needed to walk back towards the Namikazes. Tentatively, she sat down next to Naruto and started healing his various head injuries (even if it was pointless since they were both mental projections, she did it subconsciously).

Minato and Kushina both got into their own sitting positions opposite the young couple. Minato was the first to speak.

 _'Obviously there is a lot we need to clear up between the four of us. I'm Minato Namikaze and this is my wife, Kushina Uzumaki.'_ Minato gestured towards his wife.

 _'It's an honor to meet you, Lady Kushina.'_ Sakura bowed towards Kushina. Then she subconsciously cursed herself for addressing Lady Kushina first before the Lord Hokage. Worse yet she had spoken to Naruto's parents before he could. Stupid!

 _'Oh please, you don't have to act so formal Sakura-chan.'_ Kushina waved off Sakura's embarrassed look. ' _Just Kushina is fine.'_

 _'Right, Kushina.'_ Sakura smiled in relief. She had begun to remember who Kushina was from obscure history scrolls she had read. She was Kushina Uzumaki, the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. There were rumors of her betrothal to the Fourth Hokage, but at the time of his rein, the Leaf had just won the Third Shinobi World War against the Rock Village and such relationships were usually kept hidden to deter revenge seeking ninjas from hunting down loved ones.

 _'Uzumaki…so that is where my name comes from.'_ Naruto spoke up. Sakura once again cursed herself for getting in the way of Naruto learning about his own parents.

 _'Yes, I come from a rather infamous ninja clan from the Land of Whirlpools.'_ Kushina explained. ' _The reason you wouldn't know about them now is that they were wiped out long before I was born. The surviving clan members scattered across the globe and integrated into whatever village they could find. I was just lucky enough to have been sent to the same village as Minato.'_ Kushina dreamily sighed, nuzzling her head into Minato's shoulder as she reminisced about how they met.

 _'I always thought my last name was just a joke the Old Man Third played on me. Like how my name Naruto is a fishcake ramen topping and Uzumaki is the pink swirl.'_

Kushina burst out laughing at that explanation and Minato couldn't hold back his chuckles either.

 _'Oh my God! Minato, that IS what his name means isn't it?! Haha! Why didn't we realize it sooner?! And to think if we hadn't been dead set on naming him after that character in your perverted master's book…'_ Kushina couldn't continue as she was overcome with another fit of giggles.

 _'I'm sorry, what?'_ Naruto asked perplexed.

 _'It's true. Naruto have you ever heard of a novel called The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja?'_ Minato asked. Trying to massage his wife so she wouldn't pass out from laughing too hard.

 _'No.'_

 _'Well it was one of the less perverted books Master Jiraiya ever wrote.'_

 _'Wait, Master Jiraiya? You were a student of the Pervy Sage?'_

Kushina burst into another round of laughter at her son's perfect nickname for the Toad Sage.

 _'I was. And in the book he wrote, the main character was a strong, brave, and fiercely determined ninja who never gave up and vowed to end the cycle of hatred. We thought that by naming you in his honor you would inherit some of his traits and become a great hero.'_

Sakura was speechless, it was all so much to take in at once. God knows how Naruto was handling all this information. Still, thinking back on it, Minato and Kushina had gotten their wish. Sakura had yet to meet a man as courageous and unshakable as Naruto.

 _'Wait, slow down. This is all too much to take in.'_ Naruto vocalized Sakura's thoughts. Kushina meanwhile, finally managed to pull herself together.

 _'You're right. We kind of did appear out of nowhere and are now dumping all this exposition on you. I know I'd be confused.'_ Kushina admitted.

 _'Maybe we should let you ask the questions Naruto.'_ Minato suggested. ' _Take your time, we've got all the time in the world.'_

 _'Actually, there is something I've always wanted to ask you two if I ever met you. Mostly to Mom though…'_ Sakura perked up at hearing this, already at the edge of her seat.

 _'How did you two fall in love?'_ Naruto asked. Sakura's heart melted. Kushina and Minato looked at one another before blushing and looking away.

 _'That's…really embarrassing, ya know?'_ Kushina admitted, rubbing the back of her head.

 _'You said 'ya know'! You're excited!'_ Naruto cried like a kid in a candy store.

Kushina and Minato looked up, both reminiscing about the day they met and when they individually fell in love with one another.

Kushina started off the story with her coming to the Leaf village and joining the academy. Minato explained how he was immediately intrigued by Kushina's red hair, but wasn't head over heels until he saw how she always managed to handle herself around the bullies who picked on her because she was an outsider and wanted to be Hokage. The same as Minato even though Kushina didn't see him as anything special with his girly appearance.

The bullies also used to call Kushina a tomato due to her round face and tomato red hair.

 _'How could they make fun of your hair Mom? It's so pretty.'_ Naruto declared.

 _'Oh is that so? Well then thank you Naruto.'_ Kushina said as she and Minato noticed the similar taste in exotic hair color shared between father and son.

At that point, Sakura secretly wished that her hair was red like Kushina's.

 _'Yeah, it's almost as beautiful as Sakura-chan's hair.'_ Naruto offhandedly mentioned.

Never mind.

While Sakura was hiding her ear splitting smile behind her hands. Minato pulled Naruto close to whisper in his ear. ' _Nice save son.'_

 _'What save?'_ The clueless genius whispered back. Minato shook his head and leaned back. Meanwhile Kushina was holding up a lock of her hair, slightly disappointed that her son didn't think her hair was the prettiest. But actually, she was just sad that she had finally gotten to meet her son and there was already another girl muscling in on her turf as the most important woman in her son's heart.

The married couple took up their story again. Explaining how Kushina was kidnapped by a group of Lightning ninjas and all she could do to leave a trail behind was by dropping strands of her long red hair. Of the dozens of expert tracking ninjas the Leaf sent to retrieve Kushina, only Minato was able to pick up her trail. He defeated all the Lightning ninjas and saved Kushina, all because he noticed her trail of red hair. The same hair that Kushina hated because she was bullied for it so much, Minato had called beautiful and it became Kushina's Red Sting of Fate; leading to her true love.

Both Naruto and Sakura were so heart warmed by the story. It was so beautiful. At the same time it made them both sad for different reasons. Both of them couldn't help but notice the similarities between Kushina's story about her red hair and Sakura's feelings towards her large forehead. Both features were the girl's most hated feature, yet it had brought them both love.

Naruto contemplated telling Sakura that it was him, not Sasuke, who first complimented her forehead. But by revealing that, Sakura might take it the wrong way and think that Naruto tricked her all those years ago. Worse yet, it would shatter her one good memory of Sasuke that she alone shared with him. Even if it was all a lie.

Sakura was thinking of how it was Sasuke who first complimented her forehead, yet died before the two of them had gotten a chance to properly date. Not that the deceased Uchiha hadn't turned down Sakura's every proposal for a date ever since he had complimented her forehead. He even rejected her outright confession before leaving. But all of that was because he was dead set on revenge against his brother. Surely if Sasuke had returned after his revenge was completed and the two of them sat down together Sakura would have known for sure.

' _No.'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'I'm with Naruto now. Sasuke is dead and gone. I won't waver my love for Naruto by questioning what could have been. Besides, Naruto complimented my forehead too. It might not have been on the first try, but my forehead did bring me love.'_

' _If you say so.'_ Inner Sakura commented. Sakura shooed her to the back of her mind before she could manifest again.

Once they were done, Naruto and Sakura further engaged in conversation with Minato and Kushina. Trading stories back and forth about their many adventures. Minato and Kushina already knew most of them from having watched Naruto from Heaven for all his life, but they took immense joy in hearing their son's adventures retold through his own words. Sakura also provided interesting side commentary when Naruto exaggerated or undersold his many deeds.

 _'I can't help but notice.'_ Kushina said at one point. ' _The both of you have these new golden headbands. Did the Leaf do redesign or something?'_

 _'What this?'_ Naruto replied. ' _Nah, me and Sakura-chan just joined the Neo Z Fighters.'_

 _'The Neo Z Fighter? Are they some new task force of the Leaf?'_

 _'No they're separate from the Leaf, we're a global-'_

Naruto was cut off by his mother screeching a banshee like wail and throwing herself into Minato, sobbing loudly. ' _MINATO! OUR SON BECAME A DESERTER AND JOINED A GANG! PROBABLY TO CHASE AFTER THAT PINK HAIRED HUSSY!'_ She wailed.

The two young chunin were obviously in shock at the red haired woman's drastic change in tone.

 _'Now now, Kushina, calm down. I think you're jumping to conclusions.'_ Minato patted her back while he tried to reason with her.

 _'NO I'M NOT! SHE LED MY POOR BOY ASTRAY! PROBABLY BECAUSE HE NEVER HAD HIS MOTHER TO RAISE HIM PROPERLY!'_

 _'Sage of Six Paths, Mom! Calm down! It's not like that at all!'_ Naruto yelled, experiencing embarrassment by his parents for the first time in his life. Sakura on the other hand was developing a twitch on her forehead at being called a hussy.

 _'I'm sorry. She gets worked up easily and jumps to conclusions even quicker.'_ Minato tried to defend his wife.

 _'Yeah, I think I see where Naruto gets it from.'_

 _'WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU HIGH FOREHEADED HUSSY!?'_ Kushina spat. Naruto went dead silent; his mom had pushed the forehead button.

 _'GRRRR, I'M NOT A HUSSY YOU FREAKING TOMATO!'_ Sakura spat back. Now Minato went dead silent; his son's girlfriend had pushed the tomato button.

 _'AND THE NEO Z FIGHTERS AREN'T A GANG! THEY'RE A GLOBAL PEACE KEEPING FORCE MADE UP OF NINJAS FROM ALL THE MAJOR NINJA VILLAGES AND WE-'_ Sakura pointed back and forth between her and Naruto. ' _–ARE THE FIRST LEAF NINJAS TO BE INVITED TO JOIN!'_

 _'WELL THE HEADBANDS STILL LOOK SILLY!'_

 _'THEY DO NOT!'_ Naruto and Minato now had to hold back their better halves from killing one another in the mental plane.

This went on for minutes before Kushina and Minato silently agreed to take the young couple apart for private words. After promising that she only wanted a civilized chat, Kushina took Sakura for some girl talk while Minato requested Naruto for a private father and son chat.

When the girls were out of ear shot from the boys, Kushina turned to Sakura with a very serious look on her face.

 _'I want to know straight out, what are your intentions with my boy?'_ Kushina asked.

Somehow, Sakura knew this was coming. She had seen enough teen romances to notice that she was getting the shotgun talk. Although usually this would be happening between Naruto and Sakura's father.

 _'I love Naruto. And with each passing day, that love grows stronger. He has always been like sunshine in my life and I never realized it until he left. He gives me strength, a constant drive to work harder, he gives me comfort. Now that I've got him back and I'm with him, I don't ever want to lose him again.'_

 _I made a promise of a lifetime that I will always stand by his side and keep him alive, just as I know that he will always keep me safe.'_

Kushina nodded. ' _Well said. I approve.'_

 _'What?'_ Sakura asked and was glomped by Kushina.

 _'Welcome to the family, Sakura-chan!'_ Kushina squealed in the pinkette's ear.

 _'What?'_

 _'You officially have my blessing to marry my son.'_ Kushina explained. Her eyes closed and a smile casually spread across her face like what she said wasn't a big freaking deal.

 _'I-I-I-I don't think, I mean, don't you think it is too early to be thinking about things like this?'_ Sakura stuttered as the sound of wedding bells rung through her head.

 _'Nonsense, it's never too early when you live the life we do as ninjas. Besides, it's not like my offer will ever expire. Just continue on loving my son the way you do and I guarantee the four of us will one day meet again in the couples' section of heaven.'_ Kushina smiled.

Sakura gave a nervous chuckled at the thought of the inevitability of death, but her inner self was over the moon.

 _'One more thing that I need to ask you, Sakura. You said your last name was Haruno?'_

 _'Yes.'_ Sakura nervously answered. Oh God, there wasn't a rivalry between the Haruno and Uzumaki clans was there?

 _'By any chance is your mother's name Mebuki?'_

 _'Yes.'_ Oh God, Sakura's mother and Naruto's mother didn't hate each other right?

Kushina squealed and hugged Sakura even tighter. ' _I knew it! Mebuki was my best friend growing up!'_

Sakura was taken back, surprised that her mother and Naruto's mother had a history.

 _'Oh my God, you said your name was Sakura? I held you when you were a baby! Just a few months before my Naruto was born!'_

 _'Really?'_ Sakura said. ' _I don't think my mother has ever mentioned you.'_

 _'Oh I'm sure she had her reasons, I'm just so happy to meet you again after you grew up. I remember babysitting you to give Mebuki a break every now and again.'_

 _'Sounds like the two of you were really great friends.'_ Sakura said to the giddy mother. Secretly she hoped that her own friendship with Ino could last as long as Kushina's seem to with Sakura's mother.

 _'You know I actually asked her to be Naruto's Godmother before he was born.'_

 _WHAT!?_ Sakura screamed, untangling herself from the red haired Uzumaki.

 _'My mother is Naruto's Godmother?'_

 _'Yes, I always wondered why she didn't adopt Naruto as soon as Minato and I passed away, but I'm sure she had her reasons.'_ Kushina explained.

 _'How can you be so calm about this? My mother knew, and yet she still let Naruto grow up on the streets without a family to call his own!'_

 _'We don't know that for certain. I know Mebuki and she might have been a massive nut busting bitch back in the day, but I'm certain that she wouldn't have let my boy suffer without good reason. Besides, that's all in the past and has shaped Naruto into the man he is today.'_

Sakura looked upon Kushina like she was crazy. How could she be so accepting and forgiving? What the village did to Naruto as a child was unacceptable, and anyone who could have helped him but didn't was just as bad in Sakura's eyes. She would have words with her mother when she got back to reality.

 _'Listen Sakura, if there is one thing that death has taught me, is it that there is little to be gained by holding grudges and living with regret. Sure I was furious when I looked down upon the village abusing my boy just because he housed the Kyuubi, but looking at how his life has turned out now, all that hatred gets swept away. He has mentors to guide him, friends who cherish him, and he has you who loves him. I've seen the way you motherly scold him, Sakura.'_

Sakura looked away embarrassed.

 _'And I have to say thank you. My boy is an idiot and needs a guiding hand every once in a while. In more ways than one, you are the woman in his life that I could never be.'_ Kushina bowed to Sakura, who quickly returned the gesture.

 _'Thank you, Kushina, for having Naruto.'_

Kushina laughed. ' _Well thank God someone is grateful for me having Naruto. It was a lot of work carrying him around for 10 months, ya know. And actually having him was THE most painful thing I've ever experienced.'_ Kushina shuttered at the memory.

 _'10 months?'_

 _'Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier, I was the jinchuriki to the Kyuubi before Naruto. Long story, but one side effect of having the Kyuubi's chakra network intertwined with mine was an extra month tacked on to my pregnancy with Naruto while the Kyuubi's chakra enveloped him.'_

 _'So does that mean?'_

 _'I'm not sure because technically the only exposure your baby will have with the Kyuubi's chakra is from Naruto's-ahem-love juice. So depending on how much more exposure it gets during your pregnancy and how intertwined Naruto's chakra is with the Kyuubi…yeah expect to be carrying around that bun in your oven for at least 10 months.'_

 _'Oh Goood…_ Sakura groaned, remembering that Videl only had to put up with baby baking for 6 months. Granted it was twice as intense as a regular pregnancy but…WHY CAN'T THE GUYS JUST HAVE THE BABIES? THEY'RE THE ONES ALWAYS FLAPPING THEIR DICKS AROUND, LET THEM BARE THE CONSEQUENCES FOR ONCE!

 _'Oh don't worry, Sakura. Once you hold your child for the first time, I guarantee it will all be worth it.'_

The thought made Sakura smile. A hospital room filled with Tsunade, Shizune, Ino, and all her friends and family. And right beside her was Naruto, flashing his trademark grin. Sakura of course would look flawless with a little bundle in her arms wrapped in a blanket. The bundle would have golden blond hair and blue eyes like its father.

 _'All in due time, Kushina.'_

 _'Hey come on, I want grandchildren. I'm not getting any younger you know.'_

 _'You're not getting any older either.'_

 _'Touché.'_ Both women laughed at their joke.

* * *

Meanwhile on the boys' side.

 _'So you think this masked man with Sharingan who attacked the village on the night of my birth and released the Nine-Tailed Fox is Madara Uchiha and is the leader of the Akatsuki?'_ Naruto asked his father.

 _'Precisely, either it was Madara who was supposed to have died fighting the First Hokage almost 80 years ago. Or it was an impostor taking on the name of Madara to inspire fear. Either way he is powerful enough to be a considerate threat to the Leaf village and the world.'_

 _'So what can we do to prepare for him?'_

 _'Honestly, the training you are doing now with the gravity room is more than I could ever expect of you. Taijutsu wise, you and your friends have exceeded my wildest expectations. But I wish that you would reconsider Gohan's proposal to train you to control the Nine-Tailed Fox.'_

 _'Absolutely not. I lost control once and I nearly killed Sakura. Never again. I will save the village and protect Sakura with my own power.'_

 _'Be that as it may, I sealed the Kyuubi inside you Naruto because I believed that you could master its power. I still do.'_

 _'Well it's not happening. The Kyuubi will remained trapped inside me until I die of old age and take him with me.'_

Minato sighed. Arguing with his son was like arguing with his wife. Both too stubborn for their own good. ' _If that is your wish, it is your burden to bare how you choose. Whatever you decide, know that I am proud of you son.'_ Minato reached out and patted his son on the head.

 _'Just a head's up, I left trace amounts of both mine and Kushina's chakra inside the Kyuubi's seal. One to act as a failsafe and restore the seal if it ever breaks and the other to help you along with taming the beast.'_

 _'Thanks Dad.'_

 _'Oh and Naruto. Don't let this one slip away.'_ Minato smirked at his son.

 _'I won't Dad.'_ The two Namikaze men shared a mutual smile.

The boys soon reunited with the girls and unfortunately, Minato said that they had to end their meet up soon.

 _'I hate to say this, but if Kushina and I don't get back to the Heaven quickly, we'll miss our flight to Hell.'_

 _'Hell? What the Hell are you talking about?'_ Naruto asked. How could his parents even think of leaving? They just met up after so many years.

 _'I'm sorry Naruto, but if we miss our flight then lose our reservations at the resort and then we won't be able to see the G.O.O.H. Tournament.'_

 _'The what now?'_

 _'The Get Out Of Hell Tournament.'_ Kushina explained. ' _It's a major event in the afterlife that takes place once every few decades. It's a tournament where teams of up to six fighters from all over the multiverse compete against one another in no hold barred arena fights.'_

 _'That sounds like every other fighting tournament ever held ever.'_ Sakura commented.

 _'Yes, but the winning team gets a unique prize. They select one soul, damned to spend the rest of eternity in Hell, and pardon him of all sins. The soul then gets to ascend to Heaven.'_

 _'Just like that?'_

 _'Just like that. We should go sometime once the two of you have passed on after living full lives and raising us dozens of grandbabies.'_ Kushina suggested.

 _'MOM!'_ Naruto shrieked, embarrassed. That was the second time he had embarrassed him in front of his girlfriend in the same hour.

 _'GIVE ME GRANDCHILDREN!'_ Kushina shouted, only to be dragged away by Minato.

 _'Listen Naruto, we'll talk more at a later date, you can believe that. Just contact King Kai if you ever want to speak with us.'_ Minato said, trying to keep Kushina from ripping the pants off of Sakura and Naruto and throwing them together in a locked room.

 _'You're damn right we will, believe it.'_ Naruto said. A silence grew among the group, before anyone could say anything else, Naruto grabbed his parents in one final bear hug. He wanted to convey all his love into one final hug.

 _'Naruto! Naruto! Too tight! Air!'_ His father wheezed out.

 _'Whoops, sorry Dad.'_ Naruto said before releasing his parents who both drew in large breaths.

 _'Guess I don't know my own strength.'_ Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

 _Yeah, I'll bet. I wish we had the gravity training back when I was your age._

 _'Oh hush. We love you Naruto. With all our hearts. We'll talk again before your 16_ _th_ _birthday.'_ Kushina promised.

 _'I love you both too. Thank you for being my parents.'_ All four ninjas were all on their way to spilling tears.

Slowly, Naruto and Sakura's mental projections began to fade from the black void and their consciousness was pulled back into reality. Naruto and Sakura returned to the real world with an overwhelming warm feeling permeating throughout their entire bodies.

* * *

Back in the void for a moment…

 _'Hey why didn't you get hurt by Naruto's hug but I did?'_ Minato asked Kushina.

 _'Because it's like the Third's wife said during Naruto's birth. Women are strong and men are pussies.'_

* * *

Back in the real world, Naruto and Sakura's sense of euphoria was quickly overcome when they felt their tired leg muscles. Even with 150x gravity training under their belts, standing completely still for how many hours they spent talking to Naruto's parents had put their legs to sleep something fierce and the two lovers collapsed onto the carpeted floor.

"Oh God, Sakura-chan, my legs!"

"I know, Naruto. Mine too." The two rolled around on the carpet for a few moments trying to regain the use of their legs when in walked Tsunade brandishing a cup of coffee.

"Oh good, you two are back among the living. You had me and a lot of other people worried. I nearly had all of your friends come over at once to gawk at your statue like bodies and draw on your faces with permanent marker.

"What?" Naruto and Sakura said, looking at each other and trying to wipe the dick drawings and "Billboard Brow" off their foreheads.

"I take it the two of you enjoyed your little meet and greet?" Tsunade smiled from behind her desk.

"It was amazing. How long were we talking to them?" Sakura asked.

"About eight hours. Its night time now. So I hate to boot you out the door, but I do want to go home for the night." Tsunade said while taking a sip from her coffee. ' _Too much creamer.'_ She thought.

"Just to be clear. You organized all this? Naruto tentatively asked.

"Well I asked King Kai to make the arrangement and do all the actual work, but yes I did. Call it an early birthday present, brat. To make up for all the other Christmases and Birthdays I've missed." Tsunade joked. Honestly she had done this more out of the kindness of her heart.

The next thing the Slug Sannin knew, she was wrapped in the tightest bear hug she had ever been in with Naruto. Yet it was gentle, like he would break if he let go of her.

"Thank you. Granny, thank you." He cried into her shoulder. Soon Sakura joined in on the hug, grateful for her master for giving her boyfriend this opportunity.

Tsunade returned the hug with gusto, but soon the novelty began to wear thin.

"Ok you two, that's enough. Honestly you should be thanking King Kai more. He's the one that let you speak with your dead parents Naruto." The blond broke the hug with the most grateful smile on his face Sakura or Tsunade had ever seen.

"That's right, I just remembered something!" The blond proclaimed.

 _'King Kai!'_

 _'What is it Naruto? Come to thank me? Well no thanks are nec-'_

 _'You can mentally link me with any dead person right?'_

 _'-but are still appreciated… Yes I can do that. I am a god after all.'_

 _'Can you link me and Sakura-chan up with our old teammate Sasuke?'_

At this Sakura did a double take.

 _'You mean Sasuke Uchiha? Died a little over a year ago? Yeah I can probably link you three up, just give me a second to locate him.'_ King Kai cut the connection with the Elementals to scan the cosmos for Sasuke's consciousness.

"Um Naruto. I don't think that this is such a good-"

 _'And found him!'_ King Kai declared.

 _'You rock, King Kai!'_ Naruto mentally shouted.

 _'You might want to hold off on my well-deserved praised just yet. There is a problem.'_

 _'A problem? What is it?'_

 _'I cannot establish a link between you and Sasuke. His soul is located in a part of the afterlife where communication with the outside universe is not allowed.'_

 _'Well then keep trying until he wanders into an area with a radio signal or something.'_

 _'You don't understand. Where Sasuke is, is place that no soul that enters can ever leave._

 _Sasuke…is in Hell.'_

An ominous chill passed through the spines of all the members in the Hokage's office. Even the ANBU stationed nearby who wasn't even listening in on the conversation.

 _'In Hell? But Sasuke isn't a bad guy! He's done nothing wrong!'_

 _'I've got his record right in front of me. It says he abandoned the ninja village he was sworn to protect, putting half a dozen of his comrades in danger, and he tried to kill his best friend for power. I'm no judge, but that seems pretty clear to me.'_

 _'Well its not to me! Sasuke is my friend. He doesn't deserve an eternity of punishment for a bunch of misunderstandings!'_

 _'Look it's not as bad as you might think. These are all circumstantial sins, not even major ones. After a few thousand years, his case will be reviewed and he'll probably get sent up to Purgatory or something._

 _'Fuck that! I won't let my brother suffer like that for a thousand seconds much less a thousand years! There has got to be something you can do!'_

 _'Me? I'm an observing god, not a god of death. Its beyond my jurisdiction.'_

Naruto was crestfallen. Moments ago he was over the moon after meeting his parents. Now learning the fate of Sasuke had brought him down lower than he'd ever been.

 _'I know it will be a tough pill to swallow, but you should just forget about Sasuke. He made his choices and now nothing short of divine intervention will get him out of Hell.'_ King Kai tried to council Naruto, which backfired because it gave the orange ninja an idea.

 _'That's it!'_

 _'What's it?'_

 _'Get Out of Hell, the tournament, it's happening soon right? And anyone can enter?'_

 _'Naruto, where the Hell are you going with this?'_ Sakura asked the obvious question.

 _'Exactly there Sakura-chan. I'll enter the tournament and win Sasuke's freedom._

 _King Kai, I need to go to Hell!'_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey ya'll, it's samuraipanda85. They guy who writes a majority of the narusaku scenes plus a few other things for this fic and your master of ceremonies for this coming arc. Don't you cmartinHFD fans worry one bit though. He will still be writing a lot of the Videl and Gohan scenes plus whatever else I'm too lazy to write. Even better I plan on giving the reins back to him by the end of the arc we have both decided to dub the Hell Arc (original name right?). So pull up your bootstraps, tighten your safety belt, pray to your various gods, and hold on to something sturdy; cause we are going off canon with this one and I am not certain everyone is going to make it back alive.**

 **Cmartin, whatever you do don't spoil anything. Especially the part where we kill Gohan.**

 **cmartinHFD: Wait, what?**


	14. Chapter 14: Through Hells Gates

"King Kai, I need to go to Hell!" Naruto spoke aloud in the middle of the Hokage's office. To the uninitiated, it would look like the maverick ninja had finally lost his mind and was talking to his imaginary friend about going to Hell. His pink haired girlfriend Sakura and surrogate mother Tsunade however knew that truth; that Naruto was actually talking to an all-powerful God from another dimension about going to Hell. So he hadn't lost his mind, he was just crazy.

"Naruto wha- are you being serious right now?" His girlfriend stuttered.

"Of course I am Sakura-chan. Sasuke was our teammate and I won't leave him hung out to dry like that." Naruto stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sakura was at a complete loss for words. She had always known Naruto to be the one to act first and think later. He was reckless sure, impulsive even, but even then he always had valid reasons for his actions. Charging Zabuza to get his headband back, attacking Orochimaru to defend his comrades, etc.

But this…what he was proposing was way beyond the call of duty. This was Hell they were talking about. With a capital H. Death had always been an ambiguous entity in the life of Shinobi. You rarely talked about it and it did no one any good to dwell on it. Ninjas died in their line of work; friends and family members young and old. There was no getting around it. You just accepted it.

Morality in death was another touchy subject for ninjas. Their jobs requiring them to do things a normal civilian would find repulsive. All a ninja could hope for is that their deaths served their comrades and their village then they could pass from this world knowing that they had done good.

To have it all but confirmed that yes, there was a good and a bad afterlife and your choices in life dictated how you spent the rest of eternity…that was a lot to take in.

It put some things into perspective, that's for sure. And here was Naruto, proposing to willingly traverse that forbidden place of eternal damnation for Sasuke. A former teammate who was already dead and gone. It just didn't make sense to Sakura.

 _'Naruto, I don't think you realize what you are saying. This isn't some far off hostile land. This is Hell.'_ King Kai spoke up.

"Nonsense, I heard Gohan talk about how his father visited the Afterlife and Hell all the time. Didn't he even once teleport himself to your home King Kai? And you're located in the Afterlife too right?" Naruto explained again like he was making travel arrangements.

 _'Well yes, but that was to transport the monster android known as Cell to my planet so that it could safely blow itself up without destroying the Earth.'_ King Kai said while reminiscing about the years it took for him to rebuild his planet from scratch. ' _But that required a special technique that only Goku knows. I don't know it, Gohan doesn't know it, and if you are really thinking of going through with this I definitely won't ask Goku to teach it to you.'_

"Oh come on King Kai, this is serious!"

 _'I'm being serious! Hell isn't just some place you can visit willy nilly. And especially not for the sake of one boy that, yes I kind of agree with you, probably doesn't deserve to be in Hell.'_

"Fine! Then just bless his soul or whatever and get him out of there. You're a God right?"

 _'I told you I'm not that kind of god. There is a hierarchy of different jurisdictions and I'm not involved in the judging or ascension of mortal souls.'_

"Ok, then who is?"

 _'Right now? That would be the master of ceremonies for the upcoming tournament you mentioned. But there is no way you are getting me to contact him with any kind of ridiculous request. He'd blow up my planet with a flick of his wrist and I just rebuilt this thing thank you very much.'_

"Come ON!" Naruto whined. "What will it take me to get you to contact him?"

 _'NOTHING! NOTHING WILL MAKE ME CONTACT LORD BEERUS!'_ King Kai shouted into Naruto's head.

"Beerus huh? Thanks King Kai." Naruto said with a smile.

 _'You're welcome-WAIT, WHAT?!'_

Naruto re-positioned himself into a stance and cupped his mouth. "BEERUS! HEY BEERUS!" Naruto shouted, startling both ladies in the room with him that Tsunade knocked over her stack of papers.

"Shit!" Tsunade cried. "Naruto what the hell are you doing?!"

The blond took a breath from his constant shouting. "Praying." He simply said before resuming his cries.

"Praying?" Tsunade asked, she would have to beat this idiot into the pavement if he didn't start making sense.

"Yeah, praying. I'm trying to talk to a god, that's what praying is all about right?" Naruto couldn't understand why everyone had become so oblivious recently.

 _'Naruto stop it! You're not going to contact Lord Beerus like that!'_

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" Came a voice directly behind Naruto and Sakura.

The three ninjas in the room turned around to notice a purple man sized cat thing standing in the middle of the office where there wasn't anyone before. Ninja instincts took over and the two chunin leapt to the side of their leader to protect her from this unexpected intruder, while Tsunade herself jumped back out of her seat into a defensive stance. The team of ANBU that had been stationed throughout the building sensed Tsunade's fluxuation of chakra and scrambled into the office to surround the intruder and secure the Hokage. Short swords and kunai were drawn, all pointed at the sleepy looking intruder who yawned like the elite guards weren't even acknowledging.

"Identify yourself!" The leading ANBU commanded.

"Really now, one of you worms interrupted my nap for some pathetic ambush? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't destroy your pathetic planet right now so that I can ignore it and go back to bed." The purple cat said in a bored tone.

"Quit spouting ridiculous nonsense and tell us how you got in here!" The ANBU Captain ordered again.

The purple cat looked at the insect who dared to speak to him in such a disrespectful tone. He lifted his right index finger up and pointed it at the Captain.

"I was quick." The cat spoke before poking the ANBU Captain in the chest. He was so fast no one else noticed that he had done anything until the Captain fell to the floor dead as a doorknob with a finger sized hole in his heart.

"CAPTAIN!" One ANBU cried out.

"Hold position!" The second in command ordered. "Don't break formation!"

"I didn't even see him move…" Another ANBU whispered in fear. Every other ninja in the vicinity was in the same frame of mind. No one, not Rock Lee, Might Gai, the Raikage, or even the late Fourth Hokage whom was nicknamed the Yellow Flash could move that fast. And this stranger had only used his finger.

 _'What the hell is going on? This guy…cat…whatever he is isn't giving off chakra. Is his speed purely by his own muscle strength? Or is he just so powerful that we can't even sense his chakra level?'_

"I'm already cranky from being woken up 4 years early, don't make me swat you insects as well." The cat threatened in the same bored tone he had used since the beginning.

Any other branch of the Konoha military force would have back off at this moment, but the Hokage's personal guards were different. For better and worse they were _the_ highly trained unit tasked with protecting the Hokage at all costs. Even in the face of an impossibly powerful opponent. This time however, it would be their downfall.

Tsunade blinked and when she opened her eyes again, half a dozen of the village's most talented ANBU elites lay dead on the floor, each with matching holes in their chests. As the purple cat brushed past them on his way towards Tsunade's desk, their bodies finally registered that they were supposed to fall over like sacks of potatoes.

"I'll just kill you three and get a few more years of shut eye." The cat said as one would describe how they were about to throw a broken alarm clock away.

"Now now Lord Beerus, that is quite enough." A new voice spoke from behind the cat called Beerus.

Naruto was about to jump in-between the freaky cat guy and the girls, allowing time for Tsunade and Sakura to escape when this newcomer came out of nowhere and halted the purple cat's advance. He looked up to take in this second intruder's equally weird appearance.

He was a head taller than his cat companion, not counting his ridiculous white hair that seemed to grow straight up and only at the very top did it remember that gravity was a thing. His face and overall body seemed like the size and shape of a tall skinny human, except his skin was baby blue and his feet must have been huge judging by the clown shoe sized tap shoes he was wearing. The rest of his outfit was either a dress or a robe (Naruto was having a hard time telling which), royal blue with some kind of black fabric pads draped over his shoulders and chest. On his back was a large halo that framed his upper half, giving him a mystical priest look. To top it all off he carried a long staff with an orb perched on the top.

"Oh dear me, the mess you've made." This newcomer playfully scolded Beerus. He gave an equally playful karate chop to the impossibly powerful cat's head like you would to a naughty child. Not to someone who had killed 6 elite ANBU guards like they were slugs on the pavement.

Surprisingly the one called Beerus didn't retaliate and just grumbled to himself.

Whis then crouched down at the nearest corpse and tapped it once on its wound. Like his switch was flicked on, the ANBU took a huge gasp of life. Whis then followed suit with the rest of the dead ANBU before all six of them were up and about…well more like on their hands and knees gasping for air, but they were still alive none the less.

The beehive haired newcomer then turned to the three remaining ninjas in the room and smiled. Each of them was terrified in their own way; the level headed Sakura, the veteran Tsunade, and the fearless Naruto. All of them could tell these two newcomers were beyond their realm of comprehension.

"Sorry about my Lord Beerus. He gets so cranky when he doesn't get his full 50 years of sleep. But to be fair I was going to have to wake him up myself in a couple of days anyway. So I must thank whomever did call for my Lord since they indirectly did the blunt of my job. I assume it was one of you three, correct? Or did my Lord kill the messenger, again?" The tall blue man spoke.

"Yeah um… that was me." Naruto raised his hand up. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way." He gestured over to his girlfriend. "This is Sakura-chan." He then gestured towards the Hokage. "And Granny Tsunade.

"Oh I see, forgive my rudeness I have yet to introduce myself. I am Whis. Caretaker to Lord Beerus the Destroyer." Whis then gestured in a grand fashion towards the purple cat that was licking himself clean. "And this is Lord Beerus the Destroyer."

"It's nice to meet you." Naruto replied, showing off some unusual curtesy for him. Then it hit him. "Wait! You said Lord Beerus? You're the one King Kai was talking about!"

Lord Beerus had finished licking his paws and was now digging for gold. "King Kai huh? So that's the lower god that revealed my name to a mortal. I'll be sure to pay him a visit as soon as I'm finished with you." The God of Destruction threatened.

Elsewhere on King Kai's planet…

"BUBBLES! GREGORY! GET THE GO BAGS, WE'RE LEAVING!" King Kai frantically said while stuffing his red sedan full of every one of his possessions that he could carry. His fear of dying again overshadowing his logic that there was only one road on his tiny planet that led nowhere.

Back on Element in the Hokage's office…

"Wait, ah Lord Beerus was it? Sir, I have a request!" Naruto bowed, certain that if there was ever a time to be chivalrous, it was now.

"Oh? Well what is it? Speak quickly before I blow up your entire planet for the lolz… Is that how they say it now a days, Whis?" Beerus asked, still not quite awake.

"In some parts of the multiverse it would be appropriate, yes." Whis answered back.

Tsunade and Sakura were still frozen stiff, this was all so overwhelming yet they knew in their heart of hearts that this was an opponent to take seriously.

"I wish to participate in the Get Out of Hell tournament, so that I may rescue my friend Sasuke." Naruto requested.

Beerus raised a quizzed eyebrow at the blond, this request intrigued him.

"What the hell is the Get Out of Hell tournament?" He asked Whis.

"It is a fighting tournament held in the underworld my Lord. The same one that you were chosen to oversee this generation, I told you that decades ago before you went to sleep." Whis explained.

"Ah yes, I do seem to recall you blathering on about it. Yawn, do I really have to though? Watching weak ass souls of the damned fight one another is so boring!" He whined.

"It is a part of your job as a Lord of Destruction. Failure to comply will result in you losing your immortality."

"Really?! Awe shit, I need that right?"

"Yes sir, very important."

"Damn…fine, what was it you wanted again brat?" Beerus addressed the blond.

"My name is Naruto, call me Naruto, and I want to enter the tournament."

"No to both of those things." Beerus shut him down, then turned around to face Whis.

"I'm going back to bed. Remind me to destroy these three once this damn tournament is over." And with that, the purple cat god disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the ninjas alone with Whis the caretaker.

Whis turned back to the terrified shinobi. "Don't worry, I won't remind him. Too much of a hassle to come back to every planet that ticks M'lord off. He'll probably forget all about this in a day or two anyway."

"Um… thank you?" Naruto tentatively said.

"You're welcome." Whis replied with a smile.

"But about letting me into the tournament...?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Lord Beerus has already refused your request, so I don't know why you are asking me?" Whis replied.

"Well aren't you stronger than Beerus?" Whis raised an eyebrow, Tsunade and Sakura looked at Naruto with shock.

"My my, aren't you the observant one? Usually when people hear my title as caretaker, they assume I am a servant of Lord Beerus."

"Well I thought that too until I realized how he let you touch him and you seemed to command him in some ways." Naruto explained. It shouldn't be a surprise that Naruto would be so good at picking up certain quos. You don't grow up hated on the streets without learning how to read people.

"Impressive, but I still don't see why I should bend over backwards for you? Not without compensation at least."

"Well what do you want?" Naruto asked. He didn't have much experience dealing with gods, but from what he could tell from stories and the like, they usually asked for blood sacrifices or your eternal soul. Neither of which sounded appealing at the moment.

"I want...something delicious to eat." Whis declared in his godly voice.

"Something to eat...?" Naruto repeated back.

"Not just any old hors d'oeuvre mind you. As an immortal god I have sampled the finest delicacies across time and space. So if you cannot bring me something that will really tantalize my taste buds them I simply won't help you."

"Something delicious huh?..." Naruto said. Pausing for a moment deep in thought.

Sakura was finally snapped out of her shell shocked trance to realize her boyfriend was probably about to do something stupid.

"Naruto, whatever it is you think you are doing-

"Don't you worry one bit Sakura, I got this!" The maverick ninja declared. Giving the love of his life a quick peck on the cheek, he leapt out the window and sprinted across rooftop after rooftop in search of his target.

A few minutes later, he returned with a sealed tupperware container and a huge grin on his face.

"Lord Whis, prepare to be amazed." Naruto began, Whis was flattered to be called Lord anything. "For the greatest dish in the entire Leaf village, if not the world."

"Oh God..." Sakura groaned.

Naruto unclasped the tupperware to top to reveal...

Crab sushi.

Nah I'm just kidding, it was ramen.

Sakura and Tsunade slapped their faces.

"Oh my, what's this concoction? I don't think I've ever seen soup quite like this." Whis commented.

"This isn't soup Mister Whis, sir. This is ramen; miso ramen with extra pork to be precise. It is my favorite." Naruto said, showing the steaming bowl to the blue skinned god.

"Interesting…but if it is not up to my incredibly high standards I will not allow you in the tournament." Whis reminded.

"Just take a bite…before I do." Naruto said, his mouth slightly watering as the delicious scent of ramen hit his nostrils.

Whis smirked at the mortal's cheek. Normally you didn't threaten to take away a god's offering, it must be good. He pulled out a pair of chopsticks from nowhere and dived right in, scooping up a slice of pork with a few strands of noodles.

Sakura and Tsunade gulped, not sure if this god would destroy Naruto for feeding him cheap roadside fast food.

Whis closed his mouth on the bite of ramen and his eyes shot open. The medics in the room swore that their hearts stopped. Then the tall haired god lunged for seconds, only to be denied by Naruto pulling the bowl away from Whis's reach. Whis frantically swiped at the bowl but was held at arm's length by the mischievous blond.

"Well? How was it?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

"It was delicious, let me have more." Whis answered quickly.

"Not until you let me into the tournament." Naruto demanded.

"Fine, whatever, just give me!" Whis all but shouted. Slowly, still enjoying watching a god squirm, Naruto handed Whis the bowl. The caretaker of the Lord of Destruction scarfed down the dish; the spices, the texture, the heat, the saltiness; it was the most amazing thing Whis had tried in decades.

The sight before the Hokage and her apprentice was one to behold. Leave it to the most unpredictable ninja to do the unbelievable like have a god on his knees eating ramen like a starving man given his first meal in weeks.

"Now about that tournament."

Whis slurped up the noodles hanging off of his chin. "Of course, the Get Out of Hell tournament is open for anyone who wishes to participate. Just be warned that it is primarily a team based tournament. You can bring up to five other fighters along with you. Either your friends or any souls you can find among the denizens of the Afterlife. We don't normally get contestants from the living world so the tournament or its staff is not responsible if you or anyone you bring along dies a mortal death."

"Seems simple enough. I don't know how to get to Hell though." Naruto said. It was currently the biggest hole in his plan.

"Oh that won't be a problem, I can simply open a portal for you to the entrance way to the Afterlife. Right on King Yemma's doorstep." Whis said. "It'll be up to you to get to the actual tournament located in the 85th section of the first circle of Hell. That's the first layer of Hell so you shouldn't encounter anything too lethal to a mortal such as your species. Still the surface is a maze of sharp jagged rocks with firestorms blazing all around."

"Well that doesn't seem too bad." Naruto said. It sounded absolutely terrible to Sakura and Tsunade.

"Well I could be wrong but the 85th section is located approximately 500,000 of your miles away from King Yemma's palace." Whis commented.

"F-f-FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND?!" Sakura shouted. "MILES?!" Whis had to be joking, it was insane. That was longer than the circumference of the planet! Maybe more land than there was to walk on to begin with, it was ludicrous!

"Yes, and the preliminaries start in three days. I don't know how fast you humans can move, but I wouldn't dilly dally." Whis suggested.

"Couldn't you just open the portal closer to the tournament?" Naruto asked. Not really anxious to having to travel half a million miles in less than 3 days.

"I'm a god, not a miracle worker. It is hard enough allowing living souls to enter the Afterlife without dying. And I assume you want to continue living after all this is over?"

"Yes sir."

"I thought so. So when and where do you want this portal? I could do it right here and now, but I would imagine that you want to run home and grab your toothbrush." Whis said while looking at the bottom of his empty ramen bowl, hoping that more ramen could be willed into existence through the power of dreams.

"I could run home and grab my travel bag. Shouldn't take me more than an hour. Sakura-chan, what about you?" Naruto turned to his girlfriend with an excited look on his face. A new adventure was on the horizon and they needed to move quickly if they were going to save Sasuke's soul.

"I'm not going." Sakura said.

 _'Wait, what?'_ Inner Sakura thought.

"Sakura-chan? I'm sorry I must have misheard you-

"I said I'm not going Naruto!" Sakura shouted more clearly. "I'm not going to Hell to fight demons or whatever and I don't think you should either!"

Naruto was taken back, where was this coming from? Especially from Sakura of all people.

"Sakura-chan, what are you saying? This isn't just us going to fight demons, this is to save Sasuke, our teammate…"

"Our _former_ teammate, Naruto. Emphasis on former. He's dead now, remember?"

"Yeah, I do!" Naruto bit back. "And I also remember that he is trapped in Hell! Being tortured as we speak for all eternity! And you just want to leave him there!" This whole scenario was disturbing to Tsunade. Naruto never, and I mean never, yelled at Sakura with that tone of voice.

"Of course I don't want to leave him there! But this whole going to Hell thing is just asinine! It's ridiculous! To go this far for anyone!"

"I was always ready to risk my life to save Sasuke, and I thought you were too…" Naruto said with a touch of sadness breaking through his anger.

"I was! But this…this is Hell we are talking about! We'd be risking more than our lives on this journey…mission…whatever this is! And for what?!" Sakura through her hands up.

"For Sasuke! Our teammate!"

"For Sage's sake, Naruto! Can't we just forget about Sasuke for once!?"

"Forget…about Sasuke?"

"YES! He's dead, alright! Dead and gone! He's no longer our concern! I understand that you made me that promise to bring Sasuke back no matter what! And I admire your dedication, I truly do, but this is over the top! There is no use helping the deceased, Naruto. The dead stay dead."

 _'The dead stay dead…'_ Tsunade could remember telling Sakura those exact words when she began her medical training. It was more personal advice than advice to a fellow medic though. It was Tsunade telling Sakura not to chase ghosts like Tsunade had done for half her life. Better to move on from your failures than to dwell on them for decades until a certain blond haired idiot comes along and knocks some sense into you.

"The dead stay dead…?" Naruto whispered. "What a load of horse shit! The dead don't stay dead Sakura! We literally just met my dead parents an hour ago!"

"That's different!"

"How so!?"

"They were good people!"

"And Sasuke wasn't!?"

"NO! HE WASN'T!" Sakura screeched, the dam breaking loose. "HE WAS A JERK SO FULL OF SELF PITY THAT HE BROUGHT EVERYONE AROUND HIM DOWN WITH HIM!"

"You don't mean that…"

"I DO! I was just too blinded by my stupid crush on him to see it! But now that I think it over, yes, maybe he does deserve to rot in Hell!" Sakura spat. Her chest heaving.

Naruto looked upon her with a face of utter disgust.

"A jerk full of self-pity huh? So I guess that means you think I deserve to rot in Hell too? Is that right?" Naruto asked.

Sakura was taken back by his response. "What? No, Naruto, that's not what I meant at all!"

"But it is what you implied. You might not have realized it Sakura, but I did want to bring Sasuke back for more than just your benefit." The blond spat.

"I wanted to bring Sasuke back because I wanted to bring him back. Sasuke is like a brother to me, the closest thing I could ever hope to have like the real thing. We're cut from the same cloth, him and I. So if you think he is a jerk full of self-pity over his tragic past, then I guess you must feel the same way about me."

"Naruto no, that's not what I think at all!"

"Or is it just that I'm alive and I'm here? And Sasuke isn't?" Naruto questioned.

"What's that supposed to… Tsunade! Aren't you going to say anything!?" Her apprentice spat, hoping her mentor could come and save her.

Tsunade had been patiently watching the argument unfold before her. It never seemed her place to butt in, but never the less…

Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, I agree with Sakura. This whole plan is asinine. You say you want to be Hokage, Naruto. Well a Hokage's duty is always to his people, his living people. You need to learn here and now that a ninja who chases ghosts is of no help to anyone. And I am not about to allow any of my ninjas to go on a suicide mission to ease the suffering of a dead traitor." Tsunade said, trying her hardest to keep her Hokage persona going.

"Granny, you can't be serious."

"I'm being very serious Naruto. I forbid you from going to Hell." She ordered.

"Oh my," Whis spoke up. "This is getting rather tense."

The attention of everyone in the room returned to the god still standing in the center of it, trying to catch drops of ramen broth on his chopsticks.

Just then, Gohan flew through the open window to join the Hokage's side. "Sorry I'm late, Videl had severe morning sickness and- who the heck is that?" Gohan looked at the tall man standing in the center of the Hokage office with ANBU crouched in fear all around him, like he would kill them if they got any closer.

"Oh don't mind them. They're just traumatized from coming back to life." The man explained as if he read Gohan's mind.

"I see. And you are?"

"I am Whis, caretaker to Lord Beerus; the God of Destruction."

"I see...can you guys fill me in? I'm kind of lost." Gohan asked.

"Long story," Sakura began. "But we found out that our former teammate Sasuke is in Hell and this idiot- Sakura gestured towards Naruto- wants to travel to Hell and enter some tournament to get Sasuke into Heaven or whatever. And this one- She gestured towards Whis- says that he'll let Naruto enter after Naruto gave him ramen!"

"Okay…you said Hell right? Capital H, e, double hockey sticks?" The women medics nodded.

"Naruto that's crazy!"

"Don't you start too, Gohan."

"No I'm serious, everyone who dies goes to the Afterlife right? If our dimensions have the same afterlife, then you won't just be facing the worst souls of your dimension, you could end up facing the worst of mine!"

"I don't care Gohan, I have to save Sasuke. If you don't want to help me that's fine."

"No Naruto, I do want to help you, I do, but this isn't worth the risk." Gohan pleaded.

"I should have known you all wouldn't understand." Naruto said, he then looked towards Sakura. "You especially… I thought you of all people would support me on this." Naruto positioned himself in front of the window to take off. He turned back towards Whis. "Can you open up the portal in an hour? I need to get my stuff ready."

"Sure thing." Whis said before disappearing.

"What! No, Naruto!" Gohan cried. But Naruto was making his way outside the office window.

"Naruto if you go on the mission I will demote you to Genin!" Tsunade threatened.

"Go ahead." Naruto didn't even look back.

"Naruto! If you leave I will kick you off the Neo Z Fighters!" Gohan tried.

Naruto untied his gold plated headband and threw it on the floor. "I preferred my old headband anyway." Naruto was just about to make the final leap.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "If you leave I won't ever forgive you!" He hesitated…for just a moment.

The orange ninja leapt out to the rooftops and sped off into the distance. Sakura ran up to the window and leaned outward. "NARUTO! FINE, BE AN IDIOT YOU STUPID FUCKING JERK!" The pinkette screamed. Her face betraying her true feelings, her cheeks were stained with tears.

Tsunade turned to her useless ANBU guards. "Follow him and don't let him leave the village no matter what!" She barked. The ANBU all scrambled to attention and nearly tripped over one another trying to leave the room.

Tsunade slumped back into her chair. This day could not get any worse. That's when Gohan stood in front of her looking serious.

"Don't worry Lady Tsunade, I'll bring him back." Gohan promised.

"You think you can out preform my ANBU when it comes to hunting Naruto down?"

"I know I can. I'm faster and can track his energy signature practically anywhere on the planet."

"Yes, but you will need some help if you want to convince the little idiot to give up this plan of his. Jiraiya and Kakashi have already been called away on other missions, and Iruka is off on a class field trip." Tsunade listed.

Gohan thought it over for a moment, then a light bulb went off. "I think I know a few guys. I'll round them up and then cut off Naruto before he can get anywhere."

"Perfect, get to it." Tsunade ordered. Gohan nodded, not that he actually took orders from Tsunade, and blasted off towards his destination.

Tsunade was left alone to look at her apprentice staring blankly out the window in the direction that Naruto was last scene. "Sakura…"

Without answering, Sakura turned around and headed for the door. "Sakura where are you going?"

"To the hospital." Sakura answered back. "Gohan mentioned that Videl came down with some severe morning sickness and I want to check to make sure that my patient is alright. Just as you taught me."

"Sakura, I know you must be upset about Naruto…"

"Upset? I'm not upset, that idiot can go and get himself killed for all I care!" Sakura slammed the door on her way out of the Hokage's office, leaving Tsunade to ponder how everything could have gone so wrong so fast.

Meanwhile, Sakura was left alone with her thoughts.

 _'Ok, what the Hell was that back there? And I don't mean with Naruto's half assed plan, I mean why didn't you agree to go along with it?'_ Inner Sakura asked.

 _'Just drop it.'_ Sakura though in a tone that even her inner self couldn't argue with.

* * *

One hour later, deep in the forest north of the Hokage tower…

The half-moon light cascaded down upon the forest clearing where could be found the infamous maverick ninja. The wind kicked up autumn leaves all around him in a kind of intimate dance. The only thought on the young chunin's mind was, _'The fuck is this damn portal Whis promised me?'_

After shaking off the ANBU pursuers and grabbing one of his hidden bug-out bags, Naruto had been out in the cold for what seemed like hours trying to find the exact location Whis had told him about. The blond was about try the clearing to the west of the winding river when he felt his entire body stiffen up in place. Naruto's suspicions were confirmed when from out of the darkness came one of the last voices he wanted to hear right now.

"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru stated.

Instantly, Naruto was surrounded on all sides by what looked to be all of his male comrades from the Konoha 11, plus one Saiyan and a dog.

"Thanks for ratting me out, Gohan." Naruto spat.

"Little late for a stroll, ain't it?" Gohan said seriously.

"Don't change the subject. I told you that this doesn't concern you or anyone else, but instead you gather up my friends and involve them too." Naruto angrily said.

"You're damn right I involved them. You have no idea the terrors that await you there. You think Orochimaru was bad? There are guys down there that would make him about as scary as a kitten. I know, I fought a good number of them. Do you have any idea how miserable Sakura is that you are doing this? Videl already knows and she is doing her best not to fly over here and kill you herself. I understand how you must feel right now, truly I do."

"No Gohan! YOU DON'T!" Naruto shouted, breaking the quite night time serenity.

"You think you have all the answers, but you don't! Not this time!"

"LIKE HELL I DON'T! Gohan yelled. "One of the guys down there is Cell. The one who BLEW UP my father. All because I was too cocky to finish off the bastard myself and my dad sacrificed himself only for Cell to survive his own blast and come back! It took every ounce of energy I had to take Cell down. for the past 7 years I have been living with the guilt and pain of having my father not only use his life to save our world, but then refuse to come back... I wanted so much to being him back into my life. I wanted to go to Namek and use their dragon balls to bring him back, hell I was ready to drag his ass back here from otherworld. But I was helpless from doing so. So don't sit there and tell me I don't know how it feels because I do!"

"Is your father trapped in Hell? Fated to be tortured for eternity just because he had a bad lot in life and that drove him down a dark path? Did you fail to keep your promise to the girl you love that you would bring your father back home safe and sound? Huh!?"

"The circumstances maybe a little different, I'll give you that. But, you didn't have to go through the pain of witnessing your own mother break down in front of you, sobbing and crying because her husband was gone for good because of some stupid, childish action on my part. If you go down there, there is a very good chance that you will die, and because there are no dragon balls in this universe, if you die, you can't come back." Gohan said in a very low and serious tone.

"I know he's your brother, though not by blood. I have a 7-year-old brother and if he were in the same situation Sasuke is in, then yea, I would be doing the same thing you are. But you can't expect to go in there, guns blazing and expect to come out alive."

"If you know that you would do the same for your brother than why stop me? See you think you know what Sasuke means to me, but you don't! You might have had to see your mother cry, but at least you had a mother growing up! Your father might be dead but you still knew him all your life! I just learned who my Dad was today!" Naruto broke down. He never played the orphan pity card with people. He had promised himself long ago to stop using it as an excuse and to get by on his own strength. Yet another promise he seemed destined to break.

"That is the difference between you and me, Gohan. You've always had a family; I've had to fight for mine! If that means I've got to fight the worst bastards from my universe, your universe, or whatever; then I'll do it to save a member of my family."

"I'm aware of that, Naruto." Gohan started.

"Then let me go." Naruto said. Gohan only stared at him for a few moments.

"When me and Videl came here, we were told that we could never return to our universe. We can never see our friends and family until we die. Videl and it the worst, her father committed suicide when he learned about us leaving. But since we've been here, we've made new friends and are starting a new family of our own." Gohan said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Ever since I met you, I have come to think of you as a brother. I already had to go through losing my friends and family more than once in my life and I don't want to go through it again. Plus, I want my children to have a Godfather, Naruto. They can't have one if you're gone."

Naruto was taken back. Gohan's words had touched him...truly.

"What the heck is a Godfather?" Naruto asked. All his buddies deadpanned, of course he wouldn't know.

"Think of it as like being a surrogate or second father. Someone who's children can also look up to in life." Gohan said with a smile.

"Wait hold the phone." Kiba interrupted from atop his trusty canine companion Akamaru's backside. "Videl is pregnant?"

"Yosh, that's what I heard from Tenten!" Lee spoke up.

"Congratulations Gohan." Choji commented in between bites of chips.

"Yea. She's carrying twins." Gohan said joyfully. "Naruto, I want you, and Sakura, to be a part of our family. Videl want's Sakura to be the godmother."

"...I'm honored...truly you have no idea how much your offer means to me. To be trusted with someone's child, like that..." Naruto spoke in awe.

"Well, you gotta be alive long enough to fulfill it. Also, if you die, how can you live up to your dream of marrying Sakura and becoming Hokage?" Gohan said calmly.

' _Aw shit... That's what I needed to asked Tsunade about! Getting me and Videl married...'_ Gohan thought suddenly.

"How can I become Hokage when I can't save one friend?"

"You know, Naruto. I learned hard in life that you can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try. There is a saying from a movie in our world; The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one."

"Pervy Sage said something like that to me once. That I someday I would have to cut my loses and be smart if I wanted to survive in this world. You know what I told him? That I'd willingly be a fool all my life." Naruto countered.

Gohan chuckled. "Yea, well at least you got the fool part down right." Gohan joked.

"Yeah, now stand aside and let me through."

Gohan sighed. He really didn't want to do that was coming next.

"Listen, Naruto. I would have for this to come to blows. So please, reconsider. Take time to at least think things through. I don't want to hurt the only man I consider a brother in this world." Gohan said sadly.

"You shouldn't underestimate me, Gohan. Everyone who has ever done that has ended up flat on their back with nothing but a sense of shame. Just ask Neji and Dog Breath over there."

"It's true. He'll fart in your face and steal a couple of cheat shots." Kiba commented. Akamaru covered his eyes with his ears after remembering his partner's most embarrassing defeat.

"Shut up, Kiba! Or do you want another whiff?"

"I know what you're capable of, but I also know what I'm capable of." Gohan said as he powered up to Super Saiyan. Then with a mighty yell, ascended to Super Saiyan 2.

"I'll make a deal with you, Naruto. If you can beat me here and now, I'll let you go. If you can't beat me, then you won't be going anywhere and I will see to it that you don't."

Naruto eyed up and down his opponent. "Deal. Shikamaru, do you mind?" Naruto asked. Still trapped in the Nara heir's Shadow Possession. Shikamaru muttered something troublesome and released the jutsu.

Naruto cracked his neck and dropped into his usual taijutsu stance.

Gohan fell into his mixed stance of his father's and Piccolo's. Right off the bat, he could spot several openings and he was ready to exploit them. Not one to make the first move, Gohan waited for Naruto.

Naruto looked back and forth between all the other guys surrounding them. "You guys aren't going to interfere are you?" Naruto asked. Ninjaing 101, know who you are fighting and still expect to fight all of them.

"You kidding? Like I'd miss a chance to watch you get your ass thoroughly kicked." Kiba said, all the other guys were mostly in agreement.

"First mistake Naruto." Gohan said as he dashed forward and landed a hard kick to Naruto's gut, sending him flying across the field.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent."

Naruto skipped like a stone across the field and flew into the bushes at the tree line, making Gohan lose sight of him. "Holy shit!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru woofed in agreement.

Not taking his eyes off of his opponent, Gohan get his gaze fixed on the trees. Until he sensed a power level quickly spiking from beneath him. Like a trout out of water, Naruto burst through the ground with a Rasengan in hand aimed directly for Gohan's chest. Neji in particular had a flashback to this chunin match against Naruto when he used that exact move to win the match.

The half Saiyan was too quick though and grabbed the ninjas forearm right before it reached him.

"Good advice, Gohan. You should take it yourself." Naruto wheezed out, slightly out of breath.

"Maybe you misunderstand something, but I just stopped your attack."

"Yeah, but you still took your eyes off of your opponent." Naruto then poofed into a white cloud of nothing, revealing that he had been a shadow clone all along.

Gohan then sensed an incoming attack coming at him quickly. Using a massive burst of speed, he shifted his gaze to the side and blocked another attack, only for it to be another shadow clone.

 _'Hmm... This isn't going to work on me.'_ Gohan thought. He sensed several other energy signatures coming straight towards him. Gohan tuned his senses to the one with the most energy and found the real Naruto up in a tree 50 meters away. _'There you are.'_

Gohan phased out just before all of the clones hit him, causing them to hit each other and puff away. Gohan appeared on the same branch as Naruto and swiftly backhanded the blond ninja down to the ground near their comrades.

Naruto shook his head and righted himself back into his fighting stance.

"Give it up Naruto. I already know all your moves." Gohan stated.

"Is that right? You know all my moves?" Naruto taunted. "I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that Gohan. You might know all my techniques, but you don't know all my moves."

Gohan was confused by Naruto's continued cocky attitude. Then he looked behind Naruto and noticed one of his shadow clones coming out of the forest.

Then another, then 10s of clones, then hundreds.

Before his very eyes, Gohan was surrounded by 1000s of Shadow Clones. Even after dozens of spars with Naruto, Gohan had only ever seen him use a handful of clones. This...this was new.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with all of these, pray tell?" Gohan asked sternly.

"Kick your ass?" A thousand Naruto's answered back. Like a starting gun had been fired. Thousands of Naruto clones stampeded towards the half Saiyan. Shouting profanities and brandishing kunai knifes.

Gohan just stood there. He didn't even bother to take up a defensive stance, nor try to block any attack that would come. instead, he was hit directly by an onslaught of attacks ranging from punches, kicks, and kunai slashes. This when on for nearly a minute as Gohan took one attack after another.

"Well, this has gotten boring." Gohan said suddenly, putting all of the Naruto clones in a state of shock, including the real one.

"RAAAAAAHHH!" Gohan yelled and flared his aura up until it engulfed every clone and the entire area became nothing but white smoke.

A quick burst of wind from Gohan cleared away the smoke to reveal a completely unscathed Gohan.

Naruto stood there in shock with his mouth agape as he witnessed Gohan standing where the mob of his clones used to be. Gohan was hit by just about every basic attack in his arsenal and not a scratch was seen.

"How in the hell..." Naruto gasped out.

"I've been going easy on you, Naruto. I could have ended this in 5 seconds if I wanted to. You think I'm powerful? The truth is that I have been slacking off in my training for years before I came to your world. The monsters my friends and I put down where you are going would put me to shame as I currently am." Gohan warned.

"Grrr, so what?! I told you that I don't give up easily!" Naruto shouted as he made his signature hand sign. Immediately, a thousand more Naruto Shadow Clones popped into existence. Without waiting for a command they all rushed the half saiyan again.

"Again?" Gohan asked dryly.

Before the shadow clone mob could even touch Gohan, he flew straight up, all according to plan. The Clones all crashed together so pathetically. Gohan thought it looked sad and figured he should just send a Ki blast down and end this now.

Instead he was struck from behind by a massive water bullet that came out of nowhere.

Unknown to Gohan, Naruto had summoned his two main summoning Toads, Gamakichi and his younger brother Gamatatsu to launch water bullets at Gohan should he fly up high as he did.

This achieved the blond's intended result. Gohan flew lower to dodge the onslaught of water bullets. Once again his attention was focused on his last threat and the half Saiyan didn't even notice the pyramid of Shadow Clones that was built beneath him to give a dozen remaining Shadow Clones a stepping stone to leap at Gohan. Each of them armed with Rasengans the size of beach balls.

No time to charge up another blast of ki in all directions, instead Gohan tried to hand blast his way out, but it still wasn't enough. Another water bullet came hurdling through the cloud of Shadow Clones and struck Gohan right in the back, sending his body sailing directly in front of one of the Shadow Clones.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto cried. His concentrated ball of chakra found its mark dead center in Gohan's chest. Then two more clones came up from behind him and struck Gohan in the back as well. The shockwaves from the blast sent Gohan flying towards the hard ground.

Quickly, Gohan righted himself back into his fighting stance, seemingly unfazed by the recent attack. The combined might of the three Rasengans had been powerful, but no more powerful than what Gohan would expect from a single punch from an opponent with Gohan's base level power level.

"You're not bad Naruto. You are quite skilled and you have a pretty hefty arsenal. But I'm afraid that if this is all you have, you won't last long in Hell. I've been going easy on you this whole time to see if you would be able to hold your own. From my stand point, unless you tap into the Kyuubi's power, you won't be able to save Sasuke." Gohan stated seriously.

 **"He's right, brat."** Kyuubi said into Naruto's mind.

 **"You can't even put a dent in Gohan as he is without my power. Yet, even if you did use my power, you would be back to square one. He is just too powerful for you."**

 _'Shut the fuck up.'_ Naruto thought. _'You already know what my plan is and it is not about to involve you. Not now, not ever. So do me a favor and go back to sleep for the rest of my life…'_

 _'Besides, I've already won this fight.'_

" **You have, huh? This I gotta see."**

Naruto and his clones all landed safely on the ground and began pairing up to make new batches of Rasengans.

"Gohan's right, Naruto. Just give it up. Sasuke made his choices and now he has to make up for them." Kiba stated. His suggestion fell on deaf ears though.

"What exactly does Naruto think he's doing?" Shikamaru wondered aloud. "He's knows he can't win so..." The genius ninja was caught in deep thought, which intrigued the Hyuga standing next to him.

 _'I wonder...Byakugan!'_ Neji thought, activating his clan's signature eye jutsu to see everything in all directions over great distances. In no time he found what he was looking for and he couldn't help but chuckle at the blond ninja's sheer cheek. _'Oh that is clever.'_

Meanwhile, Gohan was busy blasting the charging shadow clones before they could reach him with their slightly threatening Rasengans. Yet strangely, for every Naruto he blasted into nothing, he never struck the orange ninjas actual physical body. Soon enough, there was only one left standing, holding up his Rasengan and looking around at his disappeared comrades like he forgot what he came in here for.

"Are you done yet, Naruto?" Gohan shouted from across the field. "I can keep this up all night if I need too. So can you so I've heard, but the way I see it, you have two choices. First, you forget about this escapade of yours and go home. Second, I knock you out and drag you to Tsunade where you will be met with disciplinary actions by her and the council. Your choice." Gohan said seriously.

Naruto was about to retort with something clever like, "No, fuck you!" When a strange explosion could be heard coming a mile west of them.

"What was that?" Gohan asked to no one in particular.

"Global warming?" Naruto suggested before rushing Gohan again.

Gohan merely batted away Naruto's fist. Naruto continued his furious onslaught and Gohan deflected every attack. "Alright, I've had enough of this." Gohan stated before grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his shirt and sent a hard jab to the blond's stomach. Causing the young ninja to dissipate like the Shadow Clone he was.

 _'Heh, just as I thought.'_ Gohan thought. _'Now, where are you...'_ Gohan expanded his sensing abilities far and wide until he noticed a lone power level signature coming from the exact direction where he heard the strange explosion from earlier.

' _He couldn't have…son of a!'_

Gohan rocketed off towards the energy signature and as he got closer he began to see a dull gray light coming off like a giant bonfire from beneath the tree line. Once he had gotten close enough, he could see that the gray flames were in fact part of some evil looking door that couldn't have been there before. He also saw an orange silhouette trying to pry the doors open.

"What in the hell..." Gohan said out loud.

Shinkamaru, Neji, and all the other ninjas (even Kiba) had already picked up their comrade's deception and were secretly smiling at one of their own pulling a fast one on the Saiyan.

"Oh shit... That can't be the portal..." Gohan said in surprise

"Open up you stupid portal!" Naruto shouted to himself in anger. "I need to get to Hell, God damn it!"

"Oh... SHIT!" Gohan yelled as he dashed as fast as he could to stop Naruto from going to Hell.

Naruto, not as oblivious as people give him credit for, quickly turned around to face Gohan with a Rasengan in hand. Only for Gohan to step into his attack and slam the real Naruto down to the ground by the scruff of his neck.

"GAH!" Naruto coughed, the wind knocked out of him. Normally Gohan would be saddened from being forced to hurt a friend, but this was for Naruto's own good.

"I've had enough, Naruto." Gohan declared. The Ascended Super Saiyan was about to break both of Naruto's legs just so he could drag him back to the Leaf when all of the sudden, he felt his entire body stiffen up.

"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru declared.

"What in the-" Gohan said as he processed the voice he heard.

"Goddammit, Shikamaru! We're supposed to be stopping Naruto, not me you fool!"

"We kind of all changed our minds. Or at least I did." Shikamaru replied.

"What do you mean, you changed your minds? Have you all lost your marbles?!"

"I mean we see where Naruto is coming from. This unflinching desire to save a fellow comrade, even if it means going into Hell itself, it's something they teach us ninjas with the Will of Fire." Shikamaru explained.

"Will of Fire?" Gohan questioned.

"Oh right, you wouldn't know what that is would you?" Shikamaru said. "It's an ideal we have in the Leaf village. How the desire to protect one's home and one's comrades comes from a ninja's will passed down from his leaders and mentors to him. The Will of Fire states, among other things, to never leave a comrade behind. No matter what."

"If it is Naruto's Will of Fire that drives him to traverse the very lands of Hell itself for the sake of his comrade, then we, as his comrades, will not let his youthfulness stand alone!" Lee declared.

"Y-you guys." Naruto said.

"I see... I didn't realize you all believed so firmly about all of this." Gohan said softly. "Allow me to come with you. If you want to save Sasuke, you're going to need someone who has fought the guys in hell before."

"No." Naruto choked out.

"No? what do you mean no?"

"You were right on one thing, Gohan. Going to Hell is going to be treacherous. There is a good chance I won't make it back. I've always beaten the odds, but this isn't something I'm willing to bet all your lives on. If something were to happen to me, I'd die content knowing that the village was safe under your protection, Gohan." Naruto stated.

"And how will Sakura take this if you die, Naruto? How would I tell her that the love of her life is now dead? explain that one to me."

Naruto looked down at the ground sadly, remembering the argument he had had with his love not hours ago.

"So long as she is safe too, I'll still be content."

"So, you would be content seeing Sakura living her life with a broken heart because the man she loves the most is dead?" Gohan stated seriously. "That makes absolutely no sense at all, Naruto."

Naruto looked at Gohan with perhaps the closest thing Gohan had ever seen to a defeated look on the blond's face.

Thankfully, Shikamaru was ready with the words Naruto couldn't think of. "Leaving loved ones behind is something we ninja are accustomed to. The girls know this too, although they might have more trouble accepting it." Shikamaru explained.

"That's what my dad told my mom years ago. I just hope I never have to tell Videl that."

"You know Gohan. I think I'm starting to understand more of what Naruto said." Choji spoke up. "You are accustomed to the life of a warrior. We on the other hand, live the lives of soldiers." Choji explained.

Gohan finally started understanding the way these ninjas operate. finally realizing he was defeated, he powered down from his ascended Super Saiyan state.

"You're right, Choji. You're absolutely right. If this is your decision, I can enlist some help from other world to help you, one of them is stronger than I am."

"Don't bother. This is our fight." Kiba boosted.

"Actually, I'm not comfortable with you guys following me either." Naruto interjected. "Saving Sasuke is my burden to bare. I can't ask any of you to risk your lives in the same manner."

"In that case, you can shut up too Naruto. Didn't we just get done saying that were comrades. Each and every one of us shares the others burden. We are coming with you Naruto." Neji stated.

Naruto looked around the faces of the rest of his teammates. The blond had to smile at the looks of conviction on each and every one of their faces.

"Please, Naruto. It would make me feel better. One of them is my grandfather, Bardock. You outclass him greatly, but he has knowledge about the beings in Hell and can assist you with anything you need to know about Otherworld. The other is my dad's friend, Pikkon. He is on par with my dad in terms of power, skill and strength. That's saying a lot since my dad found a level beyond a Super Saiyan 2. He would be your greatest asset."

"Gohan, please. Like Kiba said, this is our mission. Just stay here and protect the village, we will be back in no time." Naruto said.

Gohan then stood up, shaking Shikamaru's shadow possession off like it was nothing but a mere annoyance. Shikamaru made a face like, "Fine, I was running out of chakra anyway."

"I am not going." Shino spoke up, shattering every one's built up sense of camaraderie.

"What the fuck Shino?" Kiba shouted. "We got this great inspiring thing going on and you totally ruin the atmosphere!"

"You forget; I was not a part of the original squad tasked to retrieve Sasuke. This blinded nostalgia will only lead to disaster one way or another. Tsunade will surely demote all of us if she discovers that we have joined Naruto on his journey to the Afterlife. Why? Because she threatened Naruto in the exact same way if he went ahead with his hair brained scheme, which he is already in the processes of doing."

The rest of the ninjas looked upon Shino with a look of anger and disbelief. It almost seemed like he was ready to sell them out to Tsunade if they didn't call of their plans.

"Which is why I shall stay behind and act as all your body doubles."

"Wah-what?" Naruto asked.

"While I may not be as proficient as you Naruto when it comes to Shadow Clones. My beetles can craft very elaborate clones in the shape of anyone I choose. Creating very convincing doppelgangers for long periods of time. It might not fool our closest friends and family, but with the right misdirection I can make it appear that all of us have remained in the village during the six of your absences." Shino explained. "Provided that someone..." Shino looked at Gohan. "...does not rat us out."

Gohan sighed in defeat. "Very well then. King Kai and Grand Kai will be there to aid you at least. Just, be careful and try not to do anything stupid. What do you want me to tell the girls? Because they will find out sooner or later and come to me looking for answers."

"Whatever you have to. Just keep them out of the loop as long as you can, especially Granny Tsunade. If we can keep her in the dark throughout all of this, it'll be smooth sailing." Naruto said.

"Well, Videl already knows. I can sense her shadow clone a few hundred meters away. She just told me mentally that she would come up with a cover story for everyone." Gohan stated.

"You've got yourself one of the least troublesome woman I've ever met, Gohan." Shikamaru complimented.

"Damn, that is some high praise coming from him." Choji commented.

"Hey, what can I say? She does think this whole thing is asinine and that Naruto is a complete moron for even trying something like this, but she'll go along with it... Oh shit she's in the Hospital too..."

"Damn... Seems as though my mom put clover in the tea she gave Videl. Videl is highly allergic to clover." Gohan said with a panic look on his face. "I'm trusting you guys to make it back here alive. I can't stay here any longer so good luck."

Just then, Videl's clone dropped from above. "Gohan, the boss is okay thanks to a senzu bean you had. She is just there with Tsunade to make sure everything is okay." the Videl clone said.

"Oh good..." Gohan said with a sigh of relief.

"Same to you. And Gohan..." Naruto said.

"Yeah?"

"I promise I will come back alive and be the best Godfather your kids could ever ask for. Believe it." Naruto smiled.

"I do believe it." Gohan said with a soft smile

"Sakura also accepted to being the godmother, by the way." The Videl clone said.

"I figured she would, knowing her." Gohan stated.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto whispered softly. "Gohan, one more thing... Sakura-chan... could you tell her..."

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her…I'm sorry and I love her." Naruto said.

"Of course, brother." Gohan said as he held out his hand to Naruto. Naruto clasped his hand and held it tight in a kind of still handshake. Gohan then took Naruto's hand and placed his Neo Z Fighter headband in his palm. "You forgot this at the Hokage tower, you know."

Naruto smirked and untied his old headband and slipped in into his kunai pouch for safe keeping, then tied the golden headband proudly around his forehead. "Thanks man."

"Just so you know, you are going to go through a bitch load of gravity training when you get back. You ain't gonna rest until you hit 500x gravity, ya hear?"

Naruto smirked. "Count on it."

"I'll try to keep Tsunade's temper to a mere simmer should she find out. Good luck again." Gohan said as he let go of Naruto's hand.

"You won't succeed. But we appreciate the thought." Kiba commented.

Naruto thanked Gohan again and turned to the doors.

"You'd be surprised, Kiba. My mom's temper made Tsunade's seem docile in comparison." Gohan said as he lifted off.

"Look, Gohan, I know you think you are hot shit. Always one upping us and what not. But you have only dealt with Tsunade drunk. If she gets mad enough, she'll go sober and then you are in for a world of hurt..." Kiba explained while the rest of the boys shuddered.

"Whatever you say" Gohan scoffed as he took off for the hospital.

"He's not lying you know. His mother is certifiably crazy with a capital C. Even I'm afraid of her." The Videl clone said as she dispelled into smoke.

"That's the real reason you're not taking him with us right? Because he always needs to get in the last word?" Kiba complained to Naruto. Akamaru shook his head at his master's bitching.

"If that were true, we'd be leaving you behind too." Shikamaru commented.

As the two ninjas had a little in fight, Naruto, Lee and Choji all got to work on opening the door. It proving heavier than any of them had ever anticipated. A few dozen shadow clones, some enlarged palms, and two opened gates later; they finally succeeded.

Once open, they were met with a wind vortex pulling them in. Even with their chakra enhanced soles of their feet, they couldn't keep their footing and the six of them were quickly pulled into the portal, leaving only a somber Shino behind.

 _'God it is chilly out here.'_ He thought.

* * *

 **Samuraipanda85: Got this one out earlier than expected. I know most of you were probably expecting our two favorite couples to be the one's going to Hell but the temptation to reunite the Sasuke Retrieval Squad was too great. I'm all about giving side characters more screen time though and Naruto has nothing if not the best cast of side characters in the mangaverse. Don't think Gohan, Videl, and Sakura are gonna be useless in this arc though. They will get their times to shine.**

 **Forewarning about future chapter release schedules though; some projects due dates are closing in as always, but then I have Thanksgiving break which is always followed by Finals week which actually lasts 2 weeks until Christmas break. So if chapters get inconsistent, you can blame me prioritizing my education over the release schedule.**

 **Also I'm sure you have all heard by now in international news, about the terrorist attack on Paris.**

 **To all those affected directly and indirectly by this tragedy; you have my deepest condolences. As do all the victims of other terrorist attacks the world over who do not receive as much media coverage.**

 **Many of you might not know this, but cmartinHFD is a volunteer EMT, so there is a chance he will be called away to assist Paris in any way he can. Nothing is set in stone yet, but should this come to pass, I wanted you all to join me in wishing him the best of luck. As well as all the other emergency personal helping Paris during this time of crisis.**


	15. Chapter 15: Enter the Void

It was another peaceful day in the Afterlife: the sun was shining (because it never sets), the birds were singing (and you could hear them too if it wasn't for the confused banter of the recently deceased), and King Yemma was having a good day. King Yemma was the judge of the dead; the god in charge of quickly reviewing the lives of each soul that passed through the void and decided if they were to spend eternity in the paradise of Heaven or the abyss of Hell. It was a tedious job to be sure, the amount of paperwork he got through each day was biblical. And since days never ended, King Yemma never got to take a break. It gave him a very short fuse and a zero tolerance policy for souls that took more lives than they saved in life. The exact rules to determine who was bad and who was good varied from god to god, but Yemma always looked at a mortal's intentions when making his final decision.

Whatever the case, today Yemma was having a good day. Only a million souls had passed through his gates in the last 24-hour period, that had to be a record. Yemma was breezing through each case like it was the day of the explosion at the nun's orphanage. Yes sir, things were starting to look up for old King Yemma.

That is when the ceiling opened up to a wind vortex, scattering the entire days' worth of paperwork all over the floor. King Yemma's helpers frantically ran around trying to catch the loose papers before they blew outside and fell down to the pits of Hell itself. King Yemma was so startled that he stood up, knocking over his ink bottle and coffee cup all over his day planner and what paperwork still remained on his desk.

And just to finish the job, out of the vortex plopped out a large white dog and six human males with a ridiculous variety of colorful clothing. They all fell face first into the ink smear, which to them was a small puddle.

"GAH! It's in my mouth!" Cried the orange clad blond with ink smeared all down his front.

"Ouch! God damn, Lee! Get your weighs out of my face!" The leather jacket wearing one cried. The ink covering one half of his face which would have shown the same red fang tattoo as his other cheek.

The green spandex clad one could only muffle his response as the fat one with a dark red outfit and simple armor had his foot stuck in the green one's mouth.

"Ow, I think I fell on a log." The fat one said.

"That was me." The long haired brunette wheezed out, his white outfit completely stained by the ink.

The one with a pony tail and a green vest untangled himself from the behind of the now black furred dog. "So…damn…troublesome…"

"Can I help you with something?" King Yemma asked, trying his very hardest to remember his anger management classes.

The group of misfits looked up at the impressive being who just spoke. He was the size of the Hokage Tower easily, wearing a purple business suit, a crown that had the word "King" on it, what stuck out the most was his angry red skin and yellow horns coming out of either side of his head.

"DEMON!" The boys all cried as they scrambled into the best fighting stances they could muster.

"Oh not this shit again." King Yemma complained as the seven mortals charged at the judger of souls.

Yemma quickly swatted each of the would be attackers like bugs on his desk. When they were all a hair's breath away from death, King Yemma ordered his helpers to subdue the failed attackers and give them a quick revival. Within two minutes all seven mortals were cleaned up and back to full strength, all the while safely secured in god quality chains.

"Now tell me why you all came falling into my office unannounced and why I shouldn't toss the lot of you into the flaming pits of Hell early?" King Yemma demanded.

"Well you see, what had happened was…" Naruto began, only to be cut off by the Judging God.

"Not you, whelp! I was talking to your leader." King Yemma shouted. All eyes then turned to Shikamaru who was, in the eyes of most of their age group, the defacto leader of the Konoha 11 since he was always the one with the plan and the first of them to obtain the rank of chunin.

"We are here to participate in…" Shikamaru started but was also cut off by King Yemma.

"Are you all deaf? I said your leader!"

The men from the Konoha 11 then looked towards Neji, although never one to seek the role of leadership, he was the only jounin in their age group and thus outranked all other ninjas present. The Hyuga prodigy was about to speak up and risk the God's anger a third time when Akamaru started barking. "Woof woof."

"Ah, I see…" King Yemma replied. The men of the Konoha 11 looked at the massive god and noticed that his eyesight had been directed at Akamaru the entire time.

"Woof woof, pant pant, woof…woof." Akamaru continued.

"Oh, so you are here to participate in the Get Out of Hell tournament. Well why didn't you say so?"

"Woof."

"Right, I might have jumped the gun there myself. Doesn't matter, the entrance to Hell is right over there." King Yemma pointed to his right towards a staircase leading down. The god snapped his fingers and the chains magically disappeared.

"Next time you come here though, just use the front door like everyone else." Yemma gestured towards the impossibly long line of deceased souls awaiting their judgment.

"Um…will do." Naruto nervously laughed before he was pushed forward by all his friends.

The six ninjas plus their "leader" walked out of the office along a white stone path the size of a football field with stone railing on either side. When they reached the top of the stairs there was an immediate drop off. The entire thing had seven steps that lead to nowhere but a cliff. Looking over the edge they could see nothing but purple and red storm clouds covering the abyss for miles over the horizon. The whole thing seemed to grow darker and darker the longer they stared into it. The sense of dread was palpable, like if they took this leap they would never return.

"NO, NO, LET ME GO!" Came a scared voice from behind them. The ninjas looked back to see three demon helpers in office worker clothes wrangling a soul that was desperately trying to break free from their grasp. The soul had no defined form, but if Naruto looked at it with his peripheral vision, he could make out the body of a short and flabby old man wearing a business suit.

"You have to let me go! I never killed anybody!" He pleaded to the demons.

"Sir, we have been over this. You ordered their murders through an assassin. You intended to kill them and your actions led to their death. That makes you guilty of their murder." The tired worker explained.

"Bullshit! That faggot had it coming! You there! Boy!" The dead man pointed at the group of ninjas.

"Help me out and I'll give you half my riches! Money stays with you even in the Afterlife!"

"No sir, it doesn't. Your actions do." The worker explained before shoving the newly deceased down into the abyss. The man's screams echoed on and on until they were drowned out by all the other screaming from the damned.

The three workers returned to King Yemma's palace without another word. Ready to preform whatever task was needed of them.

Naruto looked back over the edge and saw the hole the soul had made in the clouds was gone, the storm had churned and covered up any trace of being disturbed.

"I'm starting to think that I didn't think this through." Naruto stated.

"Yeah no shit, Dumbass." Kiba barked. "What the fuck did you think this was gonna be like? A walk in the fucking park!?"

"Kiba, shut it!" Shikamaru intervened. "You're not helping."

"Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't get upset that we are STUCK IN THE AFTERLIFE ON A SUICIDE MISSION!"

"Well then wouldn't we be in the perfect place for a suicide mission?" Lee asked. Everyone just stared back at him. "What?"

"Look, you guys can still back out if you want. I won't blame you, but I'm forging on ahead." Naruto spoke.

"And how do you plan to get down there in the first place?" Neji asked.

"Simple, I'll make a ladder of Shadow Clones and climb down. Knowing me, I'll hit the ground long before I run out of chakra."

"Or after…" Kiba whispered. Naruto didn't hear him though and was about to summon his first round of Shadow Clones when Shikamaru put his hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Wait, Naruto. How about you send a Shadow Clone down there first. Just to get an idea of what is down there?" Shikamaru suggested.

"How will that help? My clones can't exactly fly back up here." Naruto replied back.

"Memory Retention." Shikamaru stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto just tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"You mean you don't know about how any memory your Shadow Clones experience gets transferred back to you when they disappear?" Shikamaru explained. Dear God he could not be this stupid.

"Should I?" Naruto asked to a chorus of facepalms from Shikamaru, Neji, and Akamaru.

"Shadow Clones are literally your specialty! If anyone should know, it should be you!" Neji explained.

"Well sorry, I guess I use them to indiscriminately that I never realized it." Naruto defended. His group of friends sighed.

"Naruto, make a Shadow Clone please." Shikamaru asked. The orange ninja abliged and created exactly one Shadow Clone, which the Nara heir swiftly booted off of the side of the cliff.

"The Hell did you do that for?" Naruto cried. Shikamaru held up one finger to the blond ninja's face.

"Wait for it."

An entire minute passed with all eyes on the blond haired idiot before his face contorted into an expression like he just remembered something terrifying. Naruto frantically backed away from the cliff's edge like he was scared the stone steps beneath him would crumble away.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru cried. The boy was practically delirious, Lee and Choji had to grab ahold of him just to calm him down. "Naruto, what did your clone see?" The Nara heir asked.

A few breaths later, Naruto regained his focus. "Nothing good… my clone didn't even hit the bottom. That's all I'm saying."

The ninjas all looked at one another. If their most courageous member was scared shitless by what was down there, what chance did they all have?

"Oh great blue god, please tell me none of you are Naruto." A voice spoke from behind them.

The ninjas all turned and looked up to see a man floating down towards them. Like everything they had experienced in the last 20 minutes he was a slight to behold. He was tall and muscular with scars covering his arms and an X scar on his left cheek. His strange looking armor was a mix of blue breast plates and green thigh guards. He had on blood red socks, arm guards, and a headband holding back his most stand out feature. His hair was black and was consisted of the most over the top spiky bangs the boys had ever seen. Some people might say that Naruto's hair was unruly, they hadn't seen this man yet. To top it all off, there was something about this mysterious guy's face…

"My grandson told me to find 7 warriors, but all I see is a bunch of brats with a mutt. What the hell are you doing here? This ain't no place for weaklings like you."

"Weaklings? Who is this guy, calling us weak?" Kiba spat.

Naruto would have agreed with the dog master, but something about this guy seemed familiar.

"Hold on a minute. Grandson? Do I know you? You look familiar."

"Hmph... I'm Bardock, Gohan's grandfather. And here he told me you were the least likely to know who I was."

"Well I'm told I have a tendency to surprise people. I'm Naruto." Naruto held out his hand for Bardock to shake.

"Hmph... Keep your hands to yourself, brat." Bardock said with a bored tone.

Naruto lowered his hand. A bit embarrassed at the saiyan's rudeness.

"Wait, how can you be Gohan's grandfather? He told me you were..."

"I was what? In Hell? I'm working on getting out by doing what the big oaf calls, community service. My wife talked him into it..." Bardock grumbled.

"No fat. Aren't you Bardock the Ox King?"

A tick mark formed on Bardock's head. "That's his grandfather on his mother's side! I'm his Saiyan grandfather!"

"Oh riiiiiiiight." Naruto said, he remembered now.

 _'Idiot.'_ Everyone including the dog thought.

"I guess I don't need to look hard to find the stupid one of your group."

Naruto awkwardly chuckled while rubbing the back of his head.

"So why are you here?" Shikamaru asked, wanting to move the conversation right along.

"Gohan sent me to find you. I guess he wants me to be your guide. Like I don't have better things to do."

"Now Bardock, behave!" A feminine voice called out

The boys turned their attention to the woman who appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, right next to Bardock. She was wearing pink colored armor similar to Bardock's.

It was clear to even Naruto that she was also a Saiyan.

What was even more apparent was how strikingly similar she looked to Sakura, except her hair and eyes were onyx black. Looking at her made Naruto sad for some reason.

"Excuse my husband's rudeness. I'm Gine, Gohan's grandmother." Gine said sweetly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you! I am the Noble Blue Beast of the Leaf Rock Lee!" Lee introduced himself in his usual over enthusiastic way. "This is my teammate Neji; my comrades Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru; and my eternal rival Naruto." Lee gestured to all the people he addressed. Including Naruto who was trying not to look at Gine's way.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Although, it's not normal to see the living here, save for when my son, Kakarot, visits." Gine said

Gine then noticed how Naruto was trying to avoid eye contact with her and started to get curious. "Is something wrong, uh... Naruto, was it?"

"What? No, nothing is wrong." Naruto said without looking Gine in the eyes.

Gine saw the look of pain and sadness on Naruto's face and knew that look all too well. "I may have died young, but I'm not stupid. Something troubles you, young man. I assume it has something to do with a lady in your life judging by the fact you won't look at me."

"I told you it was nothing." Naruto said quickly.

"He and his mate had an argument, dear." Bardock said. "You were out doing who knows what while I was watching Gohan on my break."

Naruto looked at Bardock with embarrassed anger. "Why the fuck would you tell her that?!" He yelled.

Gine glomped Naruto on his head. "Don't curse in front of me!" She yelled.

Naruto shook her off. "Get off of me!" He yelled again.

Gine smirked. "You're high spirited, aren't you?" She said as she stood back up. "Honestly, if that's all it is, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's obvious to me that you're really sorry about whatever happened. Show her how sorry you are and she'll forgive you."

"Will you just fucking drop it! I didn't ask you about my love life!" Naruto spat.

Now Bardock smirked. "Cursing and yelling at my mate in front of me. You got guts kid, I'll give you that. I think I'm starting to like you." Bardock said.

"Fine. I'll drop it, for now." Gine said, still in her sweet tone. She then turned to Bardock. "King Kai wants you to take them to Snake Way. Get done with this and your favorite dinner will be waiting when you get back."

Gine turned around to leave, but then turned back to Naruto briefly.

"As for you, I hope everything works out."

Naruto scoffed and turned his head.

Gine just smiled and left. Now everyone's attention is on Bardock.

The blond turned back towards Bardock. "Can we get a move on? You said Gohan sent you here to help us, so help us."

"Don't give me orders, brat." Bardock grumbled. "I'll take you to Snake Way. From there you must travel 500,000 miles to reach Princess Snake's castle where there is an elevator to take you directly to Hell. From there, you're on your own."

"What the fuck is so great about Snake Way?" Naruto asked, still in a foul mood.

"Snake Way is a test of one's endurance that King Kai created a long time ago. It spans over a million miles and leads to his planet. Only those who can successfully navigate it will be trained by him. My son, Kakarot, or as you may know him as Goku, was one of the ones to succeed as well as King Yemma."

"And how does that help us get to the tournament?"

"I just got done telling you that half way down Snake Way is Princess Snake's castle where there is an elevator that will take you directly to Hell. From there, you're on your own. Personally I don't see why you lot are going to be in this tournament."

"None of your business. Come on guys." Naruto orders as he walks on ahead.

"You don't even know where Snake Way is and you're just going to walk off?"

Naruto stops for a moment. "Fuck." He curses to himself.

"Sigh, please lead the way Bardock." Shikamaru asks, knowing that they were going nowhere fast with these two going at it.

"Hmph..." Bardock said before taking to the air. he waited there for a moment before speaking up. "Well? Are you coming or what?"

"We can't fly." Choji answers back.

Bardock face palmed. "You have got to be kidding me. What kind of pathetic race does your planet have anyway?"

"You wanna come down here and say that to my face!?" Naruto snaps at him.

Bardock smirked. "Challenging someone much older and more experienced than you are and defending your race. That's a sign of pride kid. Don't ever lose that." Bardock said as he descended to the ground. "You will face more Saiyan opponents in Hell, no doubts there. We Saiyan's care about 3 things; Pride, Courage and Strength. Nothing insults a Saiyan more by saying they lack any of these qualities. Showing courage in the face of danger will always gain you the respect of a Saiyan as it is the beginning of being a true warrior."

Bardock turned and faced a rather long path that lead away from the Check-in station. "This path will take you to Snake Way. I'll escort you there and you can make the rest of your way on your own." Bardock then turned to face the group.

"Thank you. And tell Gohan thank you as well." Shikamaru said.

"Hmph. Don't thank me. I'm doing this because if I don't then I have to hear it from King Yemma and Gine. This whole situation is just too troublesome." Bardock said, to which Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.

"Looks like you found a kindred spirit. Eh, Shikamaru?" Kiba teased.

"We'll run there. That is, if you can keep up." Bardock said as he took off.

Always eager for a challenge, Lee was giddy with excitement. "YOSH! BY THE POWER OF YOUTH, I SHALL NOT LOSE!" He declared before sprinting after Bardock. Kiba and Akamaru were right on his tail. Leaving Choji, Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru to lag behind.

As they were running, Naruto kept his gaze focused on the path ahead, his confrontation with Gine had done nothing but piss him off. Who was she to butt in to his love life like that? Apologize? He was in the right on this one. There was nothing to be sorry about. Except…a memory of Sakura's pleading face flashed through Naruto's mind.

While Naruto was contemplating things, his friends were actually enjoying the view. To the right of the path they were running across was Heaven. It had to be Heaven, nothing else could ever look so pristine. The lush green hills and valleys seemed to roll on forever. The mountains were impossibly tall and invited a sense of adventure to explore them. The crystal clear blue lakes dotted the landscape and the boys could see boats of all shapes and sizes traversing its waters. The houses were all charming in their own special way. And as amazing as the view was, the boys had a feeling that even more amazing land was just beyond the horizon. It was almost enough to make the boys want to devote their lives to monkhood just to guarantee a spot in Heaven. Almost.

"We're here!" Bardock called back at the slow pokes. The four remaining ninjas; Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto stopped at what looked like the tail end of a giant snake statue. Except, after getting a good look at it, the boys noticed that the statue didn't have a head as far as they could see. It just went on forever, beyond the horizon, beyond comprehension.

Choji whistled. "…This…looks troublesome."

"Yeah you can say that again." Shikamaru commented.

"Hey Neji, do you think your Byakugan can see the end?" Lee asked. Neji raised an eyebrow in his direction. While it was true that a skilled Byakugan user could see up to 50 miles away clearly, with enough concentration the sky was the limit for how far away Neji could see.

"I can try." He said before leaping on to the tip of the tail of Snake Way. _Byakugan!_

"It's unbelievable, it just goes on and on." Neji spoke in awe.

"Yeah, I could have told you that." Bardock interrupted. "Quit wasting everyone's time and get a move on. You've got maybe 3 days to get there and there will be no time to rest once the preliminaries start."

"Right, one question though." Shikamaru spoke up. "Will there be food once we get to the tournament? Like actual food we living mortals can eat?"

Bardock looked at the pineapple haired youth with a look of amusement. "What, you didn't bring the dog along to eat?"

Akamaru and Kiba growled at the saiyan. "Akamaru isn't food."

"Haha! I'm just messing with you. Yes, they have food in Hell. They've got visitors coming from Heaven to see the tournament, so the food should be edible too. Just bear in mind that the dead don't eat to live, they eat for pleasure. So don't try anything too exotic."

"Alright, thanks again." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, yeah, jeez quit thanking me all the God damn time. It's weird." Bardock rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm outta here before you scrubs start thank me again. Good luck though, you're gonna need it." With that, Bardock flew off to join his wife back at their home. Leaving the boys and their dog alone with one impossibly long task ahead of him.

"So…" Kiba spoke. "Half a million miles huh? Can we even make it to the tournament in time or are we just spittin' into the wind at this point?"

All eyes turned to Shikamaru, the undisputed brains of the operation.

"Well the average ninja sprints at 60 mph, although no telling how fast we can all sprint now that we've done the gravity training. We've all mastered at least 100x gravity so if we think of that as a multiplier then we can probably run at 6,000 mph. Divide that by 500,000 and we have to sprint for 83 hours straight. That's 3 and a half days." Shikamaru finished.

Everyone groaned, save for Lee who looked ready to sprint there and back just for the fun of it.

"And Bardock said that we had only 3 days to get to the tournament in time." Choji pointed out.

"So I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that nobody brought food or water with them." Shikamaru addressed the group. The boys all shuffled their feet. In their defense, this was not how any of them planned for their evening to go, except for one. All eyes turned to Naruto, who's idea this was in the first place.

"I managed to grab my bug-out bag before I left." Naruto unclasped the backpack he was wearing and placed it infront of the group to show them.

Inside was all the essentials a shinobi would need if they ever needed to make it out of the village in a hurry and didn't have time to back their regular bag. Above all else, it had a week's worth a food for one ninja and a gallon of fresh water. For a single ninja it would have been enough if they were out in the field with rivers and ponds, not trapped in an environment meant for dead people.

At least that was what there was supposed to be, instead there was the gallon of water with two dozen cups of ready-to-make ramen. Shikamaru just stared at Naruto.

"What?" The blond asked. Shikamaru ignored him and turned to the rest of the guys.

"Ok guys, open your pockets. We need an inventory check of any food or snacks you might be carrying." Shikamaru called out. One by one, the boys scrounged through their pockets until they revealed their findings.

Neji and Lee unveiled their liter bottles of water that their fitness nut sensei had them keep filled at all times, along with a mysterious wraped ball that Lee had in his ninja pouch.

"Uh, Lee, what is that?" the Nara heir asked.

"Gai-sensei's special medicine ball he made specifically for me!" Lee proudly declared. "He said it would unlock my true potential and that I should only use it on myself as a last resort! But for a cause as youthful as this, I would be more than happy to share it with my friends and comrades!"

Shikamaru raised a quizzical eyebrow and unwrapped the "medicine ball" to take a lick.

"This is chocolate."

"No its not! Its Gai-sensei's special medicine ball!" Lee declared. Shikamaru might have argued the point, but Neji cupped his mouth to the Nara's ear.

"It's a bon-bon with rum inside." Neji whispered. Shikamaru made and 'oh' face.

"On second thought, you just hold on to this, Lee. You might need it later." Shikamaru offered. The taijutsu expert accepted this.

Moving on to Kiba who whipped out two descent sized food pills.

"Ta-dah! My clan's special recipe for military rationed food pills. Back with enough nutrition to keep both man and canine going for three days."

"Canine?" Neji said. "So its dog food."

"No its not dog food!" Kiba shouted back. "My clan's food pellets are meant to be eaten by ninjas and their canine companions!"

"I'm with Neji, I'm not eating dog food." Choji commented. Kiba shouted something back but everyone ignored him. Which brings them to Choji who pulled out a corked bottle full of pellet sized ration pills.

"My clan's specialty. Not the tastiest thing in the world, but it should be enough to get us through this."

"Alright, Choji!" Naruto and the others cheered. They each took a single pill to restore their energy, it was gonna be a long run.

Shikamaru turned to the rest of the guys. "Ok guys, do some warm up stretches or something. We're in this for the long haul!" They all spaced out to give each some room for whatever warm up techniques they could think of.

"Naruto, are you sure you don't have any more food?" Shikamaru asked, he need a little more reassurance. Naruto fished through his pockets and pulled out three small green beans.

"I've got three senzu beans. We split them in half and we've got a last resort." Naruto replied.

Shikamaru nodded. They were as ready as they were going to be.

Naruto leaped atop of the Snake's tail and gazed down the never ending winding road ahead of him. Beyond the horizon could very well be the strongest opponents Naruto had ever faced plus a plethora of unknown dangers he could not comprehend. The orange clad ninja turned back to see his comrades looking at him, waiting for him to speak.

"If any of you guys wanna back out. This is the last chance."

"Oh bullshit." Kiba spoke up, completely killing the mood. "We're here, and were not gonna leave you out to dry, not when you've got a comrade to rescue." The rest of the boys all nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, alright then." Naruto turned back to face Snake Way; that path seeming a little less intimidating.

"Let's go!"

* * *

During that, back in the Leaf Village…

Gohan found his way through the hospital with the help of a nurse. He wanted to check up on Videl to make sure everything was okay. He was pissed at himself to Have to lie to Tsunade later with Shino and the fact that he had let the others go to Hell, but he would sort out that later. Right now, the mother to his children needed him and he wanted to see how the only other Saiyan in this universe was doing.

He walked down the massive hallways until he found the room Videl was staying in. He gently knocked on the door and a voice on the other side said to come in. Gohan opened the door and walked in to see Videl sitting up on the bed with a book in hand reading.

"How are you feeling?" Gohan asked.

Videl looked up from her small orange book and smiled. "Tired, but okay. They're going to keep me overnight for observations. How about you?"

"I'm kicking myself in the ass for letting those fools go alone without any help." Gohan said.

"Well, you should have seen this coming a mile away. Naruto has never been one to stray away from anything he is determined to see through."

Gohan chuckled softly. "Yea, that's true. I'm just afraid that they are walking into a world they can't handle."

"From what you have told me of Freeza, he and Cell would be their greatest threats."

Gohan shook his head. "It's not just them."

Videl placed a book mark in her book and closed it, setting it down on a table next to her in order for Gohan to continue.

"There are two others that are very powerful that are in the same danger range as Cell and Freeza. A space pirate called Bojack, whom I killed. Then there is Broly, who my dad killed a few days before the start of the Cell Games."

"Broly?" Videl questioned.

"He was a blood thirsty maniac of a super Saiyan that nearly killed us all. He shows no mercy and likes to torture his victims brutally. My dad beat him by combining the powers of me, Vegeta, Piccolo and Trunks and took him down."

Videl gulped. "He's really that bad?"

"You have no idea. He's actually the Legendary Super Saiyan and it took everything we had to bring him down." Gohan said darkly as his body shuddered.

Videl had beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Jesus... Naruto, you fucking fool..."

"I agree." Gohan said as he looked out the window and sat on Videl's bed. "I'm going to need a good cover story when Shino and I work on our cover up. I really wish they let me go."

"Can't your dad help them?"

Gohan shook his head. "He's among the living now." Then a light bulb went off inside his head. "But, my grandfather Bardock can help. I'll work on that before Shino and I put our plan into action. You get some sleep and enjoy your..." Gohan stopped when he saw what book Videl was reading and turned beet red. "Make-out Paradise?! Why are you reading that?!"

Videl blushed as well. "It's actually not bad if you overlook the smut. Plus, it does give me some...ideas... for at home." Videl's blush deepened and so did Gohan's.

"R-right." Gohan murmured out and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I better get going. Tsunade is expecting me to bring back Naruto."

"Alright. Have fun." Videl joked. Gohan leaned over and locked his lips with Videl's briefly before opening up the window and flying out in search of Shino. Videl returned to her book that she had gotten from Kakashi. "This really is pretty good." Videl said as she continued to read on well into the late hours of the night.

* * *

Tsunade heard a knock at her door, another ANBU come to remind her that they hadn't yet been able to find Naruto. It was with great relief that instead of another white masked ninja with excuses, in walked Gohan carrying the blond haired mess of trouble on his shoulders. He was tied up like a rodeo clown and remaining perfectly still.

"Does this belong to you?" Gohan joked as he set Naruto down on the floor.

"Unfortunately yes, did he give you much trouble?"

"More than I expected, less than you think. He sure is a stubborn one."

"You are just realizing that now?" Tsunade joked at the captive boy's expense. "Thank you Gohan, you are dismissed."

"I'll be outside if you need me." Gohan said as he left, opening a mental link with the fake Naruto.

 _'Remember, try not to say a word and just do the best you can to put up with her.'_ Gohan said into the Fake Naruto's mind.

 _'That is the exact opposite of how Naruto would react.'_ Shino thought.

 _'Oh... Well, then. Do your best impression of Naruto.'_

Shino didn't have time to respond as Gohan heard a huge crash coming from the other side of the Hokage's door.

"Oh this can't be good." Gohan said softly to himself.

His words were met with more explosions of wood and glass breaking, followed by the shrill cries of a cat.

"When did Tsunade get a cat?" Gohan thought out loud to himself.

Just then the door burst open and out ran Shino still miraculously hedged into Naruto.

"QUIT DODGING YOU LITTLE SHIT AND GET BACK HERE!" Tsunade shouted from her office.

Gohan caught Shino by the scruff of his shirt.

"What are you doing you fool? You'll blow our cover!" Gohan whispered into Shino's ear.

"I'm maintaining our cover!" Shino hissed back. "If I get hit once the hedge becomes undone."

"Oh. Sorry... Well, I hate to do this to you my friend, but I have to throw you back into the lion's den."

"You do that and our entire operation is blown before it begins."

"Alright. but if she orders me to go after you, I kinda have to."

Gohan released Naruto and set him on the ground.

The fake Naruto took off running as Tsunade smashed through her door.

"WHERE IS THAT BRAT! I'LL KILL HIM!" Tsunade shouted.

"Woah! Lady Tsunade, what happened?"

"Outta the way Gohan. That little twerp thinks he can pull all the shits he's done today and then cup a feel and live to tell about it? I DON'T THINK SO!"

"Woah wait. He did what now?!"

 _'Shino, what the hell did you do?'_ Gohan thought into Shino's mind.

 _'You said act like Naruto!'_

 _'Yes I did, but what does Tsunade mean by copping a feel- Oh my god. you didn't...'_

Tsunade burst through the wall right next to the open door. "NARUTO!"

"Help me." Shino (Naruto) whispered to Gohan.

"TSUNADE! WAIT!" Gohan said just before the irate woman pounded the poor bug user into pulp. Gohan flashed into a super Saiyan to catch Tsunade's incredibly fast punch. A shockwave could be heard from all across the village. Waking up several civilians who promptly went back to sleep when they realize it came from the Hokage Tower.

 _'Damn. Has she been using the gravity chamber? I actually felt that one.'_ Gohan thought. _'Shino, Naruto would never do that to Tsunade. He thinks of her has his grandmother. Would you do that to your own grandmother?'_ Gohan said into Shino's mind.

Though it didn't show, Shino was turning green from the sickening thought of groping his own grandmother the way he thought Naruto would do to Tsunade. He had made a major miscalculation and the thought of that made him sick.

 _'I don't know. I heard Kurenei sensei say that Tsunade said that Naruto reminded her of her dead brother and her old lover Dan and I panicked ok?'_

 _'Forget it for now.'_ "Tsunade, you need to calm down. I have an alternate solution instead of pummeling him into pulp. besides, he trains at 150x Gravity. You would hurt yourself more than you would hurt him." Gohan said trying to reason with the irate Hokage.

"I can try!" Tsunade shouted back.

"Please. The punishment I have in mind would hurt him more than any pummeling." Gohan said with a smirk.

Tsunade stopped mid wind up and righted herself.

"I'm listening." She said while cracking her knuckles.

"Put him under house arrest for a week and put him under Genin level duties for a month. only allowed to go on D and C rank missions and barred from Ichiraku's for 2 weeks. Also, he has to help you with your mounds of paper work. He does want to become Hokage after all. Paperwork is part of the job, is it not?"

Tsunade smirked. She looked over at Naruto with an evil grin splitting her face from ear to ear. "Better yet, why don't we have him barred from Ichiraku's for the entire month?"

"You're the Hokage, it's your discretion on that one."

A Panicked look formed on the fake Naruto's face.

"Oh Sage no! Please Lady Tsunade! Anything but the ramen!" The fake Naruto begged.

"I think we got him by the balls on this one, Tsunade." Gohan said.

"Oh you haven't seen nothing yet." Tsunade evilly laughed. "Take him home and put him under house arrest. It's late and I want to go home already."

"You got it." Gohan said as he picked up the fake Naruto by the back of his shirt and bound his hands with energy rings. After that, he made the fake Naruto march out of the building with Gohan behind him.

Outside, Gohan was finally able to talk to Shino freely.

"Naruto may hate my guts when he gets back, but that was way too close." Gohan said.

"Tell me about it. I was about to drop the illusion if I had to face one of Lady Tsunade's punches."

"Well groping her was a really bad move. I think you need to spend some more time with Naruto because he never would have done that. You might, MIGHT, have gotten away with it if it was Sakura. But that's a big might."

"Well we are not exactly the closest of friends, but I know for a fact that Sakura would have killed me even quicker."

"Like I said, a very big might. But they have grown closer as a couple, so who knows? Videl and I got together so quickly because of Saiyan instincts. Nothing we really could control honestly." Gohan mused. "Anyway, I'll take you to Naruto's apartment and then you can disperse your jutsu and make your way to your actual home."

"That's probably a good idea. I sent my beetle clones to our other friends' houses. Hopefully there won't be any incidents."

"Let's hope."

The two walked along the rather deserted streets of the Leaf village.

At the same time, Sakura was returning home after a long shift at the hospital.

Well she says long, but actually it had only been 4 hours with barely any patients coming in. On any other day the pink medic would consider that a vacation, but sadly her thoughts had been preoccupied with other things, namely a blond haired idiot that made the minutes go by agonizingly slow.

She hadn't planned on working a shift at the hospital today. Hell, she didn't plan on a lot of things happening today. One minute she was training with Videl while her clueless boyfriend was admiring her assets, the next she and Naruto were meeting his dead parents. One of whom turned out to be the 4th freaking Hokage and the other was best friends with Sakura's mom who also happened to be Naruto's godmother. _'Gotta look into that some more.'_ Inner thought. And just when Sakura thought this day couldn't get any brighter, they learned that Sasuke was in Hell and it brought everything crashing down.

One thing led to another and Naruto wanted them both to go to Hell to rescue Sasuke in some completely asinine way. A plan Sakura was totally against, as was everyone else Naruto mentioned it to. But being the stubborn dope that he is, he summoned a freaking God and ran off from everyone to go on this ludicrous mission.

Sakura begged him, literally begged him not to go, but he ignored her. Sakura was so frustrated with him that she had to get away and do something productive, hence the hospital shift. A busy few hours would keep her thoughts occupied, or so she thought.

Having finally met actual gods in person, Sakura now knew for a fact that there must be some higher power up above playing a trick on her.

What patients that weren't so routine to actually require her attention all reminded her of Naruto in some way without fail.

The little boy with scraped up cheeks and that huge smile.

The blonde haired girl with blue eyes.

That brown haired teenager that rubbed the back of his neck whenever he was embarrassed.

Or that sweet old lady who loved ramen so much that she burned her wrist because she couldn't be bothered to wait the 3 minutes for the ramen to cool down.

All Sakura could think about was Naruto and how mad she was at him. But over time that anger turned into worry. And then anger again at the blond. How dare he make her worry like he does. She had overheard that Gohan was going to try and stop Naruto. That made Sakura feel a little better, but Sakura was still worried that not even Gohan's power would be enough to stop Naruto once he set his mind on something. What's worse is that she hadn't heard anything about Naruto ever since he left the Hokage's office. Was it too much to expect Lady Tsunade to keep Sakura in the loop?

Sakura prayed that this wasn't anything like with Sasuke. She would never forgive herself if she did nothing while a teammate ran away from the village...again.

 _'Whoa now girl, slow down.'_ Her Inner self said. _'You are overreacting; this is Naruto we are talking about. He would never leave the village like that.'_

 _'You don't know that Inner. You saw the look on his face. I've never seen him look so angry at me, so...disappointed.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Well then why didn't you go with him? Or at least back him up?'_

Sakura grew silent at that question, either because she didn't know the answer or because she didn't want to admit it.

 _'I need to find Tsunade. She'll know what is happening with Naruto and then I can find him and beat the stuffing out of him until he agrees to forget this entire ridiculous plan of his.'_ Sakura declared.

 _'God, no wonder we couldn't get a boyfriend before Naruto when the only way we solve emotional issues is by punching who ever doesn't agree with us.'_ Inner said.

 _'Shut up inner!'_

 _'Thank the Sage, Naruto is man enough to take our abuse...or dumb enough.'_

 _'Inner!'_

 _'What? I'm just saying that we are brutish and we need to work on that. Not even Naruto would want a brute for a bride. Speaking of...'_

Before Sakura could think of angry retorts against herself, she noticed what her Inner self had noticed. Naruto, tied up and walking the streets with Gohan in some weird two-man parade.

Suddenly all of Sakura's emotions burst forward at the seam.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI YOU HAVE GOT A LOT OF NERVE!"

"Sakura... must you do that in public?" Gohan protested.

"Shut your face, Gohan!" Sakura snapped before turning back towards the hedged Naruto.

"As for you! What were you thinking going off like that?! You're lucky Tsunade didn't demote you back to the academy! Wait, did she?"

Gohan tried to open his mouth to answer but was cut off by Sakura. "Doesn't matter. How dare you make me worry like that! Thank God your friends were there to beat some sense into you cause God knows if I did it you would be a splatter on the pavement! Hell, I'm still tempted to do just that!"

"Sakura, this really isn't a good time for this." Gohan protested again, only this time, more sternly than before.

"Oh this is the perfect time for it!" Sakura said. "Well Naruto? What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Sakura got all up in Naruto's face, daring him to try and look away.

Then followed the biggest mistake ever, he looked away without saying a word.

 _'Oh, this is going to end badly.'_ Gohan thought.

"Shannaro!" Sakura walloped Naruto right in the face, putting all her emotions behind her punch. Which was enough to send him through the house opposite the street they were on.

"Dammit, Sakura! Can't you keep a lid on your emotions for more than 5 freaking seconds?!" Gohan exclaimed.

Sakura looked back at the half saiyan with tears threatening to pour out.

Gohan pinched the bridge of his nose, not believing what was going to happen next.

"That wasn't Naruto you just punched." Gohan said.

Not believing him, Sakura looked back to see Shino completely knocked out in a pile of rubble.

"Shino?" Sakura said in horror. She never meant to hit her friends like that. Usually she only reserved that kind of power for Naruto because he was a Baka and could take the abuse.

"I couldn't stop Naruto from going to Hell. Him and pretty much everyone else forced my hand to let him go. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Lee and Neji are in Otherworld as we speak." Gohan said.

"WHAT!" Sakura screeched. She grabbed Gohan by the collar and started shaking him senseless, hoping that it would come back around to having him make sense again.

"Calm down! I'll explain everything in detail." Gohan said. "I tried to stop Naruto by talking him out of it. I had no idea he was so damn stubborn. Not even putting the fear of him dying to one of my previous enemies was enough to keep him here."

Sakura stopped shaking him for a second. "You JUST realized that?" Sakura resumed shaking him.

"So, I made him a deal. If he could beat me in my super Saiyan 2 form, I'd let him go, knowing that he wouldn't. What I didn't expect while we were having it out was for his friends to gang up on me and side with Naruto. Saying that if it was Naruto's Will of Fire to save Sasuke from suffering in Hell that I should let him go. I'm still not sure What this will of fire really is. Naruto mentioned that Sasuke is like a brother he never had." Gohan now had a sad look on his face. "I have a brother. He is 7 years old, and I will more than likely never see him again. If he was in the same situation as Sasuke, I would do the same thing Naruto is doing, no questions asked."

This time Sakura stopped shaking Gohan for good, her grip didn't loosen on his jacket though. She just stood there looking at the ground.

Gohan placed a shoulder on Sakura to comfort her.

"I know you're probably mad at him for going and even more so at me for letting him. I could have still stopped him, but not without severely injuring him and the others or killing them. I don't like hurting my friends, it doesn't matter what kind of hair-brained scheme they are trying to accomplish."

"...just one question..." Sakura whispered.

"What is it?"

"Why the fuck aren't you in Hell with them!?"

"I tried to go. I wanted to go. But Naruto wanted me to stay in case something happened here. Even if I forced them to take me with them, I couldn't leave Videl here without me and you know what kind of condition she is in. But, you don't need to worry." Gohan said. That was when Sakura lost it.

She hoisted Gohan up by his waist and body slammed him into the dirt pavement, with such force that even the powerful saiyan felt it.

"Ugh! What in the hell was that for?!"

He never got his answer as he heard crying coming from the girl standing above him. He looked up to see Sakura holding her face trying to hide the tears that were falling.

"Sakura! Calm down! It's okay!" Gohan exclaimed, trying to calm down the pink haired warrior.

Sakura didn't listen and just kept sobbing.

"I'll kill him..." She choked out.

"Please relax, Sakura. He will be fine. I'm confident in his skills to make it through this. I even asked my grandfather to keep an eye on him and the others. He's a full blooded Saiyan and will step in if things go wrong."

"He'd better. Cause as soon as Naruto gets back from Hell I'm going to kill him myself!"

"Dammit! He'd do the same for you if you were in this position as would you and you know it!" Gohan shouted defensively.

"Of course I would! And yet I still didn't go with him!" Sakura admitted. She cried into Gohan's jacket.

"I promised...I promised him that I would always stand by his side...yet when it finally comes time to prove my conviction. I back out..."

"So that's what this is really about." Gohan concluded. "You're mad at yourself because you couldn't bring yourself to go with him and help." Gohan said. He was now a lot more sympathetic than he was before and understood Sakura's pain completely. "I want you to know that I understand. I was the same way when I was a kid. I shared my memories with Ino when she came over earlier." Gohan said in a low and soft tone.

"That's not...entirely true..." Sakura muttered.

"Gohan, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Not Videl, or Ino, or Tsunade, not anyone; especially not Naruto."

Gohan nodded. "Of course, Sakura."

"Swear it!" She hissed.

Gohan gulped. "Alright I swear it! Honestly, I keep my promises no matter what.

Sakura got a flashback of Naruto in her head, which somehow made her sad and steadied her resolve at the same time.

"I didn't say behind because I was scared of going to Hell. We're it for any other reason I probably would have gone to Hell with Naruto if I couldn't persuade him out of it." Sakura explained.

"I see... So, what was the real reason?"

Sakura took a deep breath.

 _'Oh God please don't be what I think it is.'_ Inner Sakura prayed.

"It's because of Sasuke." Sakura admitted.

 _'Damn it.'_ Inner thought.

"Sasuke? Why would he be the reason you wouldn't go?

"It's because I was worried, if I did go...and I saw Sasuke again...the old crush I had for him might bubble up again..."

"Why would it? Did he really care that much for you?"

Sakura looked at Gohan with a hurt expression, the kind that takes years to build up.

"I cared for him...for years I cared for him. I thought I loved him. And I used to think eventually he would love me back given enough time..."

"Did he?"

Sakura looked off into the distance. "You remember my confession to Naruto right? How Sasuke complimented my forehead but then turned so cold the next moment... that always gave me hope that deep down I had a place in his heart. That when he got back, when Naruto and I brought him back together the two of us would get a chance to be really honest with one another...and I would see that kind and loving Sasuke again."

"But when he was killed, you no longer had that chance. But yet, your feelings for Naruto are so strong. Do you really think that you would turn away from your love for him that quickly if you saw Sasuke again?"

"...I couldn't risk it. No matter what happens I couldn't do that to Naruto."

"I see... Well, I don't know what I should tell you, honestly. I've never been in a position like that, nor has Videl or anyone I know for that matter. Well, except Bulma and my other friend Yamcha when Bulma got married to my Dad's friend and rival, Vegeta. Actually, I think friend might be stretching it a bit. Anyway, I can't help you there. If you'd like I can teach you a meditation technique that will help you sort your feelings out and clear your mind of doubts."

"It's fine, Gohan. But getting off track for a moment. Why did you have Shino hedged into Naruto?"

"It was actually Shino's idea. No one knows about this except him, me, you and Videl. When I told Tsunade what happened, it was actually a lie, thinking that Shino was actually Naruto."

"I see. And you said Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Neji, and Lee are all with him?"

 _'Dang, bringing back the old Duck butt retrieval squad?'_ Inner commented.

"Right. It kinda happened that way when Shikamaru used his shadow... thing... I don't know what the heck he calls it. Anyway, he used it on me to stop me fighting Naruto. I gotta say, he surprised me with his skills."

"Yeah that's great and all, but how do you intend to keep people from noticing that they are gone?" Sakura asked.

"Shino said he can use his bugs to pass off as the others. So that's his plans. Videl knows about the whole thing but isn't saying a word. So long as no one else says anything, they'll be back in a while and no one will even notice."

"How long? Because I talked to Ino the other day and she says that her team is on active duty. What will you do if Team Asuma gets a mission?"

"Oh shit... She didn't say anything about that. Fuck!"

Gohan paced around trying to come up with an idea to make this work.

"Videl has good chakra control, but her attitude doesn't come close to matching Shikamaru's or Choji's. My chakra control is garbage. Shino's bug clones can't do it... I don't know... I honestly don't know."

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. She expected this kind of reckless behavior from Naruto, maybe even Choji since they were both the kind of goofballs of their teams, but Shikamaru? He was lazy but he didn't overlook things like this.

"If it comes down to it...I might be able to fudge some medical reports and get them on sick leave." Sakura said reluctantly.

Gohan looked at her with his hands still tangled in his hair. "Really Sakura? You'd do that?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not doing this for Naruto. I'm doing this so all my other comrades don't get demoted for going along with his stupid plan." Sakura said with a huff.

"Oh, ok." Gohan replied in slight disappointment. "Even still. Tsunade has to find replacements. I'm not a ninja, Videl is, but the way she's feeling I wouldn't be comfortable about her going anywhere. How is she feeling, by the way?"

"She's fine. A mild allergic reaction amplified by her pregnancy. I convinced her to stay at the hospital overnight to be absolutely sure."

"You convinced her to stay at the hospital? How did you manage that one?! I couldn't even get her to go to a walk-in clinic back in Satan City when she got injured from fighting a crime gang!"

"You aren't an amazing doctor like I am... yet."

"Damn. If that's the kind of magic you can work, then I gotta get my ass in gear. But I need to learn proper Chakra...control..." Gohan trailed off as a light bulb came on in his head. "Sakura, if you help me with proper Chakra control, I'll throw in Ki control and manipulation on top of your meditative training to unlock your transformation."

"Maybe some other time after all this nonsense has been settled." Sakura said. "I'm gonna head on home and go to bed. Thanks for listening Gohan. I... I feel a lot better."

"Anytime, Sakura. I guess I better make sure Shino is okay."

"Oh shoot! I forgot about him!" Sakura berated herself.

"It's alright. I'll give him a senzu bean and take him home. You go on home and try to relax."

"Right, thanks again Gohan." Sakura wasn't sure what to do in this situation, so she gave Gohan a sisterly peck on the cheek and headed home, feeling lighter but still weighed down.

Gohan waved goodbye as Sakura ran towards home He was glad he could do something to help ease her mind. But now, he had to put up with Shino's condition. Quickly making his way to the rubble that Shino was in, Gohan lifted the massive chunks of debris off the poor bug user.

"You alright, Shino?" Gohan asked.

"I like pie... Twinkle Twinkle..." Shino mumbled in a daze.

 _'Wow. Sakura really knocked him stupid.'_ Gohan thought before pulling out a senzu bean.

With some effort he managed to get Shino to swallow the bean and be restored to full strength.

Making sure no one was looking, Shino resumed his hedge of Naruto and the two continued their parade towards Naruto's apartment.

Unknown to either of them, a shadowy figure had been watching them the entire time. You were never truly alone when it came to living in a ninja village.

 _'I must report this to Danzo.'_ The figure thought before dashing away.

* * *

By the time Gohan had managed to make it back to his house it was 1 in the morning. After the evening he just had, he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Early the next morning, Gohan was rudely awakened by the sound of someone banging on his door. He looked over at his clock to see that it was 3 in the morning.

 _'Who the hell is up at this time?'_ Gohan thought as he rolled himself out of bed. He put on his lower Gi and went to check to see who was knocking on the door. He could sense a familiar presence, one that wasn't good. Gohan opened the door to confirm his fears.

"Danzo..." Gohan said darkly. "What the hell do you want."

"Gohan Son, a pleasure to see you. May I come in? This chilly autumn morning is terrible on my old bones." Danzo said in his best frail old man impression.

"... Only because Videl isn't here." Gohan said reluctantly as me moved out of the way for Danzo to walk in. At first, Danzo was amazed to see such advanced technology in a simple looking house.

"An impressive home you have. A same you hoard its luxuries from the people of the Leaf..." Danzo complimented.

"I don't. The majority of the technology has been sent to the Leaf's R&D team to recreate it. Is that why you came over here? To inspect my house?"

"Hmmm, not at all, I came simply for a friendly visit."

"Forgive me if I don't trust your motives, Danzo. Not to be disrespectful."

"So quick to disregard me. Did it never occur to you that the two of us are on the same side?"

"How is that?" Gohan asked as he went into the kitchen. He thought that if he could fish the needed information out of Danzo by feigning diplomacy, then he could finally put this filthy snake where he belongs. "Would you like some herbal tea? the least I can do is be a proper host."

"Thank you, I would love some. Do you have any clover?" Danzo asked.

"Yes, it's in my mom's special blend." Gohan said as he tried to block the thought of Videl being in the hospital because of clover.

Danzo took a sip and a small smile spread across his lips. "Lovely. As I was saying, you treat me like an enemy, yet you forget that we both have only the Leaf Village's best intentions in heart." Danzo took another sip.

"I have the whole world's best intentions at heart. In case you missed the memo, I lead a team of global protectors appointed by all of the Kage's."

"So I have heard, but we both know that is not entirely true. Your loyalties being spread evenly amongst the world. I could not help but imagine that if tragedy were to befall our world, your thoughts would turn to the Leaf first and foremost."

"Well, see, that's where you're not entirely correct. Once my team is fully assembled and trained up, it will consist of members from each of the 5 major ninja villages. They will be in charge of protecting and securing their own village while I inspect the potential danger and gauge it accordingly. I would have concern for the Leaf, sure. It is where my friends and family are."

"I am not talking about your merry band of do-gooders. I am talking about you, the most powerful individual to ever grace this world. The young man people claim could destroy this entire planet if the thought ever occurred to him. What can your so called team do in comparison to you? Even with all the training you could give them, it would amount to nothing in the face of the overwhelming power of your saiyan blood."

"Even my power pales in comparison to my fathers. I'm nowhere near as strong as I was 7 years ago. But, what's your point?"

"Yet you still stand mountains above the denizens of this world. My point is that your power makes you revered. People might even see you as a god, some already do. And humanity has always had reactions to dealing with gods. They will either try to worship you, or try to tear you down by whatever means they can."

"That is why I try not to reveal too much of my power. I don't want them to worship me or fear me. But, you underestimate the power of the people of this world. Just since I came here, Naruto and Sakura have increased their power by leaps and bounds through my training. Given time and more training, the shinobi of this world could one day surpass me, especially Naruto and Sakura."

"Hmph, so naively optimistic, you don't even realize the whispers being traded amongst the lower class citizens of this village. You have heard about how your friend Naruto was treated as a child. That was out of fear of the power of the Nine Tails, how do you think they feel about you who dwarfs the Demon Fox in terms of power. Or your lover? Or her unborn children?"

Gohan was taken aback at Danzo's information about Videl.

"How did you know about Videl?"

"A little birdy told me." Danzo said. 'An ink bird.' He thought to himself. "It is the same way I knew of five separate instances of cowardly men parading towards your home in the dead of night with intent to do you and your lover harm. I sent my agents to intervene just in time though, sparing you from unwanted attention."

"And that is where I don't believe you." Gohan said sternly. "I am aware of my surroundings 24/7. I can sense the life force of every living being on this planet, no matter how insignificant, and not once did I sense a single soul approach my house during the time we've been here, save for those we invite or know."

Danzo held a smug look as he was about to come up with another story. But Gohan beat him to it.

"You take me for a fool, Danzo. I know what your true motives are. I was there the day after Team 7 got their specs and you came into Tsunade's office. I heard every word you said. I will not be some pawn in your attempt to take over the Leaf."

"You misunderstand; I do not wish to take over the Leaf. I wish to protect it, by any means necessary..."

"Yea, I get your meaning of protecting it. By changing it to your own image. turning the Leaf into a merciless military power that controls with brute force and fear. I can sense the nature of one's energy when I sense a person. Your energy sends chills down my spine every moment I am near you." Gohan said darkly. He then stared right at Danzo with the strongest killing intent the old man has ever seen. Even Orochimaru's killing intent was nowhere near this powerful.

"I am nowhere near as foolish enough as others to believe you are what is best for this village. Tsunade is doing a fine job as Hokage and I firmly believe that Naruto will do just as good if not better when he becomes of age to take the chair. With my help, Naruto will bring about world peace. That is the ultimate goal."

Danzo put down his cup and stood up to leave. "You will regret this Son. There is more to world than black and white, there are shades of grey that you will need someone like me to traverse."

"The day I need someone like you is the day I forsake everyone I care for just for some selfish agenda. Now get out of my house before I rip you to pieces..." Gohan growled. "And if you so much as look at my friends or family, I'll kill you."

"At some level, even the foolish Uzumaki understands this. This is why he took all the major clan heirs to the Afterlife to save the soul of that damned Uchiha."

"Yea, you know about them going to hell. You gonna try to blackmail me to get what you want? Who's going to believe you? Tsunade certainly won't. You may have the council, but even they have little influence when it comes to matters like this."

"You would be surprised how far a little influence can go. The heads of the major clans will also be interested in learning why our Hokage let the demon boy drag their sons down to Hell with him."

"She doesn't even know about it. I was there when they left. They went on their own accord," Gohan spat. "And Naruto isn't the demon of this village, you are. One that, if given the order, will be more than happy to rid the world of."

"That is not what my agents heard. Nor is it what they will spread amongst the general population until even the clan heads will have doubts. Unless you start considering my offer more carefully." Danzo replied casually.

"You can take your offer and blow it out your ass. I already have the support of the Hyuuga and Akamichi clans and the trust of the Aburame and Yamanaka clans. Hiashi already knows of my past and of my intentions and so does Inoichi. I know full well they would come to me for answers if they needed them. You overestimate the power you have here."

"I'm sure we shall see who has overestimated whom in due time." Danzo opened the door to leave. "Tell your wife I hope she feels better. It was a shame too; the clover tea was lovely." Danzo closed the door behind him.

Gohan grinned to himself. _'You guys heard that I hope.'_ Gohan said mentally.

 _'As clear as day.'_ Said Choza Akimichi.

 _'Perfectly.'_ Hiashi replied.

 _'You were right to include us in this mental link, Gohan.'_ Inoichi said.

 _'I knew he was corrupt, but this is far beyond what I figured.'_ Shikaku stated.

 _'The next thing is, what do we do from here?'_ Gohan asked.

 _'No doubt Danzo will call a meeting. We'll play into his song and dance, but he won't know the truth until you are ready to put it into action.'_ Hiashi said.

 _'Excellent plan, you guys. Now, let's get back to sleep. We'll talk more about it at a more reasonable hour.'_ Gohan finished before cutting the link. He put the dishes away and headed off back to bed with a smug smile on his face. It was a rough day no doubt, but things were starting to go his way. His thoughts drifted off to his amazing girlfriend Videl and the twins they would soon have before his brain drifted off into blissful sleep…

* * *

 _'GOHAN! GOHAN, WAKE UP!'_ A voice in his head cried.

"Ah!" Gohan shouted as he was violently roused away and fell off his bed. He rolled upright and his brain finally woke up.

' _Videl?'_ He thought. _'What's going on?'_

' _Look outside and tell me if you see it too! It's crazy!'_ His girlfriend raved.

Gohan blinked and his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. He saw daylight peeking out of the windows onto the table where just hours before sat Danzo.

Gohan threw on his lower Gi again and dashed out the front door to see what all the commotion was about. What he saw was… he didn't have a word for it.

There, up in the sky, just hanging there above the center of the village, was a gigantic floating orb; easily a mile in diameter. It was see through, in a distorted kind of way. And it was unlike anything Gohan had ever encountered.

Even from all the way out in the forest, Gohan could hear the civilians freaking out about the looming sphere hanging right over their heads.

The half saiyan was about to fly off towards the Hokage Tower to coordinate better when the sphere began to distort and shift around. The view inside it changing until it began to resemble a familiar figure. The image began to clear up to reveal a medium shot of the blue skinned God that Gohan and the others had encountered earlier. Brandishing his staff in one hand and making the Vulcan peace sign with the other. He spoke in a booming voice befitting a god.

" **Hello, mortals of the Hidden Leaf Village. I am Whis, caretaker to Lord Beerus the God of Destruction and your master of ceremonies for the coming days."** Whis spoke.

' _Now what!?'_ Gohan thought.

" **Fear not, I mean you no harm. Rather, I wish to present you all with a gift of sorts. Yesterday, a young man reached out to my Lord and myself to allow him and his friends to participate in the most infamous tournament in the multiverse. The Get Out of Hell Tournament!"**

' _Oh sweet Kami, no.'_

" **Naturally, being the merciful god that I am, I helped them on their noble quest. A quest I thought so selfless that it had to be shared with the good people from their village. So using my powers I have bestowed upon this village a Descry Sphere to broadcast the chronicles of your six champions and their adventures as it happens. Simply look to the sky to see your heroes in action."**

He didn't think much of it at the time, but as Gohan watched this he noticed that if he turned his gaze away from the sphere (as difficult as it was given the size) he could no longer hear Whis talking. Yet when he returned his gaze towards the sphere he could hear him clearly again.

" **Now, without further ado, I present to you your champions!"** Whis grandly announced before stepping to the side. The image changed and Gohan could see a sea of golden clouds against a single stone pathway in the shape of a snake's hide. The pathway was curved in an S shape that seemed to stretch on forever. The image was like a sports camera, moving impossibly fast to keep up with the equally speedy ninjas that were leaping from S bend to S bend on the path. Of the seven silhouettes sprinting across Snake Way, five plus the dog were fairly common sights in the Leaf Village. But the orange one, the orange jacket and blond hair was unmistakable.

' _Naruto…'_ Gohan thought.

The camera zoomed around and stopped in front of the whiskered blond seemingly without his knowledge so that the entire village could get a good look at his determined face and the rest of the ninjas following behind him. They all looked exhausted like they had been running for hours without any sleep. Unknown to the village, this was exactly the case. They had been running non-stop since 1 AM the village's time. Without even sleep from the night before.

No ninjas, no matter how well trained could not withstand the fatigues of exhaustion forever. Something these boys were about to learn the hard way.

As Gohan kept his gaze focused on the sphere he and the entire rest of the village was able to hear the conversation going on between the boys.

" **Naruto, I fucking hate you."** Kiba wheezed out. The poor bastard had only recently achieved 100x gravity and was feeling the strain already.

" **Shut up Kiba and quit your bitching."** Naruto called back, his eyes still laser focused on the path ahead.

" **YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS BITCHING NARUTO!"** Kiba shouted back trying to get a reaction out of the blond.

" **Freaking troublesome."** Shikamaru commented. Naruto sighed, largely unaffected by fatigue at this point due to his own bottomless well of stamina.

" **You were the one all gung ho about running this damn thing a few hours ago. What changed?"** Naruto asked.

" **Not the scenery."** Kiba snapped back.

" **Kiba, be silent."** Neji interjected. **"I can no longer see our starting point with my Byakugan, so we are making progress."**

" **Oh shove it fish eyes- Fish eyes?!- I don't care about that, I just wanted Naruto to know that I hate him for dragging us into this mess."**

" **And if you look to your left, you can see all the fucks I give."** Naruto gestured over to the vast empty void of nothing but golden clouds. **"And I didn't drag you into anything. You came of your own damn free will."**

" **Well I'm still gonna blame you regardless."**

" **I'll be sure to duly note that, just as you can duly note this!"** On the next leap, Naruto dramatically slowed down his leap so that Kiba would be right in front of the maverick ninjas backside. With all the grace and tact, you'd expect, Naruto let a massive one rip right in front of Kiba's chakra enhanced nostrils. The dog master ninja cried out in agony as the ripe smell penetrated his senses and he clutched his nose in the hopes of not letting another stinky molecule in.

The other ninjas all chuckled or laughed outright at their whinier comrade being put in his place. Unknown to any of them that the entire village was bearing witness to the same joke.

Throughout all this, the half saiyan warrior had only one thought going through his mind.

' _Oh… crap baskets…'_

* * *

 **Samuraipanda85: Didn't I tell you school scheduling was gonna get in the way of releases? Well it did, plus holidays. On the plus side, it looks like cmartin isn't going to have to go to France so that is one less obstacle between you readers and our glorious release schedule. However, finals week is coming up for my college CCS. It's an art college so we don't have exams to study for as we do have half a dozen projects to work on. Projects that require dozens of man hours each to get decent grades on. So unless divine intervention occurs in real life as it does in this arc, don't expect a new chapter by me to come out for at least another two weeks. Cmartin on the other hand will have more free time on his hands when he isn't saving lives as part of his volunteer work.**

 **Anyway, more than likely cmartin and I will still be working on the next chapter throughout Finals Week, but again just don't expect a chapter to be released in that time, at least for Legacy of Heroes. His other story Transfer Students is done largely without my help so it is free game.**

 **I'd love to be able to spend time next weekend to wrap up the next chapter and publish it for you guys, but even the time I spent on this chapter this weekend was risky in terms of work time and I did this solely out of love for you guys the readers. So I hope this justifies the time in between releases.**

 **Next time: Sakura confronts her mother, Gohan switches allegiances, and two twenty something guys try to cram as much fanservice into a chapter as humanly possible.**

 **cmartinHFD: To add to that, I will be putting out another story in due time. It's another Naruto/DBZ crossover, only Sakura is a main character in the events of the DBZ plot line during the Majin Buu saga. I'll give you this much, Sakura is a Saiyan and the main pairing is Gohan and Sakura. There are hardly any stories of this crossover where these two are paired up. I think there is another story out there where Gohan is paired up with Hinata. Not going to be up for a while, aiming for mid this week.  
**


	16. Chapter 16: Confessions and Consequences

Sakura awoke to a beautiful autumn morning, the sunlight permeating all the tiny apartments on her street, illuminating them with a rainbow of warm colors.

Such morning would usually put Sakura in a brighter mood better than any cup of coffee, but not today.

Because yesterday, Sakura had learned that her boyfriend had left with all the other guys of the Konoha 11 to Hell. Freaking Hell of all places!

Tsunade herself had threatened to demote him back to genin if he left. Why? Why did he have to be so damn self-sacrificing? To go so far for anyone, even Sasuke.

The thought made Sakura sad. Would she not expect him to do the same for her? Would she do the same for him?

It was all just so asinine.

She entered the kitchen to see Kizashi and Mebuki sitting at the table eating breakfast. Instantly she was reminded of another shocking revelation that she experienced the other day, something that had been festering in the back of Sakura's mind even before her boyfriend decided to go to Hell. That was when Sakura glared at her mother intensely. Mebuki looked up to meet her daughters glare.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

"You and I need to have a talk. Dad, you might want to stay here for this." Sakura spat angrily.

"Good morning to you too." Her father commented but it was largely ignored by his wife.

"I don't like your tone of voice young lady."

"Ask me if I care. I have questions and I want them answered." Sakura said darkly.

"Uh-Oh, she's pissed, dear. What did you say this time?" Kizashi said.

"Hush you. Alright Sakura, what is all this about?"

"You've heard about the two half aliens from another dimension, Gohan and Videl Son, right?"

"Yes. I believe you have mentioned them to us."

"They have the ability to talk with one of the gods from their realm. That being said, King Kai, one of their gods, was able to let Naruto and I talk to Naruto's parents."

Mebuki and Kizashi both went wide eyed at the mention of Naruto's parents. Mebuki tried to keep her composure. "I see; it must have been splendid to finally meet his parents..."

"Oh, it was quite the experience, don't get me wrong. But that's not what has me rip-shit mad."

Sakura put her hands on the table and leaned forward to look her mother right in the eye.

"I happened to learn that Naruto's mother was, in life, one of YOUR best friends. Any names in particular ringing a bell right now?"

Mebuki only stared at her daughter with a slightly angry look on her face. "Watch your mouth young lady."

"Answer the question." Sakura demanded, her eyes flickered from green to blue momentarily.

Mebuki did not flinch at her daughter's outburst. Instead she looked towards the window as if remembering a far off memory.

"Kushina Uzumaki, right?"

"Bingo." Sakura said as she stood up straight and crossed her arms.

"Now, think really hard on this one. Was there a special favor Kushina asked from you before she died?"

"Sakura Haruno you watch your mouth! Do not speak to me like you know everything that is going on. Believe it or not I am well aware that your teammate Naruto is my Godson." Mebuki stated.

"THEN WHY THE HELL HAVEN'T YOU DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?! HE GREW UP WITHOUT A FAMILY TO CALL HIS OWN AND HERE YOU ARE, THE ONLY FAMILY HE HAS AND YOU LET HIM GROW UP ON THE STREETS!" Sakura screamed as tears flowed down her face.

"He has spent YEARS, mom. YEARS of torture and abuse from the villagers and YOU had a helping hand in it! Imagine how foolish and embarrassed I felt when I learned that you were the only family he had FROM Naruto's own mother! You know, she wonders why you never took him in! I couldn't say anything to that! What the hell could I say to something like that?!" Sakura cried loudly.

Kizashi looked at his wife and back to Sakura. he sighed heavily, not really understanding why Sakura was so upset about this.

"I understand that it was wrong of us to do that, but why are you so upset about it?"

"Because I LOVE HIM, Dad!" Sakura shouted.

Kizashi went wide eyed. Now everything made sense. Since the Uchiha boy died, she latched onto Naruto, only this time, it seemed real.

"Haven't done anything about it...?" Mebuki whispered. "What haven't we done about it?!" She cried. "Do you think when we first learned of my Godson being orphaned that we wouldn't have jumped at the chance to adopt him?! Of course we would have! But it is not so simple as you might think!"

"Oh really? Enlighten me then..."

Mebuki looked down, sadness overtaking her yet she refused to look her daughter in the eyes.

Kizashi look back and forth between the two women and decided to stand up and make tea. This would be a long conversation.

"It all started the morning after the Kyuubi attack..." Mebuki began.

Sakura then knew this was going to be a lengthy conversation, so she decided to sit at the table while her mother explained her side of the story.

"It was only a few days prior that I had heard the wonderful news from my friend Kushina that she was due any day now. But because of the war going on, she could not confide in me who the father was, it was common place back then. Newly married couples not revealing their spouses even to close friends for fear of old enemies learning of your loved ones and targeting them.

I was looking forward to meeting my God child and finally meeting the father who had captured my best friend's heart, but it was not to be.

After the Demon Fox attacked our village in the middle of the night all Hell broke loose. Before I could even be roused from my bed, a great fireball had been hurled at the street where a majority of our clan used to reside in. The three of us were some of the few survivors. We were led by ANBU to the evacuation area outside the village and by the next morning the village was in shambles and the Fourth Hokage was dead.

All anyone could do was pick through the charred remains of our homes and bury their own family members. This may be hard for you to hear, but as I buried my own mother and father, the fate of my best friend and her child was the farthest thing from my mind.

It wasn't until a week later that I heard the news. Kushina was dead and so too was her child."

"It hurts to know that, really it does, but it doesn't explain everything about Naruto as it's pretty evident that he lived. Unless...No... no he couldn't have been that heartless to do that!"

Sakura shot up from the table.

"Mom, please tell me the Third didn't order this... Please tell me it wasn't him!" Sakura cried.

"I don't know Sakura. It was a rumor I heard from Mikoto, another good friend of Kushina's and mine. You never met her, but she was the mother of your other teammate, Sasuke." Sakura's mother explained.

"Anyway, by the time I had heard of this, the Third had already held a quiet funeral for my best friend and laid her to rest. I was devastated, but there was still so much else to do. And above all else I was grateful that I still had my own daughter safe and sound."

Sakura sat back down as fresh tears started falling. She didn't receive the answer she wanted, nor did she receive the answer she didn't want. Either way, the past that lead up to Naruto's current status pulled at her heart strings and it was also apparent to her that it did the same with Mebuki.

"Over the next few months I heard talk of a demon child being kept at the orphanage. Some said that he was the Fox demon reincarnated. Some higher ups on the jounin forces said that he was actually the host to the demon fox. I and a lot of other lower ranked former Shinobi didn't know what a jinchuriki was though, so most of us held the boy in great contempt. I'm ashamed to say that back then I went along with the crowd. Still bitter over the loss of my loved ones, including Kushina."

"...He didn't deserve it... He has a h-heart of gold and puts others before himself..." Sakura sobbed heavily, then looked up at her mom.

"What was anyone to do Sakura? I'm not saying how anyone treated him was right, but everyone was grieving and people wanted a figure to blame. They found him." Mebuki said softly to her daughter as if it could lessen the blow.

"Not that they actually did anything, mind you. At least nothing that I heard of." She admitted.

"Before long, the Third put an end to those rumors and life returned to normal for a few years. We all kind of forgot about the demon baby."

"He told me differently..." Sakura said quietly.

"Well then I forgot about him. Or the Third kept it quiet just reduce the number of incidents that would happen to him. Either way, after 5 years the rumors started popping up again of a blond haired, blue eyed whiskered demon boy going to the ninja academy. Some parents talked about pulling their own children out of the academy if the so called demon boy was allowed to attend. I won't say that your father and I didn't consider it as well."

At that point, Kizashi returned with the tea but once again was ignored by the two women in his life. He tried to preoccupy himself by looking out the window which is when he saw something peculiar

"I remember something like that. Honestly, I didn't see why people treated him like they did at the time. It wasn't until after our first mission that I learned why." Sakura said.

"When did you actually find out who he was and realized you were Naruto's godmother?" Sakura asked as she took a cup of tea and placed it in front of her.

"When you first were placed on the same team as him I began to pay closer attention to this so called demon child, but it wasn't until the finals of your first chunin exam that I really began to notice the similarities between him and Kushina.

When he won his match against Neji, and was skipping around, hooting and hollering just like Kushina had done during her first victory in the tournament style part of her chunin exams. From a distance he looked nothing like Kushina, but I couldn't shake the feeling. I almost wanted to confront the Third Hokage himself about it, but you know what happened on that day."

"Vividly... I had also found out that it was Naruto who saved me from Gaara, not Sasuke."

"And imagine my surprise when the same people who used to mock him now were singing his praises over summoning the great Gamabunta and defeating the Sand Demon. A feat only thought possible by the great Toad Sage Jirayia and the late Fourth Hokage." Mebuki replied.

"Then imagine my surprise that the very same Toad Sage would take the most hated boy in the Leaf village on as his apprentice. An honor he had not bestowed on anyone since the Fourth Hokage." She continued on.

"And then the same boy helped bring back the great Slug Princess Lady Tsunade to be the next Hokage and that he had mastered the Rasengan. Another feat thought impossible to everyone except the Toad Sage and the Lord Fourth who created it.

Rumors were flying everywhere and I almost wanted to ask you to invite him over to our house just to see if I could confirm the rumors myself. But I was scared."

"Understandable. Imagine how scared I was when I confessed to him and asked him out. Being the Baka he is, it took him 5 minutes to realize that we were dating." Sakura said, her anger replaced by nostalgia and happy memories.

"But I assume your reason for being scared was different than mine. Why were you scared?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"I was scared of him actually being Kushina's son and what that would make me, his Godmother who abandoned him for his entire miserable life..."

"I see... Well, just so you know, he does know now from Kushina." Sakura stated.

"And no doubt he hates me for abandoning him for all those years, as he should...I'm sure Kushina does..."

"No mom. Naruto bears you no grudge honestly and Kushina, although she wonders why you didn't take Naruto in, she doesn't hate you either. She did call you and I quote, 'a major nut busting bitch,' but she never said anything about hating you for not taking Naruto in." Sakura said.

Mebuki looked at her daughter in awe as she cupped her hand to her mouth. Her eyes became misty.

"That tomato faced tommy...she was always too forgiving for her own good..." Mebuki whispered as she broke down in tears. Immediately her husband wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Now I know where Naruto gets it." Sakura said before coming over to join in the hug.

"I'm sorry for being such a rude bitch earlier mom... It's just-" Sakura started before Mebuki cut her off.

Mebuki looked up at her only daughter, tears streaking down her face, she smiled. "When you began your training with Tsunade I snuck into your room one day and took a good look at the photo of your team. I saw his face, it was exactly like Kushina's with the Fourth Hokage's blond hair and blue eyes and that's when I knew... so when you started speaking highly of Naruto, waiting for him to return from his training trip with Jiraiya, I was so happy that you were treating him with the kindness I should have given him all these years. And when he finally came back and you were so happy. My heart melted yet I still couldn't bring myself to tell him. And then you started dating him..." Mebuki had to stop herself from choking up.

"Mom..." Sakura said quietly

"You can have him come here anytime you want, mom." Sakura said softly

"You have our blessings. I hope you know that. And Sakura, I don't know if he would ever accept our offer...he's a man now, but tell him our doors will always be open to him."

"When he gets back I'll let him know." Sakura said.

Mebuki looked at Sakura with a puzzled look.

"When he gets back? Is he on a mission? If he is, how come you're not with him."

Sakura huffed as she pulled away from her mother.

"It's not an official mission and he went behind a lot of peoples backs to do it." Sakura said in annoyance.

"Is he in Hell trying to fight for the fate of someone's eternal soul?" Kizashi spoke up.

Sakura stared at her father in shock.

"How in the heck did you know that?"

"Before for the last five minutes a giant sphere has been hanging over the village with this blue skinned man with stupid hair explain this 'Get Out of Hell tournament' or whatever."

"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed as she dashed for the front door. As soon as she opened the door she looked up and saw the sky filled with the face of the god she had met yesterday, Whis. As soon as she looked up she could also hear his voice as clear as if he were talking to her directly.

 **"And now to introduce your village's champions!"** The man Sakura recognized as Whis spoke to the people of the village.

 **"From the famous fish eyed clan of the Leaf comes Nejiiiiiii Hyuga!"**

A screen capture of Neji showed him with a disgusted look on his face.

Somewhere in the Leaf, Tenten accidently knocked over all the weapons she was carrying due to shock.

 **"From the dog kettles of the same village... Kibaaaaa Inuzuka!"**

The picture was of Kiba with his mouth wide open in a yell.

Elsewhere in the Leaf, Shino slapped his forehead while in the Hyuga compound, Hinata dropped the tea she was carrying.

 **"From every available fast food restaurant in town... Chojiiiiiii Akimichi!"**

The picture was of Choji eating.

 **"On to the one as lazy as his best friend is fat... Shikimaruuuuuu Nara!"**

The photo had Shikamaru picking his ear.

Back in the Yamanaka Flower Shop, Ino dropped the pot plant she was carrying.

 **"From the clan that thinks they can get away with those tacky green jumpsuits... I can't tell which is his last name... Rooooooooock Lee!"**

The picture was of Rock Lee making his classic nice guy pose.

Tenten tripped again when she heard her other teammate was involved in…whatever the Hell this was.

 **"And finally...last but not least...the man dumb enough to drag all his friends down to Hell with him...give it up for... Narutoooooooooo Uzumaki!"**

The picture was of Naruto halfway through a sneeze.

Sakura gasped as she saw the faces of her friends and boyfriend appear on an enormous floating orb in the sky.

"Oh... My...God..."

" **These six young men will be competing in the 'Hottest,' tournament in the Underworld, but first they must get to the arena."** The image of Whis's face faded away to reveal a bird's eye view of a sea of golden clouds with a white stone pathway cutting through the clouds which Gohan recognized as Snake Way. The orb zoomed in until even the civilians could make out the six figures leaping along the pathway at incredible speeds. The females of the Konoha 11 could clearly spot each of their male teammates.

 **"Now the rules for the competition are, there are no rules. All of the other competitors are already dead. Anyone knocked out of the arena, unconscious, or unable to fight is declared the loser. Since we have so many teams competing the preliminaries will consist entirely of battle royals. So long as one member of the team remains standing, that team will progress. Until four teams remain. Then we shall have the two semi-final matches taking place the next day. Followed by the final match the day after that."**

 _'I just hope Naruto will be okay.'_ Sakura thought to herself.

On the other side of town, Gohan and Videl could see and hear everything.

"Oh... crap baskets." Videl said.

"Yeah…" Gohan agreed grimly.

 **"Oh and to make things interesting... for any teams that make it to the semi-finals or beyond and lose, the members of that team will be penalized with spending 100 years in Hell. A meaningless penalty for most of the participants. Except those already alive of course."** Whis chuckled to the Leaf village, like he was sharing a joke with them.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" A collective shout over the entire village could be heard.

With Sakura.

"NARUTOOOO! YOU IDIOT!"

With Tsunade

"That goddamned pig headed fool! SHIZUNE! I want Gohan in here, NOW!"

With Gohan.

"Double crap baskets…"

* * *

Not ten minutes later, Gohan found himself outside the Hokage's office trying to summon up the courage to knock on the door.

Videl had offered to go with him, but Gohan knew that this time he had to face the music on his own.

He knocked twice on the wooden door, signaling his arrival.

"Enter." Tsunade called out in a monotone voice.

"You, wanted to see me?" Gohan asked hesitantly as he closed the door behind him, only to narrowly dodge a small bookshelf that was thrown at him.

"Yes Gohan, please come in." Tsunade smiled with her eyes closed, a mannerism that did not fit her actions.

"Um... okay..." Gohan said softly as he walked over and took a seat.

"Listen, I know you're not exactly happy with me right now, but-"

SLAM!

Tsunade stamped an official document with her Hokage seal so hard it left a 2-inch dent in her wooden desk.

"Not happy? What gave you that impression?" She asked innocently.

"Do I need to answer that?" Gohan asked. "Listen, I'm really sorry for lying to you. Really, I am. I hate lying to my friends more than anything."

"Oh Gohan, that's very naughty, you should never lie to your friends." Tsunade told him in a sweet voice while she tore documents apart by writing her signature on them too hard.

"I know. I'm very sorry that I did. I would tell you everything that happened, but it's easier if I showed you, if you'll let me." Gohan said as he stood up.

Gohan closed his eyes to form a mental link. closing his eyes was a big mistake. As soon as he did that, Tsunade leapt over her desk and landed her hardest Chakra enhanced punch to Gohan's forehead. Gohan stumbled back a bit, but Tsunade effectively broke her hand on the Saiyan's hard skull.

"YOU SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, GOHAN SON! I COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR REASONING RIGHT NOW IF I TRIED! God damn..." She muttered the last part as the pain of her wrist reached her brain.

Gohan did what he was told and sat back down and waited for the inevitable verbal thrashing he was going to receive.

Tsunade paced back and forth behind her desk, waiting for her blinding rage to subside into something coherent.

"You said you would stop Naruto from leaving, correct?"

"Yes, and I tried, really. But what I didn't expect was for his friends to side with him and gang up on me."

"YES OR FUCKING NO, GOHAN! IF I WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES I WILL FUCKING ASK FOR THEM!"

Gohan looked away, his own anger starting to build. "Yes." he said calmly.

"And you said you were going to find Naruto's friends to help convince him not to go. Correct?"

"Yes, and I did."

"The same friends who are now accompanying him in Hell. The exact place I told him not to go?"

"Yes."

"And, correct me if I'm wrong, but you said these six managed to overpower you. Son Gohan, the half saiyan with the super saiyan transformations that amplify your already unbelievable power level? Six chunin did that?"

"It was more like when I was fighting Naruto since diplomacy had failed, I told him that if he could beat me he could go, knowing that wouldn't happen. Later on Shikamaru got me in his Shadow Possession and held me, later saying they were siding with Naruto and something about it being his Will of Fire to save Sasuke." Gohan said as he recalled the events that took place.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Gohan, furious that he had listed off his excuses again, but her anger had receded enough to let it slide.

"Gohan, can I tell you something? I'm not actually mad about Naruto and the rest going to Hell. Their hearts are in the right place... their stupid, idiot hearts." Tsunade admitted.

Tsunade took a deep breath. "Do you know what I am mad about?"

"What?"

"I'm mad because the Eight of you lied to me about it. I'm mad because I have to halt the division I had put aside for an expedition to hunt down Akatsuki members to reorganize two squads. I'm mad because now six able bodied ninjas were taken off of active duty without my knowledge. I'm mad because I have been undermined not only by my loyal ninjas but by you, whom I have treated as nothing but a welcomed guest since you arrived. How does it make me look when I allow myself to be walked all over like this? How does it make the village look?" Tsunade asked rhetorically. She held up a finger to signal Gohan to let her finish.

Gohan looked away in shame, knowing that he had betrayed the trust of the most important person in the village. He hated lying to people and then to come up with excuses as to why he had just hurt more. In a lot of ways, Tsunade reminded him of his own mother, only twice her age. Not that he would ever say that in front of Tsunade.

"I get that you are used to doing your own thing. From what I have heard of your stories you and your friends did not concern yourselves with politics. You acted purely for the benefit of humanity. It is admirable, but it is not how we do things here. Here we have chains of command and political images to maintain. It doesn't matter how any of us feel about it, because the system isn't going to change anytime soon..." Tsunade pored herself a glass of sake but stopped short of drinking it.

"I'm really sorry..." Gohan chocked out.

Tsunade held up her hand.

"All of this could be excused. A slap on the wrist, some unpaid manual labor, and we would call it a week. The problem is this." Tsunade pointed behind her towards the giant sphere looming overhead.

"Yea, that was completely unexpected."

"I'm not talking about that. Do you know what this is?" Tsunade asked, her anger building again.

"I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean what the sphere is, or what problems it could bring?"

"Oh I'll tell you what problems it could bring..." Tsunade spoke like a kettle about to burst.

"We are ninjas right? I shouldn't have to tell you that secrecy and stealth go hand in hand with our line of work. So what part of this thing is stealthy?! Never mind that we now have a mile-wide sphere hanging over our HIDDEN VILLAGE. What is really worrisome is if any of those six idiots mention anything sensitive to the safety of the village or its occupants. Damn near all of them are heirs to their respective major clans and the other is our freaking Jinchuriki! There is a reason we don't broadcast our ninjas on missions, but that is exactly what this sphere is doing!"

"Yes, I see how that can be a problem. But, there really isn't anything I can do about it since it was created by an immortal caretaker to a God."

"Yes, there lies the problem. I can't contact Whis to get him to take it down and for some reason King Kai can't contact Naruto and the others to let them know to keep their traps shut. So we are one casual conversation away from our village secrets being broadcasted to every passerby within a 50-mile radius." Tsunade ranted.

"And to top it all off, it is a huge distraction. Men and women on guard duty have already been caught ogling the sphere when they should have been watching our borders. That alone makes this a massive security threat."

"Well, I can solve half of the problem." Gohan said as he looked to face Tsunade. "I have been in constant contact with my grandfather, Bardock, and I can have him relay a message to them not to let slip any information that would be sensitive. He is currently guiding them to the entrance to Hell."

"Do it. Or better yet, have him drag their asses back here."

"He can't. He isn't strong enough to take them all on. He could match Shino as he is currently and that's about it." Gohan said. Tsunade gave Gohan a stink eye that he interpreted as, "get it done". Gohan shied away and concentrated on contacting his Grandpa.

 _'Grandfather. Can you hear me? It's Gohan.'_

"Yes, what is it now?" Bardock said gruffly.

 _'Naruto and the others are still with you, right?'_

"Hmph. No, they took off down Snake Way just a little while ago."

 _'Damn... Can you find them and relay a message to them?'_

"Look, Kid. I ain't no messenger boy, alright? Why do you ask me to do these things when I'm trying to enjoy my time being out of Hell?"

 _'Look at it this way, it beats having to do meaningless chores just to get in King Yemma's good graces, isn't it?'_

Bardock sighed. "Point taken. Alright, what do I have to tell them..."

 _'Just tell them not to talk about any sensitive information regarding the Leaf Village. There is an observation sphere above the village that is broadcasting the tournament when it starts, compliments of Whis, caretaker to Beerus the Destroyer.'_

"Very well... Consider it done. I'll let you know when I pass on the information."

 _'Thanks, grandfather. Take care and say hi to Grandma for me.'_

"Yea, yea..." Bardock said finally before closing the link.

"It's done. My Grandfather will relay the message to Naruto and the others. He'll let me know when his task is complete since they aren't with him anymore." Gohan said brightly.

"Well at least that is one crisis solved." Tsunade sighed. "Which leads me to the next crisis on our plate. What to do about the two vacancies in my task force?"

"I honestly don't know. Sakura was telling me about that last night when she slammed Shino into a building"

The Fifth Hokage tapped her desk for a few moments, hesitant to voice her solution.

She opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a standard Leaf headband. "Put this on."

"Huh? But, I'm not a ninja..."

"You are now. By the power vested in me by the Fire Daimyo and the Council of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I award you, Gohan Son, the rank of Temporary Special Jounin." Tsunade directed a one handed tiger seal in Gohan's direction as if to knight him.

Gohan stood motionless with his mouth completely agape. Gohan couldn't utter a single word as he was in complete shock that he was just awarded the highest ranking title a ninja could have, save for being Hokage.

"A-a-a-are you sure?"

"Don't act too excited, this rank comes with no real authority. We award this to rogue ninjas we enlist for missions when we require their help. The Jounin part of that title just means you are approved for A - ranked missions, which this mission I have in mind for you is." Tsunade explained.

"Well, uh... Okay then." Gohan said as he took of his Neo Z Fighters headband and replaced it with a standard Leaf headband. "I'm just one person out of the many missing. Is there more?"

"Yes, tell your girlfriend that her vacation pass has been canceled. I'm assuming that the two of you will want to work together on this."

"Videl?! After the ordeal she had last night? Is she okay to do this?"

"She's fine. She would have gone home last night with you if all this nonsense hadn't happened." Tsunade waved her hand dismissively.

"Alright. You are her superior and her care giver. If you say she's fit for duty, I trust your judgement." Gohan said with relief. Then another thought hit him that he forgot to mention beforehand. Two things actually. "Oh, a few things that just came to mind that I neglected to mention earlier." Gohan said

"Save it, I need to go over the mission with you and lay down the ground rules."

"Actually, this one is very important." Gohan said sternly and seriously.

"And what is so important that you need to disrupt my briefing?"

"Danzo came to my house last night." Gohan said darkly.

"And what did he try to threaten you with?"

"Would you be willing to let me give you the memories of the event that took place?" Gohan said calmly as he looked around the room. "So that, no one can listen in. I sense we're not alone."

"Just give me the skinny. The presence you sense are my ANBU guards." Tsunade said annoyed.

"He threatened mine and Videl's existence and future here if I didn't help him reach his goals of making the Village, as he put it, a better place. I had some of the council members listening in so they can give you more details."

"What else is new? Half the council knows that he is dirty, but the civilian council and the Daimyo think he is a harmless old advisor. Without physical proof, testimony by you or anyone else will be worthless."

"He also said that he would turn all of the council and the civilian population against me and Videl to run us out of here if we didn't cooperate. I had Shikaku, Hiashi, Choza and Inoichi listening in via mental link. I also had my houses audio system record our conversations." This got Tsunade's attention. It was a long shot, but if it was damning, it would be the best evidence they had ever amassed to nailing that son of a bitch to a wall.

"...save those audio recordings. They could prove useful in the long run, but for now we have more important matters to deal with."

"Got it. Only I know where they are. The second thing can wait until after your briefing."

"Oh I can talk now? Thank you." Tsunade said sarcastically. She pulled out a mission file to refresh her memory.

"A few days ago, we received word from the nearby Fire Temple that two men had attacked the warrior monks living there. They were described by survivors as extremely powerful and wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them."

"Akatsuki, right? We had a run in with a few before Videl and I came here."

"Yes, the strange thing is that the location they attacked did not house any jinchuriki. In all of our reports about Akatsuki's movement, they never make such a ruckus without there being a jinchuriki involved. They are usually more subtle then that."

"that is very odd... What could they be after..." Gohan mused to himself.

"That is what your squad in particular will be tasked with finding out. Since Shikamaru and Choji are unable at the moment, I want you and Videl to take their place. You two will be paired up with Ino and Asuma, her jounin instructor. You will then head to the Fire Temple to gather intelligence and send whatever you find via messenger bird to the 27 other squads that will already be deployed across the country searching for the Akatsuki members. Then you will join the search yourself."

"If I may make a suggestion. It would be a lot more secure and quicker for me to inform them via telepathy."

"No. A mental link across the entire country, linking up that many people will make it all too easy for our enemies to intercept the message. Consider this a test of your willingness to be a team player."

"Understood." _'Although my track record for being a team player isn't a good one.'_ Gohan thought to himself.

"That is another thing. While you wear that headband I expect you to understand the pecking order. Your squad leader will be Asuma the Jounin, second in command will be Ino, followed by Videl, and finally you. If any of them gives you an order I expect you to follow it. If Asuma dies on this mission and your squad is absorbed into another squad, I expect you to obey the commands of that Squad's Jounin and Chunin."

"Isn't Videl still a Genin?"

"She is, but she is more experienced then you. As far as leadership goes, you are a newly appointed Genin."

"Fair enough. But I don't think anyone will object if I try to keep Videl even tempered, especially when she's dealing with mood swings. I tend to follow the chain of command to the letter as much as possible."

"Whatever works. All I care about is that you show that you can work with us ninjas."

"It will be a little bit out of my norm, but it shouldn't be anything I can't handle."

"Good, because if you don't I will have to kick you out of the village." Tsunade told him sternly. Gohan was taken back, this was serious.

"And I really don't want that. You literally just scared the shit out of me just now."

Tsunade smiled. "Good, now you know how to act around your Hokage. You're already learning how to act like a team player."

"I just gotta remind Videl of that. Her last mission didn't exactly go well if I recall."

"You do that; she isn't exactly standing on thicker ice if you catch my meaning."

"Yes, I understand that completely. If there is nothing more, there is something in regards to the subject of Videl and I that I would like to talk to you about."

"Yes you can have sex while she is pregnant. I don't care how amazing you Saiyan's are, nothing is going to poke them in the head."

"Um... Good to know, but that's not what I meant." Gohan said, his face redder than a beet.

"Well what is it? Thanks to you and the other dicks of the Konoha 11 I am very busy."

"I was wondering... once this has all blown over... could... could you get Videl and I married?" Gohan asked hesitantly.

This peaked Tsunade's curiosity. "Tell you what. You and Videl pull off this mission without a hitch and I will personally fund your wedding."

"You don't have to go that far, Lady Tsunade. We really don't know that many people here and we won't have our families here, sadly. So we were just going to do a private thing just to make it official."

"Nonsense, this is a special occasion. And all your friends will need a celebration to cheer themselves up after I murder Naruto for putting us through all this. I assume there will be an open bar."

"We've talked about a few things. Videl has too much of a taste for the sauce as she calls it and it would be difficult keeping her away from the drinks while she's pregnant. I figured we'd do a bring your own booze deal to keep her sober. Drinking age in our world is 17. I don't know what it is here. Videl wants Sakura to be her Maid of Honor and I want Naruto to be my best man. Videl wants you, Shizune, Ino, Tenten and Hinata as the Brides Maids." Gohan explained.

"I'm flattered, but I will be marrying you two unless you want a Shinto priest residing over the ceremony."

"You'd have to talk to Videl about that. She is orchestrating the whole thing. She's had this planned out since she was a little girl apparently."

"Well I'm not sure if our worlds have the same religions." Tsunade said.

"Uh, we really don't practice any seeing as we know who the real gods are."

"Just don't go around saying that to any of the Log worshipers, those guys are fanatics."

"I'm sorry, Log Worshipers?"

"Don't think about it. Just get out of my office and prepare your fiancé for the mission. The general briefing is in the basement of the Hokage Tower tomorrow morning before 8:30. Pack for three days of camping and report to Asuma sensei before the briefing begins."

"Understood. And Thank you."

Tsunade nodded and waved her hand to dismiss the newly appointed ninja.

* * *

All across the Leaf Village, the Sphere had been kicking up a frenzy. People just didn't know what to make of it. How could anyone be expected to act when a colossal orb shows up out of nowhere to project some mystical blue man who tells them that six of their young ninjas were competing in some tournament no one had ever heard of and then shows the same boys running in infinitude down an endless stone road? It raised more questions than it answered.

Those who knew the boys personally were worried for their safety, that they had been trapped in that damn sphere by the blue man.

Others thought the whole thing was one massive diversion; a genjutsu designed to distract them from an eminent attack by enemy ninja.

Still others were convinced the Sphere was an actual orb made of glass that would fall upon them at any second and were scrambling to gather up all their belongings and family members to take them as far away from the village as possible.

In light of the possibility of attack, Tsunade had ordered the borders to the Leaf Village closed and all guards to be placed on high alert. So the frightened citizens could only gather at the front gates and argue with the equally frightened border guards.

Tensions were growing high as some fear mongers began to suggest that it was the Kyuubi brat's fault or even a direct result of Lady Tsunade allowing the half-breed Saiyans to join their village.

The mob mentality dissipated when Tsunade sent for the various clan heads to order their clansmen to return to their respective family compounds. An effective strategy that was much less imposing then declaring marshal law. Within the hour, the usually bustling streets were completely deserted, shopkeepers were forced to close their stores due to lack of customers.

Which led to Ino wandering the streets all by her lonesome, having been out on an errand for her family's flower shop and not gotten the clan wide memo to return home.

Like everyone else who knew them best. Ino was flabbergasted to see all the boys from the Konoha 11 (save for Shino) appearing on the giant sphere hanging in the sky. This was completely out of left field for her so it was with great relief that she ran into none other than Temari, back in the Leaf on vacation. Although Ino was ready to wager the shirt on her back that Temari was just using that as an excuse to see Ino's lazy ass teammate Shikamaru. This probably wasn't what she meant by it though.

The two blondes had struck up a conversation and were now wandering around trying to find the rest of their girlfriends. Perhaps together, they could piece together some sense from this whole mess.

Along the way they met up with Tenten, who was also in the middle of an errand when the Sphere first appeared.

Then they found Hinata wandering alone, apparently she was coming back from checking up on her Jounin Sensei Kurenei who had been feeling under the weather the last couple of days.

Finally, the team of kunoichi had run into Sakura on her way to see Lady Tsunade. After some verbal pressure from Ino, Sakura caved and told the rest of the girls exactly what their male counterparts had done. Confirming everything that the one called Whis had stated. Their male teammates were in Hell and they were going to fight for the soul of one Sasuke Uchiha. The resulting conversation could be summed up in two lines of dialogue.

"Is Naruto stupid?" All the girls asked.

"Yes." Sakura would reply.

With nothing else to do and no one to stop them, the girls all gathered on the roof of the BBQ Place (the Konoha 11's unofficial hang out spot) to watch their male counterparts run.

Their eye's gazed upwards at the imposing sphere where the six foolhardy ninjas were beginning to feel the built up of exhaustion.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Neji, Lee, and Akamaru had all been sprinting down Snake Way since a little past midnight. And they were dead tired.

Never mind the constant dead sprinting they had been doing on a pathway that never seemed to change or have an end. The lack of sleep from last night was enough to put the strain on all their bodies. Even Naruto with his bottomless supply of stamina and Lee with his life motto to never stop training was feeling the strain.

Out of all the ninjas though, Neji was probably the one hurting the most. He had designated himself to keeping a Byakugan powered eye out for any kind of landmarks ahead of them. Something to let them know that they had made actual progress and weren't just caught in some other worldly genjutsu. Considering that their intended destination was Hell, it would be fitting.

Imagine his joy when nearly 20 hours into the run, Neji spotted an actual change of scenery! Some kind of…metal horseless carriage with these brushes sweeping the road. The Hyuga prodigy called out his findings to the rest of the group who whooped and hollered with joy at the promise of something new to look at. (Each of them were ready to throw Lee of the pathway if he suggested they play I Spy one more God damn time.)

By the time they had caught up with the strange vehicle, Shikamaru had convinced Naruto to rest with them atop the street sweeper for three hours. Then they would renew their marathon.

Reluctantly the blond had agreed, not wanting to waste their precious time, but also recognizing his own exhaustion. The fact that Choji had to catching him from falling into the abyss below after he misjudged the distance between the path bends was also a good incentive (Sakura nearly had a heart attack watching that.)

The six ninjas plus a ninja dog finally made it on the top of the large truck that was thankfully large enough to accommodate all of them when they collapsed atop the metal roof. The metal was hot from the engine beneath it and the constant sunlight, the ride was bumpy as hell with the engine, but to the legs of the boys it was the comfiest hunk of metal they had ever rested on.

"So Naruto, how's things going with Sakura?" Kiba asked, his head leaning against Akamaru like a furry head rest.

"I don't want to talk about it." Naruto said to try and shut down the conversation quickly.

Over in the world of the living, Sakura was roused from her nap by Tenten who figured that she wouldn't want to miss a minute of this.

The pink medic had been starring up at the Descry Sphere ever since it had appeared. The girls had only just gotten Sakura to rest for a while, promising that they would wake her up if anything new happened.

"Naruto, as your friends, I think you should talk to us about what happened. I only got the gist from Gohan, but it sounded like Sakura didn't want you going." Neji said, trying to help his friend.

"Yea man, we ain't going to judge you. It sounds to me like you need to get this off your chest man." Kiba added.

Naruto looked around the group at all the guys that had forgotten their fatigue and we're eager for some man to man gossip.

It was either that or I Spy and nobody wanted to play that against Neji anymore.

"Why are we always talking about my love life? What about yours, eh Kiba?"

"Psht, oh you know me. I got so many girls chasing after me I gotta beat them off with a stick." The dog trainee bragged.

"Bullshit." Shikamaru interjected. "Don't believe a word he says Naruto. I heard from Shino that every date he manages to get ends with a bitch slap to his face."

All the guys burst out laughing at Kiba's expense, even Akamaru.

"Oh yeah? Well maybe I'm just looking for the right girl, that's all." Kiba said trying to save face.

"Oh yeah? Who then?" Naruto asked, curious at who the dog user would consider the right girl.

"I ain't sayin'." He replied stubbornly.

Back in the living world all the kunoichi of the Konoha 11 plus Temari perked up at hearing about Kiba's crush.

"Who's gonna know? It's just us here." Neji stated.

Kiba mulled it over for a bit and then a smirk crossed his face

"Yea sure, I'll tell ya. If everyone else talks about their interests and Naruto gets his shit out in the open."

"We'll see. Now spill." Naruto insisted.

The entire village waited on baited breath.

"Alright alright..." Kiba said as he started to blush... "To be honest, I have had a large crush on... H-Hinata for the longest time..." Kiba said hesitantly.

"What did you just say Kiba?" Neji said protectively.

"Woah seriously?" Choji commented.

Kiba scratched the side of his face. "Yea... Ever since the academy honestly."

"What, but you never made any moves on her." Shikamaru said. "Come to think of it. You made moves on everyone else. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, even Shizune and- oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, now it makes sense." A light bulb went off in the Nara's head.

"What does?" Neji inquired.

"The reason he never made a move on Hinata even after all these years." Shikamaru vaguely explained.

Back in the real world, all the girls had blushes adorning their faces but none as bright as Hinata's. After all the years, she had no idea, she didn't know how she felt about this.

"And that is?" Naruto inquired.

"I don't think I could handle her rejection. I mean, she's like a princess and I'm just a mutt..." Kiba said sadly.

Back in the Inuzuka clan compound, Kiba's sister Hana and their mother the head of the clan was watching the entire thing. Disappointed that Kiba would think himself a mutt and unworthy of great things.

"Besides, she had that massive crush and I couldn't get in the way of her happiness like that."

Naruto looked at Kiba with a sadness only those who relate to one another could share. No matter how you slice it this was almost exactly like how Naruto's love life with Sakura was like in its early stages.

"That's rough buddy. Who did she have a crush on?" Nobody could summon the energy to act surprise at Naruto's ignorance.

"You." Neji stated plainly. "It was apparent to everyone but you, it seems."

As he said that, the entire village was recovering from a simultaneous face palm.

Naruto was in a complete state of shock. His mouth hung open and was unable to form a single word.

"Wow, yeah I had no idea. She never said anything." Naruto crossed his arms and looked up deep in thought. "Imagine if she had..."

Hinata groaned and tried to shrink herself down into nothing where she couldn't be embarrassed any further.

"Well, you have Sakura now." Choji stated

"True, I'd probably still want Sakura. Hinata's beautiful and all, and kind, but her boobs are a bit too...big for my tastes."

"Wow... really, Naruto? In front of her cousin like that?" Shikamaru deadpanned.

Neji had a twitch developing in his right eyebrow. Hinata was muttering curses to herself for wishing for big breasts to impress Naruto. Meanwhile Kiba was on the offensive. "You take that back, you Son of a Bitch! Her boobs are amazing and beautiful!" He grabbed the blond's collar.

"Oh come on! They're ridiculous! Just like Granny Tsunade's. Excuse me for liking them modest." Naruto defended.

Back in the living world, you could see the veins on Lady Tsunade's forehead from a street block away.

"Let's move this along. If we are confessing feelings for others, then I have one." Lee interjected.

"Let me guess, Sakura." Shikamaru stated.

Lee shook his head and a look of shock moved over everyone's faces.

"No." Lee said. "Gai sensei's code of Youthfulness states that once a love's heart is taken fairly by a friend it is not to be pursued. Bros before hoes." Lee proclaimed youthfully.

"It's true." Neji said, for he too was forced to memorize their master's Guide to Youthfulness.

"So, then who-" Naruto stated but was forcefully interrupted by Lee.

"To be honest, Tenten." Lee stated, which took Neji by surprise.

Tenten immediately listened up. This being as much of a shock to her as it was everyone else.

"Yes, aside from Sakura-chan, she is the most youthful lady I have ever known." Lee admitted.

This took Tenten for a loop, not because Lee had a crush on her so much as he had called her a lady. Being the weapons specialist on the close quarters combat team, she was more often than not mistaken for a tomboy.

"You sure man? She always struck me as a tommy." Naruto said.

 _'There it is.'_ Tenten thought.

"Nonsense!" Lee declared. "She might be brash on the outside, but you haven't seen her when the flames of battle die down. The way she maintains and packs away every single ninja tool with motherly care...her hands look so delicate."

The other guys had to nod their heads in agreement. She was a stickler for maintaining her weapons.

Meanwhile the weapons Mistress herself was in awe that Lee had noticed that about her. She began thinking of other times he had been supportive of her and how she always found his tenacity in training inspiring and- what was she thinking about? She had a crush on Neji already!

"The other thing is..." Lee continued on. "...she also has a crush on Neji."

All eyes turned to the Hyuga prodigy. Out of all the guys there, he was the only one who fit the cool, silent, and mysterious type that all the girls in the academy yearned for.

"I see..." Neji stated plainly. "I'm sorry to say that I don't have the same feelings for Tenten. honestly, I'm not interested in anyone at the moment."

"Oh bullshit man. There has to be someone you are crushing on." Kiba protested, not believing Neji.

"Honestly, there is no one." Neji stated seriously.

"Not even a little bit?" Naruto asked.

"Is it so strange that I take my ninja training seriously and don't have time for crushing on anyone?"

"Yes." Everyone replied, except Shikamaru who was busy trying to get comfortable for his nap.

"Well, sorry to disappoint." Neji stated.

Back in the living world, Tenten was disappointed. But not as much as she expected, mainly because she had Lee's unknown confession to think about. She joined Hinata crouching on the ground.

"What about you Choji?" Kiba asked plainly.

"Yeah I got nobody." Choji said nervously.

"I can tell you're lying by your scent, spill it." Kiba said. The rest of the guys egged Choji on.

This time Ino listened up, determined to learn all she could about her teammate's secret love life to help him out.

"Alright... So long as you don't tell anyone." Choji stated in frustration.

Back in the Leaf, Choza and the rest of the Akimichi clan looked up in anticipation. The heir to their clan had never expressed an interest in love as far as they could tell. The Yamanaka clan and even the lazy Nara clan was also interested since the three clans were so close.

"Ino..." Choji said below a whisper that between the noise the sweeper truck made from its diesel engine roaring and the noise from the cleaning apparatus, no one heard him.

"Didn't catch that." Naruto said.

"Ino!" Choji blurted out.

From all corners of the Leaf village, people could hear an astounding "WHAT!?" coming from two of the three Ino-shika-cho clans. Followed by a softer mutter of "troublesome" coming from the third clan.

Ino was busy racking her brain on who else in the village had her name.

Shikamaru meanwhile looked upon his best friend with a mix of disbelief and almost disgust.

"Ino?"

"Yes."

"Ino Yamanaka?"

"Yes."

"Our teammate Ino?"

"Yes already!"

Then it hit Ino. "WHAT!?"

"Dude, she's like our cousin!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"But not by blood, Shikamaru!" Choji protested.

"Talk about a massive shock!" Kiba and Naruto said at the same time, even the ever stoic Neji had a look of shock.

"Do not worry my friend, the power of youthful love will always prevail!" Lee shouted, trying to cheer his friend up.

"No it won't." Choji said, receiving even more bouts of curiosity from the group.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto said

"It's never gonna happen. I'm not her type, she only sees me as a friend and teammate or even a cousin like you said." Choji gestured to Shikamaru. "Besides, we're both clan heirs so one of us would have to give up our title. I can't do that to my dad and I wouldn't ask Ino to give up her's either. So I'm just gonna let her be, watch her marry some decent guy, and then get married myself to some girl my father picks out for me. So long as I can stay friends with her and you Shikamaru."

The boys went silent for a bit, just another tragic story of unrequited love to add to the pile.

"How?" Shikamaru asked, for once at a loss for words. "I mean, when?"

"Come on man, you've seen her. Never mind how drop dead gorgeous she is, she's so confident and determined. She's loud, but only because she's passionate. Her smile is so bright it's like a flower blooming and it brightens my day." Choji thought dreamily.

"Like I said though, it's not gonna happen. So long as she's happy, I'm happy."

On the other end, Ino felt a warming sensation flow through her body as her face lit up with embarrassment, joy, and sadness all at once. She had no idea Choji felt that way about her and the fact that she was watching him beat himself up over stupid doubts, it made her even more sad.

"Choji..." Ino said softly.

"Geez man, that's... no, that's worse than troublesome. That sucks." Shikamaru stated matter of factly.

"Yeah." Choji agreed. "It's not as bad as your love life though. Huh, Shikamaru?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Shikamaru answered.

"What about Temari?" Kiba pressed.

"What about her?" Shikamaru defended.

Back in the Leaf, it was now Temari's turn to listen up.

"Don't you have a thing for her? we could all see the way you act around her." Neji stated mater of factly.

"Even I noticed that." Naruto spoke up.

"Ya see? Even an idiot like Naruto noticed." Kiba said.

"Hey!"

Shikamaru sighed. "That troublesome woman? Why would I ever have a thing for her? She's brash and competitive. Every time we try to play chess together she tries to add some new rules in the middle of the game to mix things up. She's noisy and reminds me too much of my mother."

Back in the Leaf, Temari was growing red from a combination of embarrassment and mostly anger.

"Ouch..." Naruto stated.

"To be honest, I kinda liked Videl." Shikamaru stated, earning shocked gasps from the present group.

"She's more womanly, average looking, and if she could just calm down her anger she'd be perfect." Shikamaru stated.

Back in the Leaf, Videl was beside herself. Shikamaru liked her? And did he just call her average looking?! The fuck?

Temari however felt like her heart was breaking. It's not like she actually like that crybaby, it's just… She thought they were on better terms than that. _'Shikamaru, you asshole.'_ She thought.

"Besides, if I actually did want to get with her, it would never work. She's a major adviser to the Kazekage and his sister. Plus, I'm a clan heir too so I'm stuck at the Leaf. We'd have to travel 3 days to get to either of our villages. I'd spend 6 months in the Sand for the winter months and she would have to spend 6 months in the Leaf for the summer months..." Shikamaru listed off.

Back in the Leaf, Temari perked up. Where was he going with this?

"I'd be too troublesome to raise a family like that. Always moving back and forth or one of us leaves the kids with the other for half a year. Plus, if the peace between the Leaf and the Sand ever fails then we would be enemies..." Shikamaru stated, the guys could swear that they heard a hint of sadness in his voice. Temari and a few other villagers picked up on that too.

"It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this." Neji stated.

"I'm the brains of this operation, right? I plan out everything." Shikamaru said like it was his curse.

"Doesn't sound like you've put very much into it if you can't be truly honest with your feelings." Lee stated.

"I agree. It's obvious to everyone here that you like her." Choji added

"Psht, whatever." Shikamaru turned over on his side to face away from the guys.

Then a light bulb went off in Naruto's head. "Hey Shikamaru, what if I made you a promise that when I become Hokage there will always be peace between the Leaf in the Sand?"

"That's a mighty big claim there, buddy." Kiba stated

Shikamaru looked back at him. "You're not serious."

"Believe it! Gaara and I are super tight, no way either of us will let diplomacy fail between our villages while we're in office. That way you and Temari could be together. Hell, I could negotiate to get Temari transferred to the Leaf permanently as an ambassador or whatever."

"That's going a long ways outta the way for my sake Naruto." Shikamaru stated.

"Nonsense, you didn't even hear my master stroke. Where we build a road directly linking the Sand village to the Leaf village to cut down on your travel time. We'll call it the Shikatem road."

The Nara heir looked at the spiky blond like he was crazy. An actual road dedicated to a single couple? And the name was so stupid. Plus, it would completely under mind the whole "Hidden Village" thing the Leaf and the Sand had going on. Shikamaru smiled and then laid back down.

"Thanks, but that is probably a long ways off so I'm not going to hold my breath." Shikamaru sighed.

Temari meanwhile was going over the road idea in her own head. It was ridiculous, it was stupid, time consuming, waste of resources, and…it sounded very sweet.

"Hey, when we do build that road, can we use the stones from Snake Way?" Kiba asked.

"That sounds like more trouble than its worth. What significance could it possibly have to do that?" Neji asked.

"Nothing, I just wanna come back here one day and tear up this fucking pathway! IT'S SO LONG I HATE IT!" Kiba shouted to the Heavens off to their right.

"No taking things from the pathway." The street cleaner driver shouted back at them. "Only take pictures and leave with memories."

Everyone laughed at Kiba's outburst, even those who were watching in the Leaf.

"Alright, we all shared. Now spill it Naruto." Kiba said.

"Yes, please." Lee added in. "Let us help you feel better about whatever happened."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. "Nope."

"What the hell man!" Kiba shouted

"Honestly, you make it seem like you don't love her anymore." Shikamaru stated, Sakura's heart sank, and something in Naruto snapped.

"I absolutely still love her! But I am not at fault here and I don't have to share it with you!" Naruto snapped back, making Sakura's heart feel immediately lighter, but only slightly.

"Woah, okay... We're just concerned is all." Choji stated in defense.

"Well if you're not gonna talk about your love life, why don't we talk about the meat of the problem instead?" Shikamaru stated.

"Don't..." Naruto stated sternly

"No Naruto, we deserve to know. Why are we really out here in Hell?"

"What do you mean? You know why we're here." Naruto said.

"Yeah yeah, to save Sasuke's soul or whatever, but what is the real reason you are so Gung ho about doing this? You don't just jump straight into Hell at the drop of the hat to save just anyone. Even for a teammate that is extreme. So what is it about Sasuke that is making you go so far?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Oh God, please tell me he's not gay." Kiba muttered and was heard by an equally curious village.

"No, you asshole!" Naruto spat heatedly.

"Well? Is it that promise you made to Sakura to bring Sasuke back?" Choji asked.

"It's because... he's my brother. Or, at least, I think of him as a brother and I believe he was sent to Hell for the wrong reason."

Everyone was taken back by that, from the roof of that divine street cleaner to the farthest corners of the Leaf village.

"Growing up in the Leaf for me wasn't a fun time." Naruto explained simply, that's all he needed to do. Everyone could fill in their own blanks about how truly horrific his childhood was.

"I didn't have any family or real friends. Until I met Sasuke. At a glance I could tell he was just like me, lonely in a crowded room. I wanted to befriend him immediately, but it wasn't that easy. He was so cool and popular; he could do anything. I was frustrated, so I decided that he would be my rival. When he finally acknowledged me in the chunin exams, I was so happy." Naruto reminisced.

"Ok, so he's your brother, we get that." Kiba said trying to move the story along.

"You don't. Thinking back on it, when Sasuke was first trying to abandon the village, I couldn't help but think how easy it would be for the two of us to be in each others shoes."

"What are you talking about? You don't have a clan to avenge." Kiba said.

"No, but I do have so much pent up anger inside me." Naruto admitted. "I used to resent the Leaf so much for how everyone treated me. One wrong step and I would be out seeking power from a snake like Orochimaru if that meant I could get some revenge."

"Sasuke and I are cut from the same cloth. He knows the pain of loneliness just like I do. When he's hurt, I hurt. He's made some bad choices sure, but he refused to be a victim of the world just like I did. He doesn't deserve to be facing whatever torture they're inflicting on him. At least I think so." Naruto finished.

Back at the Leaf, Sakura was now beside herself more than she ever was before. She merely thought Naruto wanted to do this based on the promise he made to her all those years ago, but it was something far more meaningful and she felt like she was going to be sick for being so foolish and selfish in not going with him.

The entire Leaf village was feeling her sense of self disgust. Many of the adults who had gone along with the abuse of the Kyuubi vessel could finally see him for what he really was; an orphan, scared and alone that they turned into a whipping boy.

Sakura fell to her knees, her hands clasped over her shoulders as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Naruto... I'm so sorry..." She whispered out like a prayer.

Ino who had been watching the whole thing crouched down and wrapped her best friend in a tight hug.

"I said all those mean things to him Ino... It's no wonder he won't look at me... I feel like such an idiot..."

"Shhh, shhhhh. It's ok, just let it out."

Sakura was now wailing in pain. She had basically broken her own heart by breaking Naruto's. Ino didn't know what to do, all she could do was hold her friend who is thought of like a sister.

Back in the afterlife, Shikamaru still had some questions. "So do you think Sasuke would do the same for you? If you were the dead traitor in Hell and he was the Hero who stayed behind?"

Naruto looked at the tactical genius. "Does it matter?"

The foolish blond leaned back to lie down on the roof of the street cleaner. They still had maybe 2 hours left before their agreed time to resume running. The rest of the boys all looked at one another, a silent flame ignited in all of them as they made themselves comfortable atop the metal truck.

* * *

Back in the Leaf, a collective hush had blanketed the village. From the greenest civilians to the most harden ninja veterans, everyone was in shock at this kid's verbal tenacity. The balls on this newly promoted chunin, the courage and loyalty to a fallen comrade… It was awe inspiring. You only associated those kinds of traits to either the greatest of fools or the most heroic of legends.

Whichever one Naruto was, depended on one thing, the outcome of his adventure. One thing was for certain though; the whole world would be watching…

Ino, who was still holding onto a very distraught Sakura, had suggested to the present company of Hinata, Tenten and Videl to come inside while she calmed Sakura down and help themselves to some tea. They all nodded and made their way back into Ino's home.

Ino carried the crying Sakura into her bedroom and sat her down on the bed and continued to help calm her down. She was suffering from the worst case of broken heart Ino had ever seen.

"Is she going to be okay?" Tenten asked.

"Hard to say. I have never seen someone filled with this much heart break in my life." Videl stated. "But she needs to calm down soon."

"Yes, I don't know how much longer I can take her balling." Hinata said.

"It's not that." Videl said seriously. "I have heard of cases like this. It's called Broken Heart Syndrome and you can die from it. Sakura needs to get her shit together, or Naruto may be returning home to attend her funeral." Videl stated gravely.

"If he returns home at all." Temari reminded them grimly.

"I don't think he will die. Even the hardest battles were won through sheer determination." Videl pointed out. "He has the determination and the Kyuubi. Those combined will make him a fierce competitor in any tournament. This one will be no different."

"I thought he said he wouldn't use the Kyuubi anymore?" Hinata asked.

"What he says and what he does are two different things. We all know that one." Tenten stated.

The girls nodded in agreement.

"Still, his mouth might have written a check his butt can't cash this time." Temari said.

"We'll just have to wait and see, I guess." Videl said as she took a seat at the table. "So... What do you all think about what the guys said?" Videl asked to try and change the subject.

The girls all looked down with massive blushes on their faces. The evening's revelation having been perhaps the single most embarrassing moment for any of them. Not just because they overheard their male teammates all but declare their undying love for them, but the whole thing was broadcasted out to the entire village. Absolutely everyone they cared about had seen it.

"Oh for crying out loud." Videl protested. "So the whole village knows. Big deal. If you decide to reciprocate their feelings, everyone would have found out sooner or later. The big question is, how do you all feel about it?"

"Maybe we don't want to reciprocate their feelings. Did you ever think of that?" Hinata spat.

Videl scowled at the Hyuuga. "That's pretty heartless to say."

"Well excuse me, but I'm not obligated to return anyone's feelings." Hinata said angrily, her tears falling.

Videl's features softened as she felt a pang of guilt swell up inside her.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. All I wanted to know was how you all felt about this. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Well I hate it!" Hinata shouted. The shy girl persona shattering like glass. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life! The entire village saw that! My clansmen, my sister..." Hinata truly dreaded this part. "...my father... how could Kiba do this to me?!"

"Hinata! It's not like they know this... THING is hovering over our heads! Don't blame him for something he can't control!" Tenten defended.

"Oh shut up Tenten you-you...you TOMBOY!" Hinata shouted, it being the worst insult she could bring herself to shout. "You don't know what it's like. You don't have to worry about disappointing your entire clan! I do!"

"Oh, you mean the same clan that is already so disappointed in you in being inferior to your branch member cousin?" Tenten spat back.

That made Hinata snap.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Hinata shouted before lunging at the weapons Mistress.

In a flash, Videl phased between the two Kunoichi, blocking Hinata's attack and holding onto Tenten's drawn Kunai between her fingers.

"ENOUGH!" Videl shouted. "Christ, I'm sorry I even said anything. Hinata, you need to chill the fuck out now, otherwise your embarrassment will be the last thing on your mind. Tenten, stop pushing her buttons or I'll snap every piece of weaponry you own! Both of you act your age and not your shoe size."

"Hmph!" They both said and turned away in a huff.

"Do you really think Naruto meant it when he said he would build a road between the Sand and the Leaf?" Temari asked no one in particular.

"Knowing him, probably." Videl said.

"Oh..." Temari said. Her thoughts wavering to other things.

"...Is there something wrong with that?" Videl asked curiously.

"No just...it sounds like a good idea is all." Temari said simply.

Videl smiled. "I agree. I bet if Tsunade was watching this, she would agree as well."

"Please, everyone watched this."

"So then it may...Oh wait a minute... Now I see what you're getting at." Videl said as a light bulb went off in her head. This gained the curiosity of Tenten and Hinata.

Temari sported a warm smile and a slight blush on her face. This confirmed Videl's suspicions.

"Good on ya, Temari. If anyone can whip that lazy boy into shape, it's you." Videl said with a smile.

"Please, he doesn't want anything to do with me. You heard him, he wants a girl like you."

"You're more like me then you believe." Videl said as she placed a hand on Temari's shoulder. "Let him see how much you care. I'm taken anyway, so he can't have me."

Temari let out a small smile.

"The best way to impress him is to be yourself. Drop the rough girl act and show him what you're really like. I may put up a front, but that's only because I had to most of my life. One day I'll tell you about it."

"Tell me about it. Growing up being the daughter of the Kazekage. I'm expected to be powerful and a delicate little flower at the same time. It's exhausting."

"Then you should be happy that Shikamaru doesn't expect you to be like that."

"Don't plan the wedding just yet. I've still got to talk to the little idiot." Temari said.

Videl laughed. "Of course."

"To be honest, I'm conflicted." Tenten suddenly spoke up.

"Really? How so?" Videl asked.

"Well... I always been attracted to Neji, but then learning that he doesn't share the same feelings and then finding out how Lee really feels about me, I don't know how to feel about it."

"That's natural. I mean I assume it's natural. I've only really been in love with Gohan myself." Videl admitted.

"Sakura would be the best to ask, but..." Tenten said as they could still hear the pink haired medic sobbing, albeit much quieter.

"It's like. Lee has always been my friend you know? My teammate. I thought he was a bit weird the way he was so energetic, but I always thought he was a nice guy."

"You just need some time to sort out your feelings. You'll find an answer sooner or later." Videl stated.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Tenten said with a sigh.

Hinata still refused to so much as look at Videl, but then Ino came out and everyone could hear light snoring.

"Sakura is calmed down for the moment. She cried herself to sleep so she's going to be out of it for a while."

Videl nodded. "She took the reality of the situation really hard. She's mad at herself more than anything."

"Seriously, I'm mad at myself for not going and I didn't even know what was going on until that damn Sphere appeared."

"Nothing can be done now unfortunately." Videl sighed.

"So, Ino. We were just going over our thoughts about what the guys said." Temari said. "Hinata basically had a meltdown, Tenten is conflicted and I... uh..."

"Temari all but admitted she loves Shikamaru." Tenten said with a grin, which caused the Sand Kunoichi to blush profusely.

"You really wanna discus this now? After all that's happened?" Ino said with shock.

"We have been the whole time you've been in there. We're trying to keep things semi civil to keep things somewhat calm." Videl stated.

"And I suppose you want to hear my reaction to Choji's confession huh?" Ino said looking off to the side.

"That's up to you." Tenten said

Ino smiled and looked out the window, reminiscing about something.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings after that." Ino said softly.

She laughed. "Did you know that when we were little kids, my parents and Choji and Shikamaru's parents would make us play together on joint family vacations and holiday gatherings. This was before we even entered the academy. We'd play knights and princess. I'd be the princess of course and those two would be my two bumbling knights: Fatty and Lazy I'd call them." Ino said, remembering happier days.

"Sometimes when we got bored fighting lizards and bugs, Shikamaru would play the villain who captured the beautiful princess just because he was too lazy to rescue me. But Choji was always eager to do some heroic rescuing."

"Sounds like an awesome childhood. I would kill to have one like that." Videl said, to which Ino nodded, knowing exactly what Videl was talking about.

"Yeah. Before I ever got into Sasuke I used to think about which guy I would marry if given the choice. It's funny, but I always chose Shikamaru."

The girls all looked at each other, Temari not wanting to know the answer in fear she might lose the lazy man before she could ask him out.

"And now?" Tenten asked.

"I think it's pretty obvious to me who it would be now." Videl said.

"You would think that. I'm flattered, I truly am. But it's just as Choji said, I'm not sure it would work out." Ino admitted.

"The only way to know for sure is to try." Videl suggested. "If there is something after a few dates or whatever, then it would work. If not, well, then it wasn't meant to be and the both of you will know."

"No Videl, you don't understand. It's not dating that is tricky per say, it's the clan politics of it all..."

"And that is where I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Look, my dad is the head of my clan the Yamanaka. I'm his daughter, his only child, I'm expected to take over as the next head of the clan as the matriarch. Normally this honor would go to the first born son, but my father has refused to have more children because he believes I can lead the clan. Things have gotten a lot less stuffy over the generations, but this is a huge deal. When my father passes the clan leadership over to me I will be the first matriarch of the clan through appointment. That's really huge."

Ino paused to make sure Videl understood all this.

"I see. That makes sense."

"If I was to marry into another major clan, say Sasuke's, I would just have to give up my status as heir and swear an oath to keep the clan secrets hidden or something like that. But Choji's clan is different. The Yamanaka are close allies with the Akimichi as well as the Nara. It's a delicate three-way balance that has existed since the founding of the Leaf. Above all else, each of the three clans can be no more powerful than the others. It's for that reason that Shikamaru knows how to counter all of my clan techniques just as I know how to counter Choji's clan's techniques and he knows how to counter Shikamaru's and vice versa."

"So in order for this to work, what would need to happen? I ask because this intrigues me. I never heard of anything like this before."

"Since we're both clan heirs we are both the most knowledgeable of each of our clan's inner workings. So if we marry that creates an imbalance of power. It could be seen as the Akimichi stealing a powerful heir from the Yamanaka if I gave up my status for Choji. The same thing would happen if he gave up his status for me."

"I get ya. So, the only solution I see for this to work is if either one of you give up on being a Shinobi. Now, correct me if I'm wrong as this is all new to me. But I assume Gohan and I will have to come up with something similar as we are establishing the Son clan, so to speak. That being said, I doubt either one of you will want to give up on being a Shinobi just to make a relationship work." Videl said.

"It's not about giving up being shinobi, just our position in our clans. You guys are barely a new clan; you can make up whatever rules you want. The clan system is in place so that families with unique jutsus have their right to a monopoly on their clan specific jutsu. This is old fashioned thinking from back during the warring states period when there were no ninja villages as you know them, just ninja clans."

Videl nodded, this was all so fascinating.

"But back to my explanation, if neither of us gave up our clan status it would be seen as a huge alliance between our two clan's that would overshadow our three-way treaty with the Nara, so that would never do. Even if all three of us got together in some kind of three-way marriage deal, even if Shikamaru and Choji were equally devoted to me and I to them, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be as devoted to one another. They're best friends but neither of them swing that way. And the elders wouldn't accept it either way."

"That you know of, Ino. I would try talking to each clan head. Kinda set up a private clan meeting and see if this is something that can happen. It may be a big shock at first, but I'm sure something can work out. You may already know the answer, but it doesn't hurt to ask to cast aside any doubts." Videl advised.

"That's only half of it though. Say we do get approval to date and beyond. What if it doesn't work out? It could ruin our friendship and our teamwork."

"I don't know why you think that's a problem. Everyone knows you'll date any guy that whistles your way." Hinata muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Videl shot a death glare to Hinata.

"What the fuck is your problem?! Seriously, you're acting like a spoiled little two-year-old brat! You're what? 15? 16? You sure as hell don't act like it!"

"I'm out of here." Hinata said before standing up and slamming the door behind her.

Videl pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry, Ino. She's been acting like a royal bitch for the last week and I don't know why."

"It's fine. She is right, I do date a lot. Ever since Sasuke left and I started realizing how important my clan duties were... I guess I wanted to have some fun." The Yamanaka heir admitted.

"That's not the point. She's been raging towards anyone with an opinion, shinobi and civilian alike. Ask anyone in the village and they'll tell you."

"I think I know why." Ino said. "She's still torn up about losing Naruto to Sakura. What made it worse was to hear Naruto reject her over the sphere in the most humiliating way possible. Then for Kiba to admit his feelings for her for the whole village to see and hear just made her snap." Ino explained.

"So this whole thing is over a fucking boy? Really? I'm sorry, but that's not a good enough excuse." Videl countered.

"I agree, but what can you do." Tenten added.

"Beat her senseless?" Videl said sarcastically.

"Videl..." Ino said in annoyance.

"I know… She's just getting on my nerves is all."

"I think Videl may be on to something." Temari said.

"What?" Ino and Tenten asked in confusion.

"Videl. Take Hinata to the gravity room and train her hard. She needs to vent in some way or another, and see if you can get her to talk." Temari suggested.

"She's already been training night and day. Ever since she couldn't get with Naruto. Honestly, she just needs so time to sort out her feelings." Ino said.

"Well getting smacked around in the gravity room should sort out her feelings right quick." Videl said, turning to follow after Hinata.

"Videl, no! If you go out there and confront her anger with brute force, she is just going to lash out at you or break down completely." Ino warned, she had stepped in between Videl and the door.

"Well then what do you suggest?" Videl asked.

"If you want to deal with her now…then you would need to redirect her anger." Ino stated, her years of mental health finally coming into play. Videl pondered Ino's words for a moment until she came to her conclusion.

"I think I know just what to do." Videl said.

Videl turned on her heel and walked out of the door, not waiting for Ino or anyone else's response. It didn't take long for her to find Hinata, who was sulking on a park bench. Videl slowly walked up to the bench that Hinata was sitting on. Hinata paid her no mind as Videl took a seat next to her.

"Hey, Hinata." Videl spoke softly.

"Go away..." Hinata said softly. Her face buried in her knees.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier... I was out of line... You've been going through hell this last week and a half and I had no place in judging you."

"No, I was out of line too. Everyone else got embarrassed as well. It's just..."

Videl put a comforting hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"You don't need to tell me if it hurts. But if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you." Videl said softly. The Hyuga girl looked at the half Saiyan with tears in her eyes.

"No you're right. I need to talk about it, I just don't know how."

"Just say whatever is on your mind. I won't judge you." Videl said as she lightly squeezed Hinata's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"But that's just it. All I can think of is my family being disappointed in me and Naruto rejecting me." Hinata sobbed into the Saiyan woman's shirt. "H-how could he say things like that about me? I-I've b-been nothing but kind to him over the years, I thought…" She was cut off by Videl wrapping her in the most comforting hug she could give, being mindful of her superior raw strength to the blue haired girl.

"You really do love him, don't you?" Videl asked about Naruto.

"I honestly don't know anymore…" Hinata whispered. Videl was not expecting this.

"Really?"

"I mean…I've watched him for so long. I admired him, I wanted to be just like him. So I silently cheered him on from afar. I prayed that one day I would always be someone who would stand by his side. I thought that was love, but apparently I was a fool for thinking he would ever just give me a chance." Hinata cried.

Videl was now dreading this next question.

"Hinata, how do you feel about Kiba, honestly?" Videl asked softly. The question shocked the weeping Hyuga girl, that Videl would bring up Kiba again…

Hinata looked across the pathway to a certain tree only she could distinguish given its sentimental value to herself and her team. A memory flashed in her head of sitting at the base of that tree with Shino while Kiba chased Akamaru around and around that tree for hours. It was one of her more precious memories of her teammates, and of Kiba.

"He's...he's been my teammate for years. I always thought of him as a brother. Always so confident and speaking his mind. I envied that about him."

"That is an admirable trait to a point. But sometimes, his mouth gets him into trouble. I'm sure you can agree with that." Videl said with a light laugh.

Hinata giggled. "You have no idea. Shino and I had to drag him away from a mission once so that he wouldn't bad mouth the mayor's son any further and they'd refund our commission."

"That sounds about right." Videl chuckled.

"He was always supporting me with my love for Naruto. Always covering for me when I was late to practice because I... never mind."

"Don't worry about that last part." Videl waved off. "But after learning how he truly feels about you, how do you feel now?"

"What am I supposed to say? This is all so sudden. Do I have to return his feelings now that he has publicly confessed like that?" Hinata asked.

"No." Videl admitted. "But I would think that you of all people would know what it feels like to have unrequited love so you would know how much he would appreciate a chance." Videl wisely stated.

Hinata looked like a deer in the headlights after hearing Videl's words.

Videl stood up from the bench, gave Hinata a hug goodnight, and left the former Hyuga heir with her thoughts.

* * *

 **Samuraipanda85: cmartinHFD, what does the scouter say about Legacy's view count?  
cmartinHFD: Hold on let me check. *Looks at views counter* It's... It's...  
Samuraipanda85: Over 9,000?  
cmartinHFD: It's over 8000!  
Samuraipanda85: Fuckin' manga purist.  
cmartinHFD: No, seriously! That's the view count!  
Samuraipanda85: Really? That wasn't just a joke? Huh, thought it was higher than that.  
cmartinHFD: To have it that high is still nothing short of awesome.  
Samuraipanda85: Very true. We should thank our readers somehow. Let them know we appreciate the support they have given us. From simple reviews, PMs, and watching our favorite and follow counts rise; it puts a smile on our faces.  
cmartinHFD: Yes, seeing as they might hate us later for being so busy. But they'll be happy to know that the next chapter is already written and will be up in a few days.  
Samuraipanda85: They're an understanding bunch. To not freak out when they know we are only withholding the next chapter to maximize the traffic to our story.  
cmartinHFD: One would hope. Anyway folks. read, rate and review. fav and fallow as well and stay tuned. The next chapter will be out shortly. Then after that will be a long pause due to our rather busy schedule.  
Samuraipanda85: Pray for me. It is do or die Finals Week.  
cmartinHFD: Yes please do. Plus I need to get more hours at work and start looking for another job.  
Samuraipanda85: Tough times all around. Thanks for reading and stay dry out there.**


	17. Chapter 17: Gods and Immortals

It was 8 o clock the next morning. Gohan and Videl were outside the Hokage Tower waiting to greet their newly assigned teammates: Asuma and Ino.

Neither one of the couple had gotten much sleep last night. From dealing with the never ending love triangles that all former genin teams seemed to have, to the ramifications of trying to deceive the Hokage. Both of them were feeling the weight of that damn Sphere weighing down on them.

"Yo!" Cried a voice. Gohan and Videl looked back to see the tired looking faces of the remaining half of Team 10.

"Hey Ino." Gohan called.

"Hey Asuma-sensei. How you two doing this morning?" Videl asked

"Oh I'm fine..." Ino said simply, much to the concern of the two Saiyan's. They hadn't known Ino long, but even they knew she was never this quiet.

"Don't mind her. She's been like this all morning." Asuma commented. Both the Saiyan's nodded, all of them knew the reason why, no need to dwell on it.

"So." Asuma clapped his hands, waking everybody up. "Introductions: as is customary for every newly formed team."

"I thought you came over for gravity training?" Videl asked.

"I did, but play along." Asuma chuckled while lighting himself his second cigarette of the day. "Since two of my men are currently...ah...occupied." Asuma said as even now if he looked up he would see Shikamaru and Choji gasping for air as they tried to keep pace with the rest of their squad still running on Snake Way. "There is a good chance that the four of us will be working together for quite some time. So think of it as a christening to the new squad."

"Fair enough." Videl said. "I'm Videl Satan... er, well... Might as well be Videl Son at this point." Videl stated and Asuma raised an eyebrow at the girl.

 _'Kids these days.'_ He joked to himself.

"Alright, next." Asuma said, directing his attention to the only other male of the group.

"I'm Gohan Son." Gohan stated plainly, still half asleep.

Asuma nodded, taking another drag of his cancer stick. "And finally..." All eyes turned to the only other veteran of Team Asuma.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka." The platinum blond said softly, just barely smiling.

Asuma took another long drag of his cigarette and exhaled the thick smoke. "And I am Asuma Sarutobi, nice to meet ya."

"Wait, Sarutobi? Any relation to Konohamaru and the Third Hokage?" Videl asked. She never really knew his last name.

The bearded ninja took another puff while looking up in thought. "I would be his uncle and son, respectively."

"Wow... Awesome..." Videl whispered out. She respected Hiruzen from the stories she's read and heard about the great man and to find out that Asuma is his son made her star struck.

"Before we get started, there is something you need to know." Gohan started. "Videl is about 2 months pregnant so we all need to keep that in mind."

Asuma nodded. "I got a brief summary from Lady Tsunade on Videl's medical condition. Even so, Lady Tsunade has declared her fit for duty and if there is one medical opinion you can trust it would be our very own Slug Princess. So as long as Videl feels up to it, she will be joining us on missions."

"I'm more than up for it. Gohan just worries too much about me." Videl said

Asuma nodded. "Good to hear. I'm not one for allowing my team to drag their feet, no matter what you might hear. I expect you to carry your weight while on this team. Is that understood?"

"Of course. I've gotten a lot stronger since I've been here." Videl said with confidence.

"Remember, Videl. Act as a team player on this. I don't need to remind you about your last mission." Gohan warned.

"Yes, mother..." Videl groaned.

"That goes double for you too, Gohan." Asuma reprimanded. "From what I've heard, you've got more than your fair share of power, but not enough team experience for you to be pointing fingers." Asuma took another drag.

"Maybe not here because I haven't been on any missions. Technically I'm not a ninja, but I'll do my best." Gohan stated.

"Heh, well don't you worry your pretty little head. There's a reason I was chosen to train up the next generation of the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho Trio. I run a tight ship when it comes to teamwork, as you will learn that very quickly." Asuma stated, his cigarette almost burnt out.

"It wasn't a mistake that I was chosen to give you two your crash course in teamwork either."

"I had the basics of teamwork hammered into my skull since I was four years old by my sensei, Piccolo and my dad. None of it has been put to use here yet, but I want to make you proud." Gohan said with a smile.

"I've always been a solo fighter. Sadly, the last mission I was on proved to me that I need to change tactics. I barely made it out alive when I faced Orochimaru and killed him. I want to change that." Videl said with determination.

Asuma raised an eyebrow looking back and forth between the two Saiyan's _. 'One's pretty cocky and the other needs a confidence boost. Nice dynamic, let's see if we can put it to good use.'_ He thought to himself.

"Alright then, we're needed inside for the briefing. Don't want to have Gohan here pull a Kakashi on his first day, right?" He joked.

Asuma dropped his cigarette butt and stepped on it as he walked towards the building's entrance.

"Come on, Gohan. Let's go." Videl said as she and her fiancé followed the remaining members of team Asuma

Once inside, they sat down at their predetermined table surrounded by at least two dozen other teams of chunin and jounin. Most were minding their own business and chatting amongst themselves, but some were taking passing glances at the newest members of Team Asuma.

 _'Why are they staring at us, Gohan?'_ Videl thought into Gohan's mind.

 _'Don't worry about it. There are no ill intentions from any of them. They are merely curious about what we can do.'_ Gohan assured.

 _'I almost feel like pulling a Naruto right now.'_ Videl thought.

 _'That wouldn't be a wise move. We're both on thin ice according to Tsunade. She also said that if we don't do this mission correctly, we'll get kicked out of the village.'_ Gohan thought grimly.

' _Are you serious?!'_ Videl thought in a worried tone.

"Attention!" An ANBU guard called. Instantly, all 112 Shinobi stood straight up in attention, save for two who scrambled to join their brethren. 'Damn it.' Gohan and Videl thought.

Behind them they could hear snickering coming from the other men and they could feel the disapproving gaze of the ANBU Captain on deck.

Tsunade walked through the door wearing her Hokage hat and looking very authoritative. Once at the podium she stopped and placed her hat down on the stand.

"At ease." She called.

Over one hundred sandals relaxed to a more comfortable position.

"I'll get right to it since we have already lost a day of preparations due to certain...events." Tsunade began. No one needed clearance on what she meant by "events". The only reason they were having the briefing indoors was to prevent the ninjas from being distracted by the Sphere hanging overhead.

"4 days ago: the nearby Fire Temple was raided by what was reported to be two men, men from Akatsuki." Tsunade let that knowledge hang in the air to highlight the gravity of their assignment. Several young ninjas gulped.

"The warrior monks inside were massacred. One of the surviving monks who fled to give us this information reports that almost no one survived."

"Those bastards..." Gohan said barely above a whisper as his anger rose...

All around him, similar thoughts were being muttered.

 _'Gohan, stay calm. We'll take care of them.'_ Videl comforted.

"With traditional ANBU forces unable to pinpoint the trail of these two Akatsuki members, I am calling upon you 28 squads to scour the country side and succeed with quantity where quality has failed. Each squad has been assigned a section of the countryside and a list of villages to prioritize their search with. This can be found in the dossier provided, as well as more extensive detailing of what Intel we have on these two rogue ninjas." The Fifth Hokage held up a copy of the dossier in question.

"Any questions?" Tsunade asked. Her eyes scanning the room and she turned her attention towards her most infamous ninja in the room. "Yes, Gohan?"

"What are we to do when we encounter them." Gohan asked, not liking the possible answer. He hated to fight, but would if needed. He also hated to kill, but will if he had to.

"The standing orders for encouraging Akatsuki members still apply. They are highly dangerous individuals. Fight to kill, but capture if possible."

Gohan dreaded that answer, but based on the report he heard about them killing hundreds in innocent people made him set aside his personal feelings.

"Understood." Gohan stated.

"Any other questions?" Tsunade asked.

This time it was Asuma who stood up. "Is it true that Chiriku was killed I'm the attack on the temple?" Asuma asked.

"The intel we have on who was killed is limited, so I couldn't tell you for certain, Asuma." Tsunade said plainly.

Asuma looked downtrodden but accepted the answer. Ino, even in her own oblivious state, noticed something was wrong.

When no one else spoke up, Tsunade took it as a sign to end the meeting.

"Dismissed." Tsunade called. She returned the Hokage hat to its rightful place atop her head and turned to leave.

"Attention!" The ANBU barked again. This time Gohan and Videl kept the pace with every other Leaf ninja. As soon as the Hokage left the room, the ninjas were allowed to relax. One by one they dispersed to begin their individual missions.

Once outside, Gohan approached Asuma from behind.

"Mr. Sarutobi. Who is Chiriku?" Gohan asked politely as they walked outside towards the front gate.

Asuma pulled out his lighter to start up a fresh cigarette but seemed to change his mind at the last minute.

"An old friend." He said.

"That's not cryptic." Videl muttered.

"Videl, be respectful." Gohan scolded.

"Sorry... Didn't mean for it to come out that way." Videl apologized.

"It's alright. It's just that Chiriku was from a part of my life I'm not used to talking about. If he is dead..." Asuma stopped, deep in thought.

Gohan scanned a 1000-mile perimeter around the Leaf Village. There were high power levels all over the place, but there was two moving at a slow pace that were above the others. There was a third, but it quickly faded away to where Gohan couldn't sense it anymore.

 _'I'm sorry, Asuma.'_ Gohan thought to himself sadly.

"I'm sure we'll find him alive." Videl said.

Asuma didn't respond.

"Asuma sensei?" Ino asked.

"Hmmm, what? Oh yes, I'm sure you're right Videl." Asuma gave a small smile.

Before they walked out of the gate, Gohan pulled out his senzu bean bag.

"I would like everyone to have some of these on hand, just in case. I have 8 beans total, so two a piece." Gohan stated as he handed two to Videl and two to Ino. It was then that Asuma looked at the offering questioningly.

"So these are the famous senzu beans I've heard so much about?" He said taking one between his thumb and index finger and examining it.

"What have you heard?" Gohan asked.

"A lot of things. The Jounin and Chunin are calling it a wonder drug. A few medics are saying it will put them all out of business. And the Akimichi are saying it is bland and tasteless."

"Well, I don't think it would put the medics out of business. Gohan is training to be a medic as well and he donates beans when a new batch grows to apply it to soldier pills." Videl explained.

"It does heal all of your injuries and restores your energy and stamina." Gohan added.

"Incredible. This'll come in very useful I'm sure." Asuma said.

"More times than not, I assure you." Gohan said. "The only problem we ever had with them was running out. So use them sparingly."

"Sparingly? From what I've seen you hand these out like popcorn." Ino said.

"Yes, but this is the last of the latest batch. Granted they do seem to grow a lot faster here than at home, but this is all there is until the next batch comes in." Gohan said.

"And when will that be?" Asuma asked.

"Two weeks." Gohan said. "They usually take 3 months, so that time frame is nothing short of amazing." Gohan added

"So 8 beans to last us 2 weeks? Let's pray these Akatsuki members are push overs." Asuma joked.

"I can sense them form here. At least I think that's who they are. Their energy is very dark. One seems limitless, while the other seems strange." Videl said.

"You can sense them? Where exactly are they?" Asuma asked while stopping to pull out their map.

"I can't pinpoint them exactly, but they seem to be about 80 miles to the south west of here and moving east at a slow pace." Videl said as she looked at the map and cross checking it with her senses.

"I sensed them too. Videl is right on the money about the location, direction and speed. But the problem is, it would take us a day to get there with your speed, Asuma. No offense."

"None taken." Asuma said while filling out a quick intelligence report. He unraveled another scroll and summoned a tiny messenger bird no larger than a sparrow. He tied the message to the bird and made a hand sign. A puff of smoke went off and in the bird's place we're now 12 identical birds. Without waiting for orders, the 12 messenger birds sped off in 12 different directions.

"That should let the squads in our immediate area know about where to look for the Akatsuki. I've also sent one to the Leaf to let command know of the change in orders."

"Now the question is, how fast do you want to get there?" Videl asked.

"Not fast at all. We are still on route to the Fire Temple." Asuma said, resuming his walk towards the direction they were already headed.

"But if we know where-" Videl started before being cut off by Gohan.

"Just drop it Videl. He's in charge, let him make the decision." Gohan said quietly.

Videl nodded. "Never mind."

"Very good Gohan, respecting the chain of command. But you would also do well not to blindly trust my judgment as Videl just did and ask why." Asuma chuckled. "To answer your question Videl. We are still going to the Temple to gather more intelligence on our enemies. See if there is anything new the survivors can tell us...or the dead." Asuma explained.

"Okay. I can help with that." Videl said confidently.

Gohan chuckled. "Videl was as close to a detective as one could be back home. She is also a damn fine forensics expert thanks to working on Satan City Police Department. If anyone can gain information, she can." Gohan said. He loved bragging about the love of his life. While yes he was bragging a bit, explaining this would be helpful in the long run.

"Perfect. We should be arriving in the hour. So let's pick up the pace." Asuma ordered. The three Shinobi nodded in agreement and the four of the took off sprinting through the forest.

Videl, Gohan and Ino were mindful to keep at a pace where Asuma could keep up. Asuma had only trained up to 15x gravity, whereas Videl was at 200x, Ino was at 110x and Gohan is at 500x. Their speed greatly overshadowed Asuma's, but he wanted to stay at a pace more humanly possible.

It wasn't long before the four of them arrived at what was left of the fire temple. The temple was in ruins and bodies were littered everywhere.

"My god..." Videl whispered out.

Ino was in a similar frame of mind having never seen such utter slaughter before in her time as a ninja.

Asuma and Gohan however...this was nothing new.

"I think the first thing we should do is look for survivors." Gohan suggested.

"No need." Asuma said walking into the courtyard, past the dead bodies that littered the cobblestone pathways.

Unsure of what he was thinking, Gohan and rest followed close behind him.

Asuma walked right up to the great Temple doors and pushed them open.

He muttered a quick prayer and took off his sandals before entering.

Gohan, Videl and Ino followed suit and removed their footwear. They stopped when they heard a sudden thud and look to see it was Gohan taking of his boots.

"Sorry. Weighted shoes." Gohan said sheepishly.

Asuma ignored his disruption and opened the doors to another room where could be heard chanting. Inside were three monks all gathered together in deep meditative prayer, their legs crossed and their palms clapped together. The one in the middle was clearly the elder and the leader judging by his more elaborate robes and his long beard. While the two other monks wore the same simpler robes. Each was softly chanting the same prayer in a language none of the intruding ninjas could understand. They did not move, even when the wind blowing in snuffed out half the candles that the monks had no doubt placed before the alter: a tall wooden statue of a man sitting in a similar pose as the monks, but while holding a staff with rings on one end and a crescent moon shape on the other.

"I couldn't even sense them until the doors open. Is there some kind of Genjutsu put up to block out their Chakra signatures?" Videl asked

"No, that's not it." Asuma said. "They wouldn't use genjutsu on sacred grounds like this. More likely the surviving monks were so deep in prayer that neither of you could sense them."

"I see. Kind of like a meditative like trance." Videl concluded.

"Exactly. It's actually a technique they teach among sensor ninjas to help them conceal their chakra from being sensed."

"Huh... I could learn a lot from them then. My sensory abilities are already better than anyone in the Leaf, but it wouldn't hurt to learn more." Videl thought out loud.

"Maybe some other time. As soon as they finish their mid-morning prayer we shall question them and head out." Asuma commanded.

"You know we can hear you right?" One of the lesser monks said.

"I'm sorry. we didn't mean to be loud." Videl said, bowing her head in embarrassment.

"It is alright, my child. I can sense that you are foreign, you and your lover, you would not be familiar with our ways." The elder monk spoke without breaking his meditative stance.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir." Gohan said as he and the others bowed.

"As it is to welcome newcomers to our monetary. However unfortunate that you had to gaze upon it in such disarray."

"That's why we're here, sir. We wanna catch the ones responsible." Videl said calmly.

"Is Chiriku still alive?" Asuma asked with great concern.

"Chiriku? No, he was killed by the demons who came to our temple. He was the first to fight them and one of the last to fall to their hands. Cast like his 1,800 brethren from our impure world to the pure world." The elder said sadly.

"What's worse is those bastards took Chiriku's body. Now we cannot even perform his last rites to ensure his soul finds the pure world." The lesser monk spoke.

"Hush Jihiro, and recite the names." The elder monk spoke.

"Yes, father." Jihiro said, returning to his prayers.

"1,800... Those filthy, rotten..." Gohan growled as his hair flashed from black to gold repeatedly.

"Gohan! Calm down... I'm just as upset as you are, but we need to focus on the here and now and find these bastards." Videl soothed. "The more information we get here, the better we can help them."

Gohan calmed down enough that his hair stopped flashing, but his eyes remained teal as he was still dealing with a massive amount of anger. This short outburst did not go unnoticed by the many of the sensory type warriors there as well as the elder.

"Sorry about that." Gohan said quietly.

"I'm sorry young man but I must ask you to leave. Your anger is disrupting the prayers."

"I understand. Just know that I want to help in any way possible for the lives lost." Gohan said sadly as he made his way to the door after bowing to the elder again.

"Elder, we come seeking knowledge on the men who attacked this temple, so we could better understand them and bring justice to your brethren." Asuma said.

"Very well, let us finish our prayer and we shall tell you all that we can."

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan wandered around the temple interior looking at all the various art works and statues.

"This is really well done." Gohan said softly.

"You like it?" Came a tiny voice.

Gohan looked over to see a young monk.

"I like it a lot. Who made this? Did you make this?" Gohan asked brightly

"Oh me? No, I just got here a year ago. The statues here were made over a 1000 years ago. At least that's what my teacher tells me." The young boy explained.

"Hey, do you wanna see my favorite statues?" The boy asked with childlike glee.

Gohan smiled. "Sure. Art always puts me in a better mood." Gohan said with a smile.

"Was that you I sensed a moment ago?" The boy asked.

Gohan nodded. "Yea, I got angry that the people who came here did such a terrible thing to your brethren. I'm better now though."

"Why are you angry? I thought the point of being a monk was to go to Heaven, at least that is what some of my brothers have told me. And now all my brothers get to go to Heaven. Isn't that a good thing?" The little monk asked.

"I'm angry that these people took their lives needlessly. But you are right. I'm sure they are happy where they are now." Gohan said softly.

"Yeah, so don't be angry big brother." The young monk sang. As he skipped around the halls. A rare treat since none of the disciplinary monks were around to catch him.

"What's your name?" Gohan asked

"My name? Hokoto. What's your name, Gohan?"

"Yes. MY names Gohan. How did you know?"

"I overheard you talking to the other newcomers. I just wanted to make sure." Hokoto smiled.

"You're pretty sharp. My friends and I are here to investigate what went on here so we can catch the people who did this."

The boy didn't seem to be paying attention and happily ran around the corner into another grand room. "Here it is!"

Gohan walked in on two of the most impressive statues he had ever seen.

On two sides of the room were two men carrying weapons and each brandishing one half of a hand sign in their free hand that Gohan didn't recognize.

The man on the right had hair so spiky it looked like he had horns. He was wearing a headband and his weapon was a staff with a circle on the end and rings hanging off of it.

On the left, the other man had longer hair with a staff with its end shaped like a crescent moon as his primary weapon. The detailing on both the statues was impeccable, so much that Gohan could make out the ring shaped pattern on the left statues eyes.

Both statues looked like they were carved from polished wood instead of any stone and the two figures appeared locked in epic combat with one another.

"Wow... This is amazing" Gohan breathed out.

"I know right?" The boy exclaimed, excited that he had a fellow to appreciate how cool this statue looked.

"Who are the people in this?" Gohan asked

"Indra and Ashura, I think. Their names are so hard to remember." Hokoto explained.

Gohan then noticed a smaller statue near Ashura that looked like a young female.

"Who is that? and how come she is only near one of them?" Gohan asked.

"No idea. The teachers don't ever talk about that one."

"Indra and Ashura... Who are they?" Gohan asked.

"I think the teacher said they were the sons of the Sage of Six Paths. The teacher who banished the demons and taught ninshuu to the people. What you ninjas call ninjutsu nowadays."

"Oh, I'm not a ninja. I was drafted because I'm the strongest fighter in the Leaf." Gohan explained. "My fiancé would understand more though."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "So you're a thug?"

"What? No, I lead a team of global peace keepers who fight off potential planet wide threats. Honestly, I'm no thug." Gohan defended.

"But you aren't a ninja and my teachers told me that only ninjas from the ninja villages are allowed to kill without sin. Have you ever killed anybody?"

Gohan looked away from the boy as he grew sad. "Not here I haven't... You may not understand this, but I'm from a different universe. There was one person I had to kill, but this person had great power, greater than my own. He threatened to blow up my world if me and my friends couldn't stop him. Eventually, I was successful in ending his life, but it cost my father his own life. I saved my world from destruction, but after my father paid the ultimate price. He always taught me never to kill unless I was left with no other option. This was that time..."

The boy tilted his head to the side in awe and confusion.

"I know it's hard to understand... My fiancé and myself were brought here by a scientific accident. It is a little hard to explain." Gohan said as he looked back at the boy, now with a single tear streaming down his face and he wiped it off.

"It's not as hard to understand as you may think." An elderly voice came from behind Gohan. Gohan turned around to see the elder monk, Videl, Ino and Asuma.

"I know of the plight you and your lover are going through. I also know of the kind of hero your world used to have. I believe you were brought here by divine intervention because our world is in trouble. Perhaps not on the scale you once faced." The elder wisely said.

"How do you know?" Gohan asked.

"Years of self-discipline and meditation have opened my senses to a great many things. That and I had a nice long chat with your fiancé." The old man chuckled.

"Well that explains it. Could I ask of you to explain the figures of this statue?" Gohan asked.

"Ah yes, you mean the brothers Indra and Ashura."

"Yes and this third figure here. who is that?" Gohan asked. "Who were they in life?"

"I am afraid even I don't know the identity of the third statue." The monk admitted. "That knowledge has been lost over time."

"I see..." Gohan said. He figured he would study about it at a later time to find out more.

"Gohan is an aspiring scholar, or at least, his mother tried to mold him into one. Anything new to learn excites him and if there is lost knowledge, he'll make it his life's work to find it." Videl said.

Realizing that Gohan wouldn't be satisfied with his simple explanation, the monk continued on. "Some believe that the third statue was meant to represent the common man. It is said that Ashura was a leader and champion to the many people of the world. He wished to share his father's teaching with all of mankind. His brother Indra however, was an isolated deity. He believed that he alone deserved to wield the power of ninshuu." The monk explained.

"Well, the reason I ask is that the woman here seems to have some significant importance if she was included in the statue." Gohan said. Then, upon closer examination, he saw markings on the woman's dress that were strikingly familiar to some he's seen before. He also saw that the woman was holding onto a child that looked remarkably identical to the man she was standing under.

"I think she is this man's wife." Gohan theorized.

"I am sorry but you are mistaken. The great Lord Ashura was a demigod who practiced abstinence. He would have no children. He was a teacher, not a father."

Gohan wanted to protest, but he put it aside for now. he knew that this woman had to be the wife of this Ashura and that the child she was holding was definitely theirs. There were far too many resemblances for it not to be.

 _'I'll do my own research. Surely there is something somewhere that would have information about thi-WAIT! I can ask him myself through other world later!'_ Gohan decided. But now, he wanted to know more about the two men in the stature.

"You said that Ashura is a demigod. The other one is Indra correct?" The elder nodded. "Was he a demigod as well?"

"Of course, they were brothers." The monk said.

"I assume they must not have liked each other if they look like they were ready to fight each other." Gohan added.

"That is correct. The legend goes that their feud tore the great house of the Sage of Six Paths in two."

"Sounds like Naruto and Sasuke to me." Ino pointed out.

"Naruto thinks Sasuke as his brother. Why would either one hate the other?" Videl inquired

"No one is certain." The elder monk said.

"Maybe one of them took the other brother's food." The youngest monk piped up. All eyes turned to the little pipsqueak. "I remember I got really mad when Jin took my food on salmon night. Salmon is my favorite." Hokoto explained. The elder monk ruffled the young boy's hair. "That very well could be the case young one." The elder laughed.

"Do you have scrolls or books I can borrow to study at a later time? I don't want to keep you or the rest of my team any further." Gohan asked politely.

"You cannot take the scrolls out of our archives I'm afraid. But you are more than welcome to come back and visit us again. We could use more monks now that...well."

"I would be honored." Gohan said with a bow.

"You would have to practice abstinence as is custom to our order though." The elder said.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." Videl pointed out. "I'm already pregnant with his children."

"I know; I was making a joke." The elder chuckled at the two Saiyan's expense. "You may come back whenever you wish."

 _'Phew...'_ Gohan thought as he mentally wiped sweat from his brow.

 _'I hear ya. I would kill you if you took that vow.'_ Videl thought into Gohan's mind.

"Thank you, sir." Gohan said respectfully.

 _'Hmm... Maybe my initial judgement of Gohan was a bit off?'_ Asuma thought.

"Ok, we've wasted enough time as it is. We're moving out." Asuma called.

"Wait, before you go you must stay to let us pray for you." The elder commanded.

 _'More praying... really?'_ Videl thought.

 _'It won't be that bad.'_ Gohan stated into Videl's mind.

 _'We know who the real gods are, why bother?'_ Videl defended.

 _'Just do it.'_ Gohan thought in annoyance.

Videl, not one to like being commanded to do something, grumbled and did as she was told.

The three monks gathered close together and clapped their hands together in prayer. 3 minutes of soft chanting later and they were done.

"It is done." The head monk said. "Good luck to all of you." The group of ninjas nodded. As Asuma stepped forward to bow in thanks to the head monk he noticed something peculiar. "Excuse me sir, but that sash on your waist."

Gohan and Videl's attention was drawn to the triangle shaped sash on Asuma's waist with the symbol for fire on it in red lettering.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Videl asked.

"It is the symbol of 12 Guardians." Ino spoke up. Asuma looked at her, astonished that she would know that. "I asked Kurenai sensei about it once. She didn't tell me much about it. Just that you were once one of the personal guards to the Fire Daimyo."

"Woah, cool!" Videl said.

"It wasn't a big deal." Asuma said sheepishly.

"Seems like a pretty big deal to me if you were a personal guard to the Fire Daimyo." Gohan stated.

Before Asuma could retort, the elder monk interrupted him. "That's where I recognized the symbol. Chiriku was also a member of your infamous group before coming into the brotherhood. It explains why he wanted to abolish himself of his sins."

"He was always the most zealous guy of the group." Asuma reminisced.

"But why would they take his body?" Ino asked.

"The Akatsuki are mercenaries, aren't they? Did Chiriku have a bounty on him?" Videl inquired.

"Yes. 30 million ryo last I checked." Asuma said.

"Then its highly possible they are heading for a collection office." Gohan concluded.

"I can still sense them. Let me see the map and check to see where there might be a collection office nearest to them." Videl said.

Asuma unfolded the map and placed it on the ground.

Videl looked over the map closely and checked her senses. The problem is, she didn't know her bearings.

"Give me a second." Videl said as she powered up to the first stage of Kaioken and flew straight up with the map in hand. She flew up until she was a mile above the ground. She looked at the landscape and then the map and then back again. She adjusted her senses to find the Akatsuki members and placed them appropriately.

"There you are." Videl said with a smirk. Folding the map back up, she descended rapidly back to her previous location and landed softly in front of her team.

"Needed a better layout. I now know where they are exactly. I marked it on the map to which office they are heading for." Videl said as she handed the map to a stunned Asuma.

"Alright, let's go!" Asuma turned around to leave.

"Be careful out there." The old man said worriedly.

"Don't you worry about me. I've got 5 million more ryo on my own bounty than Chiriku."

Asuma leapt off into the trees towards the collection office, the rest of his squad followed closely behind him.

"We're gonna have to go faster if we want to get them before they turn over Chiriku's body." Gohan said.

"It's been four days already. We'll be lucky to catch them in the act." Videl called out.

"Not if we fly. Asuma, If Videl and I carried you an Ino, we'll be there in less than a minute." Gohan suggested.

"Do it." Asuma said.

Gohan picked up Asuma and flashed into super Saiyan. Videl grabbed Ino and raised her power up to Kaioken times 5. Both Gohan and Videl took to the air above the trees and took off as fast as they could go at their levels, far exceeding the sound barrier.

"THIS IS INSANE! HOW FAST ARE YOU TWO?!" Ino yelled.

"This is my top speed! Gohan is only about a quarter of his maximum speed!" Videl answered.

"Please don't go any faster." Ino said. "Humans weren't meant to travel this fast."

"My friend Krillin is Human and he's faster than Videl." Gohan pointed out.

"Cut the chatter. There is the collection office." Asuma stated as it rapidly came into view

Once the office came into full view, Gohan and Videl powered down and landed on the roof of the building.

"They're about a quarter mile out. We overshot them, but are heading this way." Gohan stated as he set Asuma back on his feet.

Videl set down a now green looking Ino.

"I think I'm going to puke..." Ino said weakly.

"Sorry about that, Ino. We kinda needed to get here fast." Videl said sheepishly, only to hear the sound of Ino losing her lunch on the roof.

"Ino, hush up. Gohan, can you sense them?" Asuma says.

"Like I said they are about a quarter mile out and are coming this way. This will give us some time to think of a strategy." Gohan said.

Ino wiped the bile from her mouth in order to join the group discussion.

"Classic snatch and grab. These collection offices have one entrance and one exit to avoid arousing suspicion. We wait here, keep our chakras hidden and wait for an opportunity." Asuma said.

"Got it." Videl and Gohan stated. Ino just nodded.

"Hey Asuma. I got something I think you would like to hear." Gohan said with a soft smile. "It's about Chiriku. It can wait if you want."

"What?"

"King Kai, a God from our realm, said that Chiriku is on his way to further his training in the afterlife in peace. The other monks are currently on their way to heaven as they wanted. I thought you would like to know that." Gohan said softly.

"It's a comforting, but not what's important right now." Asuma said. "Thank you."

"Anytime. Now, I think what would be best is you to know the skills Videl and I have so we can coordinate a plan of attack should the worst come." Gohan suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. You should probably know all of mine and Ino's."

"I know a lot about Ino's and She knows just about all of mine and Videl's skills. I shared my memories with her." Gohan said.

"It's true." Ino confirmed.

"Anyway, all of my attacks are Ki based. They can cause a lot of damage if not used carefully. Then it's my martial arts skills which you have seen firsthand." Gohan said.

"Oh you can do that too? I thought it was a technique exclusive to the Yamanaka clan?" Asuma said.

"It's a Ki based skill I learned from my master." Gohan answered

"Very interesting."

"I have a very wide range of fire style jutsus. I can also use the Rasengan and if need be I can use Ki attacks." Videl stated.

"Sounds like you two are the undeniable powerhouses. Videl when we engage the enemy I want you to hang back with Ino. She usual runs support in our old squad. Videl, seeing as you are entering your second trimester is my math is right. Gohan you'll be fight on the front with me." Asuma ordered.

"Alright." Gohan said.

"Okay. I don't like it, but I'll do it." Videl stated sadly.

"I agree with Asuma, Videl. I know you're used to being on the front line, but this time I think it would be best to stay back from back up." Gohan insisted.

"Alright." Videl said.

"Oh, and I also have my Kekkei Genkai, I guess you can call it. You saw it as we flew here." Gohan added.

"Your ability to transform and exponentially increase your power? If that's the case, why don't you and Videl stay transformed all the time." Asuma inquired.

"I can, but Videl's transformation isn't our Kekkei Genkai. She doesn't have the ability to become a super Saiyan fully just yet. I stayed in my state for over a week so it's completely natural to me, except for the second form. Kaioken taxes your body too much to be used constantly." Gohan explained.

"Well still, why not go blond full time?" Asuma pressed.

"I could, but it would make it harder to mask my presence to those who can sense my energy." Gohan stated. "It's also more difficult to calm my aggression. Saiyans are a very aggressive species and this transformation bolsters that greatly." Gohan added

"Ah, that makes sense."

"You guys. I sense them. They're almost on top of us." Videl said quietly as two figures started to become visible.

"Get ready. And wait until I give the signal to move." Asuma commanded.

"Right." All three said.

Two figures soon appeared, both wearing long black trench coats with red clouds designed on them. One of them that was carrying Chiriku's corpse was wearing a black mask similar to Kakashi's. His exposed forearms were riddled with stitches. The other had his coat unzipped slightly and the gleam of a metal necklace could be seen sparkling in the sunlight. On his back was a blood red triple bladed scythe with a chain attaching the user to the wicked looking weapon.

"Kakuzu, why are we stopping here? This is a public bathroom and I can smell it from here... It smells like 3-month old shit and piss." One of the figures said.

"Keep quiet Hidan. We need to make a quick stop here and drop off this body for good." Replied the one called Kakuza.

"Ugh... fine... I'll wait outside." Hidan protested. "I ain't stepping inside that shithole and come out smelling like rotten piss."

"Suit yourself. I could use a break from your bitching and moaning." Kakuza said before entering the building, leaving Hidan behind to sit outside and wait.

"Yea fuck you too, asshole." Hidan protested. "Oh well, at least I can work on a tan."

 _'That one guy with the weird eyes is taking Chiriku inside. What do we do, Asuma?'_ Videl said over the mental link.

 _'We wait 2 minutes. If he doesn't come out by then we go for a sweeping pincher move and take out his partner. With luck, he won't even notice his partner is dead until we regroup and hide the body.'_ Asuma explained. _'I've sent word to the other nearby squads to head towards our area. So if the gods are truly smiling on us today, we should have a force here large enough to make even a member of the Akatsuki surrender.'_

 _'King Kai says he has nothing to do with this. He says we're more than enough to take them both out without much effort.'_ Gohan said.

 _'Yeah, well the day I put the mission success or the lives of my team into the hands of God is the day I put away my ninja tools and start praying.'_ Asuma replied. _'We stick to the plan and we take every precaution under my orders.'_

 _'I know. I'm just relaying what he said.'_ Gohan said.

 _'Tell God to get our reinforcements here in 3 minutes.'_

 _'What do I look like?! A messenger boy?! Tell them yourself!'_ King Kai yelled at Asuma.

 _'And that would be King Kai...'_ Videl said with annoyance.

 _'Holy shit he's real!'_ Asuma thought in surprise.

 _'OF COURSE I'M REAL YOU FOOL! WHO DO YOU THINK WATCHES OVER THOSE TWO HOTHEADED SAIYAN'S?!'_

 _'King Kai... Can you do this later? We kinda need to focus.'_ Gohan asked politely.

 _'Fine...'_ King Kai said as he closed his link with the group.

For a minute longer, Hidan just sat their picking his nose.

 _'Gohan, how fast can you move?'_ Asuma thought.

 _'Almost the speed of light.'_ Gohan said.

 _'Could you get behind the guy and subdue him in a full nelson?'_

 _'That's easy enough.'_ Gohan thought before getting ready to move.

 _'Hold on. Once you do that, be sure to lean back so I don't slice your neck too.'_

 _'You wouldn't be able to, but okay.'_ Gohan said. Before anyone could blink, Gohan phased out and re-materialized behind Hidan and got him into a hefty full nelson.

"What in the fuck?!" Hidan shouted.

Asuma leapt down right being Gohan with his trench knife infused in wind chakra. "What did I say about waiting on my go?!" Asuma shouted as he decapitated the hapless Akatsuki member in one quick swing. The rogue ninjas head went flying and his blood splattered everywhere. His body went limp in Gohan's arms.

"I thought you did say to go..." Gohan said in confusion.

"I didn't. I said hold on."

"Sorry..."

Asuma sighed heavily. "Don't worry about it. Just pay attention next time. At least we got one down."

"THAT FUCKING HURT!" A loud shrill voice bellowed out.

Gohan and Asuma looked over to see the head of Hidan glaring at his two attackers.

"How are you alive?!" Gohan exclaimed.

"You Idiot! I can't be killed! Do you think getting my head cut off would do me in?!" Hidan spat.

"Not unless you're immortal…" Gohan stated.

"Well news flash, retard! Thanks to my Lord Jashin, I AM Immortal!"

"A lot of good that does you with no body." Asuma stated smugly.

"You Pathetic Cow Fucker! You will burn in the fires of Lord Jashin's belly! I will personally deliver you to Jashin myself!"

"How? You have no extremities." Gohan pointed out.

"That's why I'm here." A deep voice sounded behind them.

A blast of fire came bursting out the doors of the rest stop. Melting away the glass and charring the dirt in its wake. Only by Asuma's gut feeling was he able to push Gohan and himself out of the way in time.

"The heck was that?" Gohan muttered as he looked over himself and Asuma.

"Fire jutsu. One of the most powerful and concentrated blasts I've ever seen. Keep your guard up." Asuma ordered as he drew his second trench knife and assumed his usual stance.

"Yeah. You got it." Gohan said as he got up and took his father's turtle stance.

"Kakuzu! Get your lazy ass out here and help me! These fuckers got the drop on me and cut my damn head off!" Hidan shouted.

"Hidan, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time..." The same deep voice bellowed as a figure emerged from the fire.

"Just shut up and help me, dammit!"

Kakuzu emerged from the fire and walked casually towards his partner and lifted Hidan's head up by his hair.

"Asuma. That one with the strange eyes. He's very strong. His energy is enormous. You won't be able to handle him alone." Gohan whispered.

"OWOWOWOW! That's my HAIR you Fucker!" Hidan protested loudly.

"I like you like this. You're lighter." Kakuzu said.

"Oh SHUT UP! Put me back on my body!"

"What about the other one?" Asuma whispered back to Gohan.

"He's immortal... so there's that." Gohan stated.

"Can you kill him?" Asuma asked.

"If I use a powerful enough Ki blast, I should be able to."

"Dammit that hurts!" Hidan protested as Kakuzu laced the immortals head back on his body.

"Quit your bitching. I'm almost done. There." Hidan then stood up and popped his neck a few times.

"Yea that's better... Now then... To dole out some revenge." Hidan said as he brought out his three bladed scythe.

"What's the plan, Asuma?" Gohan asked.

"We don't know much about what those two specialize in. You've got more long range fighting options so you take the masked guy with the creepy eyes. I'll take Mr. Immortal." _'Ino, get in contact with any nearby squads so they know what they are walking into. Videl, get ready to jump in when we know more about who we are fighting.'_

' _Got it.'_ The girls said over the mental link.

"Whenever you're ready, Asuma." Gohan stated, but Asuma had already taken off running.

"Do you see how annoying this is?!" Asuma shouted back.

"Alright, I get it... geez..." Gohan groaned as he phased out and made a sweep kick that knocked Kakuzu off his feet.

Gohan followed up with a swift and hard kick to Kakuzu's gut, sending him up in the air, only for Gohan to land a drop kick to the masked man's back and sent him crashing to the ground, leaving a massive crater in his wake.

Kakuzu slowly emerged from the crater and looked at his partner.

"Stay away from this one, Hidan. He is a lot stronger than he lets on." Kakuzu warned.

"Yeah, I'M BUSY!" Hidan shouted, as he was engaged in close quarters combat with Asuma. The two of them trading slashes, counters, and parries.

Gohan landed in front of the recovered Kakuzu. Gohan glared at the man as he remembered that these two were the ones who took so many innocent lives.

"Neither one of you will be leaving her alive. Not after the many lives you took." Gohan declared.

"Oh God, another one of those avenging types." Kakuzu said annoyed. Are you here to avenge the deaths from my most recent killings or just in general?"

"I kind of figured they weren't your first. Judging by how sinister your energy feels." Gohan growled.

"I can see in your eyes that you aren't the purest soul either. Not that it matters. I've learned in all my years what truly matters. Money."

Gohan clenched his fists as he gave Kakuzu the strongest killing intent the demon had ever seen. Nothing compared to it and he had been alive long enough to see many a man's killing intent.

"You... You killed all those people... just for money...?" Gohan growled, his eyes turning teal, which Kakuzu was quick to notice.

"Probably, my memory has gotten a little fuzzy over the years."

Suddenly, a hundred black tendrils burst out of the ground beneath Gohan and ensnared him. Subduing him long enough for Kakuzu to land a direct punch to the young Saiyan's face with his hardened fist.

Gohan ignored the tendrils as his rage grew larger. The ground started to shake, which was felt by both Hidan and Asuma.

"You... Monster..." Gohan growled as electricity surrounded him

"You're strong, boy. One of the strongest I've ever seen."

Gohan's hair started waving around as it slowly turned gold. A golden aura started forming around the demi Saiyan. Hidan and Asuma paused their fight and watch in awe at the raw power Gohan was throwing out.

"What the hell is he?!" Hidan yelled in shock.

"He's a dead man." Kakuzu said simply.

Gohan's aura sparked with electric energy. He had ascended to a Super Saiyan 2. Seeing the sparks fly, Kakuzu extended his left arm out in front of the saiyan. His limb visually contorted like it was trying to force something our and threw a slit in his hand a white mask appeared, starring directly into Gohan's face. The mask opened its mouth and a huge burst of wind chakra exploded out, knocking back everything within a hundred yards.

"Gohan!" Videl yelled, despite her better judgment.

The dust settled and Videl could hear her lover coughing. She could see him still kneeling there, still trapped in the grip of the tendrils. Only now he looked like he had just been through a sandstorm of broken glass. Tiny cuts dotted his face and chest, yet Kakuzu stood perfectly alright.

"That...hurt me?" Gohan sputtered.

"Interesting." Kakuzu said. "Turns out I was right."

"What?" Gohan asked, he could barely open his eyes his face hurt so bad.

"When I saw the electricity coming off or your body I knew it to be a lightning chakra based jutsu, surrounding your body and enhancing your muscles and reflexes. Turns out a strong wind based jutsu was just the thing need to inflict a good amount of damage on you, but not enough to kill you it seems...at least not quickly."

"This isn't Chakra or a jutsu." Gohan said as his power grew larger and his aura started swirling around him. He hadn't finished powering up when Kakuzu attacked. With a mighty yell, Gohan's power exploded and the tendrils that had once held onto Gohan were gone. A massive dome of golden light enveloped the area as Gohan's power up came to a conclusion. After a moment, the light subsided, showing a fully transformed Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.

"This is Ki. Nothing more." Gohan said darkly. He glared daggers at the man that attacked him. As it turned out, he and his partner were frozen in fear.

"I am so jumping his bones when we get back home." Videl said softly.

"For Sage's sake, Videl. We are in the middle of a battle." Ino said.

"Shit... Sorry. That slipped out..." Videl said, now blushing deeply.

"So... who dies first?" Gohan said as he looked at both Akatsuki members

"Well I can't die so..." Hidan said.

"I can fix that..." Gohan said, but before he did anything, he looked at Asuma to see if he would allow it.

Asuma made a face like, "go ahead".

That was all Gohan needed. He phased out and faster than anyone could see, he had Hidan held by his throat in an iron grip. Using his free hand, he snatched the scythe away and squeezed it until it snapped in two.

"Dick! That was a family heirloom!" Hidan shouted. "And by family heirloom, I mean I once impaled an entire family on it at the same time. Babies and all."

"You sick, twisted fuck..." Gohan growled and then tossed the man high into the air. Hidan screamed as he continued to flail around in the air.

Gohan lowered his body and cupped his hands by his side.

"Kaaaa...Meeeee... Haaaaa...Meeeee..." Gohan then phased out of his position and reappeared in front of Hidan, who wore a shocked expression to see the boy before him floating in the air.

"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan yelled as he thrust his hands forward and a blue beam of energy completely enveloped the immortal man.

Below, everyone watched in awe as a massive ball of blue energy lit up the afternoon sky like it was brighter than the sun. In nearby areas, the other ninja squads that were closing in on Asuma's team stopped and also saw the same massive sphere of blue energy light up the sky.

The sphere slowly turned into a beam that shot Hidan forward until he left the planet's atmosphere. From there the beam continued on until Gohan stopped the flow of energy to his attack.

"One down..." Gohan said before reappearing in front of the remaining Akatsuki member.

"Where is Hidan?" Kakuzu asked.

"In the next solar system by now." Gohan stated plainly. Causing a drop of sweat to run down the rogue ninja's forehead.

"Well then I need to even the odds don't I?" Kakuzu said.

Without warning, two explosions could be heard on the roof top where Ino and Videl were hiding.

The explosions had been two enormous monsters made of black tendrils and each sporting white masks similar to the one that had blasted Gohan earlier. They entangled Ino and Videl in their vines, capturing the two kunoichi.

"Videl!" Gohan yelled as he was blasted with another shot of wind chakra by Kakuzu. Who jumped to the rooftop to join his two chakra minions.

Videl ascended to times 3 Kaioken and incinerated the tendrils that entangled her and darted for Ino. The first place she hit on the monster was the mask, shattering it completely. To her surprise, the tendrils went limp and slowly turned into a goopy mess. Videl was able to extract Ino from the black goop and set her down next to Asuma.

"Are you alright, Ino?" Videl asked.

"Videl!" Gohan shouted as he emerged from the wind chakra, this time better for ware than the last.

"Get Ino and Asuma to safety! This is a battle that they can't win!" Gohan shouted, much to Asuma's protest.

"WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT HERE?! CHAIN OF COMMAND OR YOUR LIFE AND THE LIFE OF YOUR TEAMMATE?!" Gohan shouted, to which Asuma went silent and stared at the Saiyan under his command.

"If I don't stop this monster here and now, he'll come after you and Ino! He is far too powerful for you to handle!"

"That's not your call to make, Gohan! We fight as a team!" Asuma shouted back.

Before Gohan could respond, a bolt of lightning was fired at the Saiyan hitting him dead center in the chest and staggering him.

All eyes went up and the newest chakra minions that had appeared. It didn't last long though, as Asuma threw his wind chakra enhanced trench knife at the beast, hitting it dead center in the mask and splitting it in two. The chakra minion melted away.

"You were saying?" Asuma said will flipping his remaining trench knife around and extending the wind chakra like a sword.

Now Kakuzu was really worried. He was down to his wind chakra heart and his earth chakra heart. All against 4 powerful opponents.

The blond haired girl might give him less trouble, but the other three would definitely make up for it.

No choice, he'd have to make a tactical retreat. Unless Hidan was done hiding in the bushes after his substitution jutsu.

"Asuma sensei..." Videl started. "Gohan is worried about you and Ino and for good reason. He is riddled with guilt for not saving his father from a monster that attacked his world and so he feels that the more lives he saves, the more he can get over his guilt."

"And I'm guilty that I wasn't there to save my friend Chiriku when he really needed it and I'm especially guilty for just standing by while my father was killed!" Asuma shouted back, gaining the attention of Gohan.

"We've all got baggage and we've all got our strengths. It's time we put them all aside and focused on fighting our foes as a team and putting trust in our comrades." Asuma finished. Gohan looked down ashamed at himself. He was such an idiot…

Asuma looked at Gohan and waited for a response. Gohan looked back at him with a sense of humility. Yet a mutual understanding passed between them. The half Saiyan turned back to face his-no, their opponent.

"MASENKO-HA!" Gohan shouted as another mask was destroyed.

"Give it up Kakuzu. We've got you surrounded." Gohan stated. Videl and Asuma stood next to him with Ino right behind them.

"Reinforcements should be here in 5 minutes!" Ino cried. Gohan and Videl smirked.

"It's over Kakuzu." Videl said.

"I agree; this fight has become more trouble than its worth." Kakuzu said.

Gohan was about to bull rush the rogue ninja when he felt the worst shooting pain imaginable pierce through his leg. "AAAAHHH!" He cried, falling to his knees and clutching his thigh muscles.

"Gohan what's wrong?!" Videl cried, crouching next to her fiancé. Meanwhile Ino did a quick visual inspection of his legs and could find no puncture wounds. 'Did he get a Charlie horse?' Ino thought frantically as she could see no other way of him feeling pain like he was. Asuma kept his eyes on their opponent lest he get in a free hit.

Gohan felt another shooting pain pierce him again, this time through his right calf and then through his abdomen. The pain was like nothing he had ever felt before. Like he was being pierced with a cold metal pike.

"Yoohoo! Fuckwits!" Came a voice from behind them.

The girls turned around to see a familiar and at the same time odd entity. "YOU!" Videl declared.

"Me." Hidan mocked. There down on the dirt road was Hidan standing in what looked like a triangle pentagram written in blood. His skin was black with bone white markings running all around his body. And sticking out of his belly was a metal pike that he had jammed into his own stomach.

"V-Videl... He's a Human voodoo doll..." Ino spoke in shock...

Unknown to either of them, Hidan had sneaked around as they fought his partner and gathered up a sample of Gohan's blood that had been spilt when he had taken Kakuzu's wind blast to the face. It gave him all he needed to perform the ceremony.

"Did you peons really just fall for THE oldest trick in the book?!" Hidan howled with laughter.

"You Fucker..." Videl growled as she powered up her Kaioken. "YOU LEAVE GOHAN ALONE!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kakuzu spoke up. "Once my partner has performed his ceremony, any damage done to him will hurt your lover as well."

Videl shook with anger as she charged up a Rasengan in her hand.

"Then I'll take my rage on YOU!" Videl shouted as she charged Kakuzu as fast as she could and slammed her Rasengan into his chest.

"GAH!" Kakuzu cried as her chakra ball drilled into his harden skin, but it held fast.

Videl pulled her hand away as she took a step back and made a hand sign while the Rasengan continued to drill Kakuzu.

"FIRE STYLE: PLASMA TORCH JUTSU!" A thin, white hot steam of compressed fire fired from Videl's mouth and pierced the hardened skin of Kakuzu and dove the Rasengan deeper into the man's chest.

Suddenly, Videl could hear the shrieks of Gohan crying out again. Hidan had resumed stabbing himself in any limbs he could reach, over and over again making the half Saiyan scrap and push himself against the rooftop gravel to try and alleviate the pain just a bit.

"God dammit!" Videl decided to finish Kakuzu off with one final attack. Cupping her hands to her side, she recreated the attack Gohan used.

"KAMEHAMEHAAAA" The blue beam shot forward and completely enveloped Kakuzu as he wailed in pain, until his last remaining heart exploded.

"God damn bitch, you didn't wait for me to demand that you let my partner go or I'll kill your hubby." Hidan said as he raised his pike over his own hear, ready to stab.

"Don't you dare you filthy bastard!"

Hidan pricked his chest with the top of the pike. Drawing blood from both his chest and Gohan's.

"DON'T DO IT!" Videl practically begged.

"Hehehejej..." Hidan laughed. "Here's what's going to happen. You all get as far away from me as possible and call off any reinforcements you might have on the way. I'll even let you take that sack of tenderized meat over there." He looked at Gohan. "Once I'm satisfied that you are far enough away I'll release the jutsu. If any of you take so much as a single step towards me though, I'll kill him before you can even take a second step. And remember, any damage you do to me, you do to him."

Videl felt defeated. Her eyes were closed tightly as tears streamed down her face. She didn't know what to do. Take out the mad narcissistic maniac, or save the love of her life? She couldn't do both.

"Ya wanna give me an answer? Unlike me, your boyfriend runs the risk of bleeding out." Hidan sang.

Videl sniffed, it was impossible.

"How do we know you won't just kill Gohan remotely once we get far enough away?" Asuma asked.

"You don't. You'll just have to put your faith in my good nature." Hidan laughed.

Videl and Asuma felt hopeless. It was a no win situation no matter what they did.

"Videl, cover me." Ino whispered.

The teary eyed saiyan looked over at her platinum blond companion.

"What are you doing?" She hissed back.

"Hopefully, pulling a Shikamaru." Ino said. She made a quick hand sign that Videl wasn't familiar with and aimed it at Hidan. Then both the Yamanaka heir and the psychopath fell to the ground, but in different ways. Ino slumped over onto Videl's shoulder while Hidan screamed out in pain and fell to the ground clutching his legs, as if all the pain he had inflicted on himself was finally catching up with him.

"Ino?" Videl cried in confusion, clutching the unconscious girl in her arms.

"I'm ok!" Hidan shouted back.

"Wha-How-When…?" Videl was really confused.

"Videl, it's me! Ino!" Hidan cried, now trying to drag himself out of the pentagram by his one good arm. "I used my clan's signature mind-body switch technique to take over Hidan's mind!"

"Okay, this day has just gotten really fucking weird." Videl stated. She believed Ino was now mentally inside Hidan, but she still couldn't believe all of this was happening.

"Don't relax on me just yet though, I haven't unveiled my coup de grace." Ino said as the last of Hidan's limbs were dragged out of the pentagram, his skin instantly turned back to normal. Hidan (Ino) then pulled out a knife he had been keeping on his person and stabbed himself in his other hand. "GAH FUCK!" Hidan cried.

Videl was about to question what the Hell Ino thought she was doing when she realized that she hadn't heard Gohan cry out in pain that time. She looked at his left palm and saw no puncture marks.

Videl was still very confused, but luckily for her Asuma had caught on to what his second most brilliant student had done.

"Looks like Ino figured out that Hidan needed to be standing in his pentagram thing in order to use his Voodoo powers on Gohan. By forcing Hidan's body to step out of the circle, the connection with Gohan was broken." Asuma explained.

"Oh thank god. Gohan is safe..." Videl said in relief.

"Oh yeah, don't mind me, I'm just over here stabbing myself!" Hidan (Ino) shouted.

"No, You're stabbing Hidan. You're not in your real body." Videl pointed out sarcastically

"Well it still hurts like a bitch!" Ino yelled with Hidan's voice. "Do you wanna tie him up or take some free hits at him? Cause I can't hold him forever."

"What do you think, Asuma? Beat him to a pulp or tie him up?"

Before Asuma could answer, Videl drove her knee through Hidan's back.

"Times up. I'm paying this bastard back for what he did to Gohan with interest..." Videl said with venom in her voice.

"GAH!" Hidan cried before skidding across the dirt road.

"Damn it Videl I'm still in here!" Hidan cried.

"Sorry. Thought you were out already."

"Well I am now so go nuts!" Ino cried from back in her real body.

Meanwhile Hidan began to stir himself awake.

"Gladly..." Videl said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Son of a bitch... I'm going to... uh oh..." Hidan said as he saw an irate Videl approach him.

"Oh how do I want to kick your ass... So many choices, so little time..." Videl then grabbed Hidan by the throat and lifted him up to meet her eyes. "I didn't spend the last near 3 months of my life training with the man that I love in 200x gravity and learning to control both Ki AND Chakra, make love with the man of my dreams and now carry his children for you to take that all away from me using your spooky voodoo magic. You are going to be my bitch until Asuma sees fit." Videl said with an evil grin.

Asuma sighed then pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit the tip with a little bit of fire chakra he emitted from his thumb. "Fuck it, have at it, we could use some entertainment." Asuma said.

"Gladly..." Videl said with an evil laugh. between her mood swings, Saiyan bloodlust and her need to avenge her love, she was ready to tear him limb from limb. Hidan gulped, he had never seen a killing intent so fierce, momentarily forgetting he's immortal.

"Let's take a little flight." Videl said, having Hidan look at her in confusion.

Videl took off to the air with Hidan still firmly held in the irate and pregnant Saiyan's iron grip. She stopped about 500 feet in the air.

"Alright you narcissistic prick. You like pain? I'll make you experience pain on levels you never knew existed."

"Oh that's right, talk dirty to me!"

Videl charged Ki into her hand until it was shaped into a blade of Ki and started slashing and cutting Hidan all over his body. Never going any deeper than a flesh wound, oh no. She was going to take her time with this one.

"That's it motherfucker. BLEED for me..."

"OH YEEEEEESSSSS!" He shouted. Feeling a sense of euphoria, he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Videl then charged flaming chakra in her hand and in rapid succession, repeatedly punch the immortal man hard, cauterizing his wounds.

After she was done with that, she charged up electric Ki into the hand that firmly held Hidan in the air and electrocuted the mad man until he was smoking.

Next she did something that she never even thought she'd do. Videl slowly ripped off Hidan's left ear until it came completely off.

"Had enough yet?"

"Oh you dirty bitch! Don't stop now I'm almost there!"

Videl sighed... "What good is torturing you if you enjoy pain this much? You know what? I think it's time to plant an asshole."

"Fucking do it, you tease." He whispered, begging to be released.

Videl tossed him up into the air, and like a volley ball player, she spiked him with the hardest left hook she could deliver, sending the man into a very fast nosedive towards the ground.

Hidan came crashing down to earth like a meat comet. Sending shockwaves out to irreversibly damage what remained standing of the rest stop and the surrounding tree lines.

Videl flew down and dusted her hands off. "Fucking creep." She said.

Asuma was absolutely floored by the shear brutality that Videl displayed. He had never seen anyone dole out that kind of gruesome punishment.

"Ino... Remind me never to piss her off." Asuma stated in shock.

"Ugh." Ino said, still recovering for taking over Hidan's body. "Sure thing sensei, I'll put her on the list."

Asuma chuckled with relief that Ino hadn't yet lost her sense of humor.

"Sorry about being so brutal, Asuma..." Videl apologized.

"Don't be. That's just the universal personality you share with every kunoichi and their mother." Asuma said. Both girls looked pissed at him for saying something so sexist.

"And what is that supposed to mean..." Videl and Ino both said as they cracked their knuckles.

Asuma puffed out his latest drag. "Oh nothing..."

They were all brought out of their moment when they heard sadistic laughter coming from behind them.

"I'm about fucking sick of this guy..." Videl groaned.

"Praise Jashin, that was good." Hidan moaned.

"Ugh..." Videl shuddered. "Can't believe someone gets off on something like that."

"To each his own, my dad used to say." Asuma quoted.

"Yea, but there is a limit..." Videl protested.

"Guys, look alive, he's still moving!" Ino alerted her team while she tended to Gohan's various injuries.

On the other side of the dirt road, Hidan was seen forcing himself to stand up on his hands and knees. Unfortunately for him, both his legs were shattered. He wouldn't be going anywhere by foot.

"I must thank you..." He said to Videl through labored breath. "You and your boyfriend have given me the greatest pleasure I have experienced in a long time..."

Hidan cupped where his left ear used to be, his hand became soaked in blood. He then took both his hands and grasped the pendant on his necklace shaped like the triangle pentagram he had used for his jutsu earlier.

"Oh Lord Jashin! Embrace these souls into your own and purge them of their sins! For are we not all sinners in your unwavering eyes!" He howled in fanatical prayer.

"What in the hell is wrong with you? Who is this Jashin you keep rambling about?" Videl pressed in annoyance.

"Do you not see, Lord Jashin!? The ignorance these savages possess?! They are blind to your love but fear not for I shall be their eyes just as I am yours!" Hidan held up his hands in prayer, his necklace still clasped between his hands.

"You know, it's funny. I have spoken to the gods of both my universe and this one and neither one have mentioned any Jashin among their ranks. They did mention the God of destruction, Beerus, but no Jashin." Videl said smugly.

"HERESY! Do you not see the gifts my Lord has bestowed upon me his servant?! The gifts of everlasting life and the gift to share my tribute to Lord Jashin with the infidels? All these are by the blessings of my Lord Jashin!" Hidan held up his pendant high as he could reach to the Heavens.

"Now behold his miracles!" Hidan slammed down his palm holding the pendant into the ground.

Videl wasn't sure what to make of it. Asuma and Ino were expecting a summons, but nothing happened.

"And that was supposed to do what exactly?" Videl asked in a bored tone.

Hidan removed his palm from the ground, like he was revealing a card trick and he couldn't wait to see their reactions. To Asuma and Ino it looked like just another blood stain on the ground from a failed summoning, but Videl's enhanced saiyan vision was powerful enough that she could make out the blood stain for what it really was.

"His circle!" Videl shouted. "It's a tiny version of his circle!"

As she shouted, Hidan placed his index finger in the center of his miniature triangle pentagram. Instantly his skin turned pitch black with his familiar bone white markings.

"EMBRACE JASHIN, YOU HEATHENS! THE GOD OF THE SLAUGHTER!" He screamed as he pulled out a knife with his other hand.

Before Videl could react, Hidan thrust the knife into his chest, striking his heart.

Videl then heard Gohan coughing and gagging. Videl looked over to see him spewing out blood and Ino began to panic. Gohan was fading fast and Videl couldn't do anything.

"Amen..." Hidan whispered to himself.

"...no..." Videl breathed out.

No time to spare, Ino shook herself out of her daze and went full on medic mode.

"Move aside!" She commanded at Videl.

Videl couldn't move. She was far too stunned with agonizing pain and sorrow. The man she fell in love with, the man she made love to, the man who would be the father to her children, was dying.

"I said MOVE!" Ino forcibly shoved Videl aside and got to work with her mystic palm technique. The Yamanaka heir was no prodigy like Sakura was, but she had received training for Tsunade too. She focused her chakra down into Gohan's open wound leading to his heart. If she could stop the bleeding through each layer fast enough...wait.

"...No..." Videl breathed out once more. She had just felt Gohan's energy level drop to levels that could no longer be detected shortly after Gohan coughed up more blood.

Videl stood up, her fists clenched, tears streaming down her face.

"You... Killed my mate..." Videl growled out as clouds started to form overhead, lightning arcing inside them.

"You... Killed Gohan..." Videl growled out more as some of the lightning bolts struck around near her position. Ino had to move Gohan out of the way so none of the lightning hit her or Gohan.

"Yeah I did. But could ya give me a few minutes here, Sugar Tits? I gotta recharge." Hidan said slyly.

The ground started shaking and rocks and debris started floating up. Videl's power was increasing rapidly as her anger and pain grew. Her eyes flashed back and forth from blue to pupil less teal as her hair flashed from black to gold.

"I... Will Never... Forgive... You... For this..." Videl growled in a shaky tone.

"See, now you're embracing Lord Jashin. Never forgive, never forget, enjoy the slaughter!" Hidan sang in a carefree tone.

More bolts of lightning struck around Videl as a golden aura started to appear around her. More rocks and debris started floating around her.

"You will PAY! I will make you PAY for this!"

* * *

A few moments earlier…

Ino pushed her chakra farther down into Gohan's torso thinking that she had missed something. But the puncture wound he had been inflicted with only went through one layer of his heart. It wasn't good, but it beat the Hell out of him having a stab wound go completely through his heart.

"How did?" Ino stopped when she looked up at her Jounin sensei Asuma and saw him without his other trench knife. Her eyes quickly darted over to Hidan who was still coming down from his last sensation, where she could see her sensei's signature weapon sticking out of the ground where Hidan had his pentagram and Hidan's skin was back to normal! Maybe he had forced Hidan to move his finger or maybe he disrupted the circle, either way he had saved Gohan's life just in the nick of time.

"Ino, focus on Gohan!" Asuma barked.

Ino continued to pump healing chakra into Gohan. It was tough as hell trying to stitch heart tissue back together on a heart she couldn't actually see and on a patient whose heart was still beating, not to mention all the damn lightning that was going off around her. But Tsunade didn't train up pansy ass medics. She trained up the best, and Ino was still one of the best.

She forced cell growth in order to stitch together Gohan's heart tissue back together. Satisfied with her barebones work, Ino forced a senzu bean down Gohan's throat to jump start his cell growth.

It worked. Gohan opened his eyes but could still feel the overwhelming pain from all his other wounds.

"Just take it easy Gohan. Don't try to move." Ino warned. However, Gohan's attention was solely fixed on his fiancé Videl, who he could see clearly was looking away from him and about to achieve Super Saiyan. _'Videl...'_ He thought to himself.

"What's she doing, Gohan?" Ino asked.

"She's transforming into a super Saiyan. the more complete form." Gohan explained.

"But, you've transformed many times and it was never this intense." Ino pointed out.

"Yes, but this is her first time transforming. The first time is always like this. Just watch and tell her nothing. She needs this. She's nearly there, all she needs is one final push."

"I will... Make you... Suffer!" Videl screamed out as she was nearing the end of her transformation.

The air pressure hit Hidan, it was no longer the mildly intimidating force that she had been earlier. This was more like the force the one called Gohan had been giving off and it scared Hidan.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through Videl's mind of Gohan smiling at her when he first arrived at Orange Star High. That was the last push she needed as her energy exploded, creating a massive pillar of golden light that shot through the storm clouds and into space.

"HAAAAAAAA!" Videl screamed as she had finally ascended. Her hair was golden and spiked completely up into a messy version of Gohan's. Her eyes were teal and hard with a glare that could kill. Her tail unwrapped itself from her waist and was also a golden color as a violent golden aura surged around her.

"And its complete. I'm proud of her." Gohan muttered to Ino.

"Yeah, that's great for you. How do we know that she's not going to kill us?" Ino whispered back.

"She may be under a great deal of pain, but I can sense that she is in complete control. Just watch." Gohan said.

"HIDAN! YOU WILL BE KILLED THIS DAY! MAKE NO MISTAKE!" Videl proclaimed. "I WILL INCINERATE YOU INTO NOTHING MORE THAN DUST FOR TAKING GOHAN AWAY FROM ME!

Hidan stayed silent. Humorous quips weren't going to get him out of this one. He just needed to ingest some of the crazy bitch's blood. Then the other two would be easy pickings.

Hidan flinched as he could feel his bones knitting themselves together. Just a few more seconds and he would be ready for round two.

But he would never get that chance. Videl took off at speeds she had never had before and plowed her fist straight through Hidan's chest. Since he was no longer on the pentagram, no further harm came to Gohan.

Hidan hacked up blood. The force of Videl's punch nearly knocked his neck stitches off.

"You will NOT survive this! NOT THIS TIME!" Videl shouted as she channeled Ki into her free hand and hacked off Hidan's arms and legs, leaving him nothing more than a torso and a head.

"BITCH! I was using those!" He cried out for his discarded limbs.

"NOT ANY MORE YOU"RE NOT!" Videl now went to a place no one ever thought she would go. She clamped down on Hidan's man hood through his clothes and with a forceful movement, ripped off his penis and testicles, only to make Asuma and Gohan flinch in imagined pain.

"Just like you won't be using that..."

"Holy shit! Gaaaaahhhh..." Hidan cried. Breathing heavily, this was no longer fun anymore.

"Ha...ha...doesn't matter...even if you rip me up into itty bitty pieces...I'll still come back...Lord Jashin's will demands it...for I am his eyes and his hands... a humble servant...unlike you, a godless whore more dedicated to her man than to any of the great divines..."

"On the contrary. My allegiances belong to the Kais. The overseers of the multiverse. And they have said that you must die for your sins." Videl said as she flew up higher than anyone could see. Videl was hovering above the planet just outside the stratosphere.

"I have been saving this attack for quite some time. What better way to use it than on you?" Videl said as she let Hidan hover briefly in front of her as she quickly made hand signs and formed a flaming sphere in her hand.

"FIRE STYLE: THERMITE BLAST!" Videl shouted as she slammed the sphere into Hidan.

The explosion was blinding, like a second sun.

The Ki based mode of Super Saiyan powered Videl's chakra based jutsu to create an attack unlike anything the Shinobi present had ever seen.

Hidan was also surprised, he had taken fire based jutsus head on before, but this was different. All his life he had only felt dull pain. Pain that the curse of Jashin nullified on top of his immortality, but this was different. This pain felt real...divine almost.

Normally fire only charred his skin, never completely burning away, but now his skin was burning away...his muscles too...and his bones...all was turning to ash and for the briefest moment, Hidan knew what it was like to fear death.

 _'Amen...'_ He thought.

As the jutsu dissipated, Hidan was no more. The remaining bits of him were no more than small pieces of charred flesh.

"That was for Gohan you Sadistic Fuck..." Videl whimpered out as she returned back to the surface. Videl landed in front of Asuma.

"Hidan is gone. There was hardly anything left of him." Videl stated sadly as she remained in her transformed state.

"Great job, Videl." Gohan said, gaining the distraught woman's attention.

Videl turned around to see Gohan standing and fully recovered.

"G-Gohan...?" Videl said in a shaky voice.

"Yes Videl, it's me. I'm ok." Gohan said.

A new floodgate opened up and tears streamed from her teal colored eyes as the love of her life was standing in front of her alive and well. Without even thinking about it, Videl latched onto Gohan and cried in his chest.

"Ah! Easy Videl, I'm still a little sore after Ino's surgery." Gohan said.

"You stupid Asshole! You worried me to death! I thought Hidan killed you!" Videl cried out.

"He would have too. If it wasn't for Ino and Asuma sensei." Gohan admitted while holding Videl close despite his newly closed chest wound.

Videl pulled away for a moment to look at Ino and Asuma, who were standing nearby with smiles of their own.

"Thank you. Thank you both..." Videl chocked out.

"Don't worry about it Videl, that's what teammates are for." Asuma said lighting himself another cigarette. " Speaking of which..."

Just then a dozen squads leapt out of the trees and into opening in front of the rest stop. Half of them began encircling the surrounding area while another few blocked off the rest stop exits. A final squad leapt to Asuma's side.

"Squads 17-29 reporting to a call for reinforcements, sir!" The Jounin in charge reported to Asuma.

"You're a day late and a zeni short I'm afraid." Gohan said. "Both Akatsuki members are dead."

"The squad commander wasn't talking to you, Genin." One of the chunin spat while giving Gohan the stink eye.

"Stow it Lin! Is that how you to talk to a wounded man?!" The squad commander defended.

"Excuse my rookie. Got himself a shiny new chunin vest and is so damn gung ho." He said to Asuma.

"No worries Commander, but seriously, what took you boys so long? We already took out the two enemy combatants." Asuma asked.

"Apologizes, Lin here had to go potty to shit out his head from his ass so we had to stop at a roadside dango shop and by then all the boys were hungry so..." The commander joked.

"I could go for something to eat myself, actually." Gohan said as his stomach growled loudly

Asuma chuckled along with the joke. "Understandable, all that's left to do is tag and bag the stiffs. Although you won't find anything but ash for one of them. Also we have reason to believe there is a collection office in this rest stop." Asuma pointed to the wreckage behind him. "Check the bathrooms, we might get lucky."

"Yes sir." The squad commander said. "SQUADS 18 AND 19 GO RAID THE REST STOP! CHECK THE SHITERS! SQUAD 23, GET ME A MENTAL LINK WITH THE LEAF!" The commander barked his orders. The squads in question shouted out affirmatives.

"LIN!"

"Yes, sir!"

"GET IN THE BATHROOM WITH THEM AND WASH YOUR GOD DAMN HANDS! I CAN SMELL'EM FROM HERE!" All the surrounding ninjas heard that and laughed.

Asuma then turned to his own squad that was sitting together in exhaustion.

"Take 5 you guys. I'm gonna help what's-his-face deliver the report to the Leaf."

"I'm not going anywhere..." Videl said softly as she still held onto Gohan for all she was worth, still in Super Saiyan form.

"Neither am I, I guess." Gohan said

"I'll keep monitoring Gohan's status." Ino said.

Asuma nodded then turned to Gohan. "Before we leave, you and I need to have a talk. Privately."

"It's about earlier, isn't it?" Gohan said softly.

"Rest up, Gohan. I'll be back in a moment." Asuma turned to join the still nameless commander and the rest of squad 23.

"I'm in deep shit, aren't I.." Gohan mused out loud.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Ino said. "Asuma sensei says that he is tough, but he's really a big softy."

"Still, I feel like I let him down."

"Just be honest. It's not like he's gonna kick you out of the village or anything." Ino joked.

"No, but Tsunade will."

"What?" Ino said.

"When Tsunade drafted me for this mission, she said that this mission must go off without a hitch, otherwise both me and Videl would get kicked out of the village. She's still mad at Videl over the Tenchi bridge mission and she's mad at me for lying to her about this whole incident with Naruto going to hell. This is our redemption right here and I feel as if I had blown it for the both of us." Gohan said sadly.

Neither kunoichi said a word. What could be said?

A few minutes later, Asuma called for Gohan.

"I guess it's time to face the music." Gohan said sadly as he stood up. He was still sore, but he managed. He walked over to Asuma who seemed to have a relaxed expression.

"Hey Gohan, how's the wounds treating you?"

"Ino helped a lot and then the senzu bean fixed up the rest. Still sore though." Gohan stated. He just wanted to get this over with and accept his punishment.

"Very good. Since you're up to it, stand at attention for me." Asuma said as he pulled out another cigarette.

"Yes sir." Gohan said as he stood at attention. He never had any formal training as a ninja and he hoped that Asuma wouldn't lash into him too hard with that fact known.

Asuma took a long drag before looking back at Gohan square in the eye. "Gohan I want your opinion on something."

"Yes sir." Gohan stated as he waited for Asuma to speak.

"You see, one of the jobs of being a Jounin and a squad leader is to write up after-action reports after each mission. Standard Operating procedures, you understand. Listing the important details of what went on during a mission and how each of the team members acted. So I was hoping I could get your opinion on what I plan on writing for you and Videl. Think you could help me with that?" Asuma asked.

"Yes sir. May I ask why?"

"I believe in being upfront with the men under my command.

Now for Videl: I was going to write something along the lines of her teamwork being adequate. She followed the orders of her superiors very well. Even when the squad was under attack she remained hidden in full compliance with my orders." Asuma listed off. "Would you say that is fair?"

"Yes sir. I don't mean to brag, but she did take out two Akatsuki members. Shouldn't something like that be added?"

"Oh it will, but delivering the final blows aside, I like to believe that it was all a team effort." Asuma said.

"You're right. Although, I don't think I was much help." Gohan said sadly.

"Which brings us to your report." Asuma began, pacing back and forth. "If I had to compare your level of teamwork to something, I would probably choose a first year academy student."

"I never had any formal ninja training, sir." Gohan stated.

"Oh really now? I thought you said you had all the basics of teamwork training taught to you by your infamous master Piccolo and your father? Seems to me like the only thing they taught you were excuses."

"I did say that, but they weren't ninja's. They are warriors from different worlds. They taught me their version of teamwork, I guess would be a better way of putting it. You fight by each other's side, but if things get bad, make sure everyone is safe if they are not strong enough to fight." Gohan tried to explain.

"So what you are saying is that you did not believe either Ino or myself could cut it when facing down that last member of the Akatsuki?" Asuma retorted.

"Over time, the teachings of my master and father became instinct. judging by yours and Ino's power levels versus Kakuzu's, my instincts took over and did what felt like was the right course of action."

"That's all an opponent is to you, huh? A power level? Some higher, some lower and the highest one will always be the winner?" The Sarutobi heir inquired.

"Skill is also a factor, but at the time he was displaying a lot of both. He had actually found a way to hurt me in my highest powered state and I believe that is what triggered my instincts. If he could hurt me with a simple wind attack, I could only imagine what he could have done to you and Ino."

"Alright, but just to humor me. What was their power levels and what is your power level without all the transformations?" Asuma asked.

Kakuzu's power lever had to be in the thousands range. At my base strength, I'm at about 330,000. You are about 280. Since Ino had gravity training in 100x gravity, hers would be between 15,000 and 20,000. In a contest of brute strength against Kakuzu, she would win, but the majority of her jutsu's are medical and mind based." Gohan listed off.

"And Hidan's?"

"He was also in the thousands range, add to the fact of his voodoo jutsu he had that no one knew about until he started inflicting damage on me."

"Thousands huh? So you've got 10 times the raw power that he does. Sounds to me like you should have wiped the floor with him. So explain to me how exactly he trapped you in his jutsu when the numbers clearly show that you are so much stronger than him? Huh? Why was it that Ino and I had to step in not once, but twice to save your sorry ass from an opponent that was weaker then you?"

"That I can't explain. I honestly thought I killed him the first time, but I guess he used some kind of substitution. I don't even know how his jutsu works."

"Why do you keep listing off jutsus and skills? I thought power levels were all that mattered in a fight? That's why you dismissed Ino and myself from fighting. What do our individual skills matter if our power levels aren't up to your standards?"

"What do you want me to say? All this ninja stuff is so far out of my norm; I might as well be fighting... blind..."

 _'Wait for it.'_ Asuma thought to himself.

"Oh my God..." Gohan face palmed as the realization of his errors finally hit him.

 _'And there it is.'_ Asuma thought.

"I'm such an idiot..."

"That's the smartest thing you have said today." Asuma released a puff of smoke.

"I made a huge mistake... I took my training that I learned back home and applied it to a place where it is essentially useless. I have a lot to learn here..."

"Very true, but I want to back up a bit and talk about something you said to me earlier, "What is more important? The chain of command or the lives of myself and Ino?" I think what you mean by that is that you hold the lives of Ino and myself above your own. Essentially you value your teammates lives above your own. Is that correct?"

"I always put others' lives before my own. Whether it be a 4-man squad, or an entire planet." Gohan said firmly.

"Very admirable, something we in the Leaf highly value. But did it ever occur to you that Ino and I value our teammates lives just as much as you do? Above our own?"

"Of course it did. You have no idea how many times I was placed on your end of the scenario when my father faced against his enemies."

"So then why did you think we would be OK with leaving you and Videl alone to fight our enemies?"

"I knew you wouldn't be, but it would have been safer if you were away from the battle and not getting in the crossfire and possibly severely injured or killed from one of my attacks. The problem was that I didn't know how useless I really was at the time. I was more focused in making sure my friends were safe."

"Did it not occur to you that we could pool our collective skills and power levels to triumph more easily? Or did you think we were just dead weight slowing you down?" Asuma asked.

"In the beginning when we were fighting both Hidan and Kakuzu together you allowed us to fight beside you? What changed when it looked like Hidan was defeated? Did you think, "Oh I let those two have their fun, but now they are just cramping my style?" Asuma asked further.

"I didn't think for a moment that you would be dead weight. Not in the slightest. As for the former, that thought never crossed my mind as I was more focused on your safety."

"Always my safety but never about working together, is that right?"

"I guess it really does boil down to that doesn't it?" Gohan said sheepishly. "I could go on about how my childhood battles influenced me as I am, but I don't want to make any more excuses. I fucked up and I didn't realize it until now."

"You keep going on about your childhood and how it defines you. Does that mean you are incapable of making any decisions on your own? You're just a byproduct of your experiences and not to blame for anything when you screw up." Asuma sternly asked.

"I honestly don't know what to say to that. I always lived a life where all my decisions were made for me, whether I liked it or not. Now that I have the free will I longed for, I don't know how to handle it. I've... Never mind. It doesn't matter." Gohan looked down, a defeated man.

A sympathetic smile crossed Asuma's lips. "It's tough isn't it? Living in the shadow of your father." Asuma said out of nowhere.

Gohan looked up at him in shock that he would bring that up. "No, that's not it." Gohan said, which Asuma raised an eyebrow. "You see, I never wanted to fight. Hell, even now, I hate fighting. All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, but even that was decided for me. MY mother made me study to become what she wanted me to be; a scholar and I hated it. Then when a crisis came, again, my life was decided for me again by being forced to train at the age of 4. I never wanted to do either. I had no friends growing up save for my dad's friends and they were fighters like my dad. Hell I never had a social life outside of my dad's friends until I went to high school. My parents basically damaged me into thinking that a social life was something to be avoided. Everything that is going on here and now is completely new to me and I don't know how to cope with it."

"I'm sorry, we're you just describing your childhood, or my childhood?" Asuma said, leaving Gohan dumbfounded.

"What? Mine as far as I know."

"You don't understand sarcasm do you?" Asuma asked.

"After what I just told you, did you really have to ask that?"

"Guess not." Asuma chuckled to himself. He sat down in front of Gohan and patted the ground next to him. Unsure if it was a trick or not, Gohan sat down next to him.

"Growing up the oldest son of the 3rd Hokage isn't easy, ya know? My dad was barely around because of work, and when he was home our time spent together was mostly training. My Mom on the other hand was always ridding me to study extra hard to live up to my father's legacy. Hell, everyone I ever met growing up had this expectation that it was an honor for me to bare the legacy of a hero."

Asuma exhaled another puff of smoke.

"I hated it. Everything was decided for me and I never got a say in what I wanted to be. People just assumed I wanted to be just like my dad and if I said otherwise they would tell me that I was dishonoring my father."

Gohan's eyes widened as he began to realize how similar the two of them actually were.

"It's part of the reason I joined the 12 Guardians in the first place. To get away from my father's legacy and forge my own." Asuma finished.

"Sounds to me we lived similar lives. Although you're not half alien." Gohan said.

"I might as well be. Given how incredible everyone always said my dad was. He was held above all other people so being half of him I too was alienated from all my peers who thought I was either too good for them or too stuck up. It's also the reason I fell in love with Kurenai. She was one of the first people to ever see me as who I am and not as the son of the 3rd Hokage."

"You can also relate to Videl as well." Gohan pointed out.

"Heh, yup." Asuma took a long drag. "So I'm not kidding when I say we are a lot alike Gohan. Which is why I think that you can be so much more than what your childhood has carved you out to be. You can carve out your own path, make your own decisions, and own up to your own mistakes. I also think that with enough training you can learn to fight with us ninjas, not just for us."

Gohan nodded as he watched Videl and Ino discuss things that sounded like wedding plans.

"If it's all the same to you, I may put off any further training for a while. I need to meditate on these things to see where I really stand as this world's protector." Gohan said.

"You need a tutor, not just more time with isolation." Asuma said. "Which brings us back to the after-action report."

"Right" Gohan replied sadly.

"Tsunade expects my report on your and Videl's teamwork the day after we get back at the latest. If I were to hand in this report as is, Tsunade would read how you are currently incapable of working with us ninjas on any kind of squad. And even if she is in a forgiving mood, I guarantee that a majority of the council won't be. They see these reports too, especially under circumstances like these." Asuma explained.

"And that is where a critical problem with me and Videl lies." Gohan stated. "I already explained it to them, but the gist of it is that she has threatened to kick Videl and I out of the village if your report wasn't satisfactory to her. While, yes we can make it out on our own for a long time, it's not something either of us want to have happen. So that begs the question, what can I do?"

"I already know that the status of your citizenship to the Leaf depends on my report." Asuma stated. "Which is why instead of writing that. I'm going to write out about how your teamwork was adequate as well, but needs serious improvement. I'll also probably mention how you have expressed that you are eager to learn our ways of Team based fighting. And that I personally, would be happy to train you myself."

Gohan let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh thank you so much... I'll do anything I can to learn. As Shizune, Ino and Sakura can attest to, I'm a quick study."

"Hey now, settle down. This isn't gonna be studying from textbooks. This is gonna be hands on team based drills with you, me, Videl, and Ino. Didn't I say that you and Videl were a part of the new team 10? When Tsunade doesn't have you sticking your nose in a book or your hands in guts, I'll be drilling you on team coordination so hard you won't know the difference between my left and your left."

"I'm better with hands on than I am with text books."

"Also, if there is anything a Saiyan loves more than food, it's a challenge."

"Same with us Sarutobis. Hell, maybe my great ancestors were once Saiyan's. It would explain our thing with monkeys." Asuma laughed.

"Perhaps." Gohan laughed as well. "I heard from the supreme Kai of this realm that the Saiyan's in this universe were wiped out 4 thousand years ago. I have no idea how far your lineage goes, but anything is possible."

"Probably not going into then." Asuma stood up and stretched out his back. "Come on, we're headed back to the Leaf. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Food is the magic word tor Saiyan's." Gohan chuckled as he hopped up with renewed vigor.

He followed behind Asuma with a sense of nostalgia he hadn't felt since his days spent training with his master Piccolo.

"Yo, Ino and Videl! Get up, we're headed to the BBQ place!" Asuma shouted. The girls both whooped and cheered. "My treat!" The Sarutobi heir added. Thinking to himself that for once he would leave the restaurant with ryo to spare since Choji was away.

* * *

 **Samuraipanda85: How naïve of me to think that this whole subplot, the last chapter, plus what I have planned for the next chapter could be condensed into one chapter. Especially since this chapter could very well be our longest chapter, sitting at 17k words. Even if it's not our longest chapter, the whole thing is still noteworthy since I'd say 99% of this chapter was written through back and forth collaborations between me and cmartin. What we'd do is get on Skype and then he'd type out a line and then I'd type out a line and back and forth until before I knew it 11 hours had passed and we still weren't done with the chapter. We added a lot more stuff than I had ever originally planned, so I am more than satisfied with the end results.**

 **Anyway, next chapter should be the very last part in the Snake Way part of the Hell arc. We might even get into the actual tournament after we're done with all the fan service.**


	18. Chapter 18: Love and Lust

**Author's Note from samuraipanda85: Sorry about the long delay. I wanted to get this chapter out the week after my finals, but the week of finals I had to all but stop writing so that I could focus, which derailed my writing motivation. And by the time I got home for the holidays I realized that it was less than a week till Christmas. And THEN I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled out 3 days after Christmas so I spent the next week or so fading in and out thanks to the pain medication. Long story short, now I'm back at school and things should start getting back to normal. With the addition of getting to write that Naruto/Star Trek crossover (which I am having a lot more fun with than I thought I would). Plus, the Naruto/DBZ/Harry Potter crossover which I am also excited about (I'm tempted to ask someone to help us collaborate by having them work the HP angle).**

* * *

Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Neji, Lee, and Akamaru had all been sprinting down Snake Way since a little past midnight the previous day. Not that they would know that. In Heaven (or Purgatory, or some kind of middle plane, wherever the Hell they were) the sun never set or even changed position. In fact, there was no sun, the whole place was naturally bright like it was permanently stuck on noon. The actual temperature of the realm was by no means uncomfortable on its own, but after days of constant exposure it began to beat down on the shinobi.

Exhaustion was really setting in now. The boys had long since burned through all the food they ate and drank all the water they had brought with them. They were running on fumes plain and simple.

The pounding of their feet against the stone pathway became more and more profound with each step. Every breath scraped against their throats as they inhaled and exhaled. They moved their limbs forward not by their own strength but by the momentum carried on from their constant sprinting.

Unknown to any of them, the entire village was watching them every step of the way, most importantly so were their female teammates. Every hangered breath they took the kunoichi felt for them. Each of them had been through intensive physical conditioning, but never on anything of this magnitude.

Even the veteran Shinobi of the village, who had marched in wars, could only behold in awe at the feats these young chunin were attempting.

Inadvertently, this had sparked a sense of village wide pride.

It was inevitable really; here were six young ninjas (7, if you asked the Inuzuka clan) all sprinting together towards a common goal. The actual goal was meaningless, what mattered was the sense of comradery these young men were inspiring. Each of them were from different clans, most were from different teams, yet they ran together as one. When one stumbled, the rest of the party would turn their heads in concern. When one could not summon the strength to run any further, it was always another team member who suggested they take a break. Each ninja was ready to run themselves into the ground before they let the group down. At the same time, they showed more concern for the men behind and ahead of them than to their own well-being. It was so simple, yet so powerful.

This was the leave-no-man-behind brand of teamwork the Leaf always prided itself on, displayed front and center for all to see. It inspired the Leaf Villagers, ninjas and civilians alike. So much so that the entire village found itself in a festive mood.

It was the 1st of October, 9 days before the Leaf's yearly festival commemorating the late Fourth Hokage's defeat of the terrible Nine Tailed Demon Fox. Under most circumstances this would have been a time of somber mourning followed by a festival to celebrate the lives sacrificed and the those preserved in the defeat of the Demon Fox. However, so much of the villagers were up all night watching the young chunin run their impossible marathon that the vendors thought to capitalize on this impromptu festival. By the morning of the third day, stalls were opened and decorations usually preserved for the Kyuubi Festival were hung in celebration of the Leaf ninjas who could. New banners were draped over the streets though, hastily made ones that read such things as: **GO BOYS GO!**

 **NEVER GIVE UP!**

 **INUZUKAS RULE!**

 **AKIMICHI ALL THE WAY!**

The boys' marathon had also sparked a sense of competition between the major clans. By the second day, betting pools had sprung up all over Konoha on which of the chunin would reach their destination first. Most ninjas went all in for the member of their respective clan. What did anyone expect? That the clans would not root more strongly for their kin? Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba were all clan heirs (although the Nara's could give a shadow possessed hoot if Shikamaru actually managed to win.) Neji was THE pride of the Hyuga branch clan. Lee was catering more towards the civilian populous "Look at that kid running circles around those damn chakra-users!". Naruto on the other hand… had less hostility directed towards him then during his youth, but most of his moral support came from those who knew him well.

If only they actually knew about it, it might have prevented them with going through with their next brilliant idea.

"This isn't going to work." Shikamaru gasped out to Naruto. The boys had finally convinced the Nonstop Shinobi to take a break with them, much to the jinchuriki's frustration.

"Come ON, guys! We've only got half a day left. We need to keep moving." Naruto whined, desperate to keep moving. Every second wasted was a second that could make all the difference in saving Sasuke's soul.

"Oh give us a break, Naruto. Not all of us have your ungodly amount of stamina. Serious, what is your secret? Do you have a freaking hamster on a wheel stuck in your belly churning out all your energy or what?" Kiba wheezed.

' _More like a Fox.'_ Jirayia thought from back in the village.

"Well I-um…I…" Naruto stuttered out.

"Never mind that now." Shikamaru jumped in, saving Naruto. "Like Naruto said, we have half a day left and no idea how much more ground to cover."

"We're screwed, we get it." Neji whined, the two days of constant running having sanded away his usual composed self.

"So we need a new strategy because this isn't going to cut it." Shikamaru instructed.

"How about a rest?!" Choji cried out, he had been spending his clan's special technique to control his calorie output to maximize his energy to keep on running, but he was running out of fat to burn. Seeing Choji in this state gave Shikamaru an idea.

"Naruto, what about the senzu beans?"

"I don't want to use them until we get to the tournament. They'll revitalize us enough to fight, but I don't want to use them too early and be exhausted once we get there."

"Ok then, what about summoning? You have a contract with the frogs right? Summon a toad to carry us all to the tournament arena in time."

Naruto's eyes perked up. "That could work, let me give it a try." Naruto bite down on his thumb enough to draw blood, he flashed through the required hand signs then slammed his bleeding hand down onto the white stone pathway. "Summoning Jutsu!" A black marking seal appeared on the ground and a puff of smoke appeared where Naruto's hand was. Yet no summoning Toad appeared.

"What the Hell? It's not working." Naruto tried again with the same results, then again in a different location, still nothing.

"Naruto, don't waste the chakra, it's not working." Shikamaru said while rubbing his temples, they _really_ needed a plan now. They were quickly running out of options.

"But why not?" Naruto whined, his already wire thin patience had long been stretched thin.

"Perhaps the summoning animals don't go to the Afterlife. Or maybe they just can't cross over to this dimension." Kiba commented as he leaned against Akamaru's side. Naruto grumbled, now summoning and every move he had associated with it was worthless.

Back in the Leaf, the village felt their frustration. Ninjas and civilians alike were pondering how the boys were going to make their deadline and how they would handle the situation themselves. There was no way to know just how far the boys had gone in almost three days and even the veteran ANBU agreed there was no way they could make the journey in such a pitiful amount of time.

At the infamous BBQ Place, a different kind of strife was occurring.

Gohan and Videl had tried to warn Asuma that they as Saiyans could eat their weight in gold and then some, but the Jounin commander had insisted that as the squad leader it was his obligation to feed his men. Which enlisted stares from both Ino and Videl. "And also the women." He quickly corrected. The two newest members of Team Asuma had no choice but to accept the poor Jounin's hospitality.

Oh how they tried to keep their portions small, they were ready to bring forth every ounce of will power they possessed… Until the half saiyan couple spotted a special offer the restaurant was having on Mongolian Beef. Plus, Gohan had nearly died on the mission. Plus, Videl was now eating for two. Scratch that, three. So really, the couple decided, they should maybe indulge a little…

Two hours later, the veterans of Team Asuma could only look on in horror as their newest teammates scarfed down yet another helping of Mongolian Beef.

"I didn't know that they stacked plates that high." Ino said in awe, towering above her were row after rows of dirty dishes eaten by Gohan and Videl that had not yet been taken away by the waitresses. It was almost comical; they literally were stacked from the floor to the ceiling after the table ran out of room. Ino wasn't even sure her two friends were even aware that they were still eating. They just kept chowing down with gusto, not a care in the world.

Asuma on the other hand had long since given up. He just laid his head down on the table with his eyes closed, hoping against hope that he would wake up and there would still be enough ryo left over for rent money. Had he pissed off some fat monk during his life and just couldn't recall it? Or was this his fate to never leave this restaurant with so much as a ryo left to his name?

' _Looks like I'm crashing on Kurenai's couch again.'_ He thought. Not that it was all bad. Any excuse he could get to see her was a welcome one. Strangely enough she seemed to have been avoiding him for a few weeks now. Whatever, he could ponder that later when the fate of his wallet didn't hang in the balance.

*BURP! * Videl belched loudly, pounding her chest to get all of it out. "Hot damn that was good!" She declared to the entire table. Gohan was next to join her in finally finishing his meal, unleashing a much more meager burp.

"Oh man, I haven't had meal like that in ages." Gohan stated. Wiping his mouth clean with his napkin.

"Are you two actually done? Or is this just the intermission before round two?" Ino asked with a bit of disgust in her voice. If those two were going in for another round of helpings she was leaving. Asuma looked up with the fear of God in his eyes that the two bottomless pits were only half done.

"Nah I think we'll both be tied over until dinner." Gohan replied, sensing Asuma's fear and wanting to cut him a break.

"That _was_ dinner." Ino stated.

"Yeah, but what about second dinner?" Videl inquired. Asuma groaned.

"I'm just kidding. Seriously Asuma, let us pay for our share of the bill. It's only fair." Videl said trying to cheer the Jounin sensei up.

"No no, I said that I would treat you guys and I meant it. I'm nothing if not a man of my word." Asuma replied rather weakly, cursing his own convictions.

Like a harbinger of doom, in came the waitress with the bill. Only she was joined by the manager of the establishment.

"Oh no, not again…" Asuma groaned. The manager was obviously not in a good mood. How often did he have to beg the restaurant owner to give him an extra week to pay the restaurant thanks to his food loving student Choji? Now with two Saiyans who seemed determined to surpass the Akimichi clan as the #1 food lovers in the Leaf on his squad he was in for some deep groveling.

The manager came up to their table and slapped down a piece of paper that definitely wasn't the bill.

"What's this?" Ino asked in the place of Asuma who was still fearful for his wallet.

"The deed to the restaurant."

"Wow, would you look at the time?" Ino said as she looked at her bare wrist. "Videl, Gohan, why don't we head outside and see what the boys are up too?" Ino chirped in an overly enthusiastic tone. She scooped up both her Saiyan teammates out of the booth and made a beeline for the door, the two of them offering little resistance as they were still recovering from their stuffed bellied bliss.

"See you later, Sensei!" Ino smiled back at her longtime Jouin Sensei who gawked at his three underlings in horror.

' _I'll get them all for this…'_ Asuma thought as he stared at the massive bill in front of him. _'Goodbye Mission Bonus…'_ He quietly sobbed.

Outside of the BBQ Place, Ino had stopped dragging the two bloated Saiyans in the middle of the street.

"That wasn't very nice, Ino." Gohan spoke up, only just now realizing what had happened.

"Oh don't worry about it. This happens a lot more often than you think. Asuma-sensei is used to it." She explained while stretching her arms above her head. As she did this, she noticed a fair amount of gawking coming from the villagers, but none of them directed at her. Instead they were looking upwards with a mix of disbelief, blushes, and looks that they were about to crack up on their faces.

"What's everybody looking at?" Ino wondered aloud.

"I think it's Naruto and the others." Gohan stated the obvious.

"What could they possibly be doing now that is so WHAAAAAAA!" Ino exclaimed, her mind going blank in the face of what she beheld.

From what the onlookers could determine, somehow the boys had convinced one another that stripping off all their clothes to lighten their weights was a brilliant solution to their current predicament. If anything, it was the most interesting thing to happen on the Descry Sphere in days.

It's the kind of thing that is so outrageous, it brings people together. Take for instance Tenten and Temari, who had met up earlier that morning out of pure coincidence and were drawn to Ino's shrieks.

Or Hinata and Sakura; the former of whom had since come to terms with Kiba's confession and had visited Sakura at her home. Sakura had spent the last two days since Naruto's confession locked in her room crying to herself. So of course Hinata, the expert on crying over Naruto, was exactly the person Sakura needed to talk to, to convince her to get out of the house and get some sun. She had even suggested they stop by the BBQ Place for lunch in the hopes of catching Ino, Gohan, and Videl returning from their mission. Which turned out to be right on the money and at the same time, more than they bargained for.

So there they all were, once again drawn together by fate to watch their longtime teammates and secret admirers strip down, unknowingly in front of the entire village.

One by one the boys striped themselves of their clothes. Kiba was the first, tossing aside his heavy leather jacket and mesh undershirt to reveal a body the women of the village could only describe as the body of a beast. A good mix of bulky and trim, perfect for swiftness of movement and quick strikes, exactly what you'd expect for a combat style that modeled itself around the hunting techniques of a wolf. His body was also covered in scratches and scars that his jacket normally hid, no doubt a result from his clan's training with their canine companions. To top it all off Kiba was easily the hairiest teen in his age group, his torso covered in thick brown chest hair like a wolf's fur coat. To the females of the Leaf (and some of the guys) he looked like a predator they would love to be caught by.

To Hinata especially, she had always avoided looking at her male teammates whenever they had to change out of a crippling amount of shyness. Now with Kiba presented to the entire village front and center she couldn't help but gaze deeply at the boy, no, the man she had only ever seen as a teammate. But now she was seeing him as so much more. Videl couldn't help but notice that Hinata had subconsciously activated her Byakugan.

Next was Lee, who was quick to drop his ankle weights, leaving little craters on the pathway. Instantly he felt light as a feather and proceeded to strip off his beloved green spandex unitard. Tenten and the rest of the female population that had often dismissed Lee by his ugly green outfit and caterpillar thick eyebrows now got an eyeful of what was under the hood. A body so defined you could get lost in the troughs of his muscles. A lifetime of focusing exclusively on taijutsu had left Lee with a physic the equivalent of a track star or Olympic swimmer.

After some egging on from Lee, Neji went next, stripping himself of his white jacket with the huge sleeves to reveal a more modest body, as befitting of the man who owned it. Lean muscles honed through hours of dedicated practice perfecting his clan's unique taijutsu. Not at inch of muscle was wasted, everything he had served a purpose. In an instant, the long dormant Neji Hyuuga fan club from his academy days was reborn, stronger than ever.

Tenten couldn't help but admire both of them, despite her reassurance that she was going to give up on Neji and give Lee a chance… Lord have mercy her long haired teammate was pretty.

Choji took off his thick armor and the guys were all expecting to see Choji's usual pudgy self. Instead they beheld a freaking mountain man. All the other guys had some bulk in their build, they were ninjas after all, they were built for speed. Choji on the other hand was built like a brick shit house.

"Hey Ino-pig, you're drooling." Sakura pointed out.

"Am not!" Ino hastily replied while wiping her chin just to be sure, which made Sakura laugh. Ino would have bit back at her friend, but was too relieved at seeing Sakura in high enough spirits to joke around to care.

Then came Shikamaru, who probably had the least impressive build of all his friends. He was still lean and trim as befits a ninja, and that wasn't what Temari was after anyway. She didn't want a muscle bound idiot who would always be emasculated by guy who were stronger than him. Just by looking at Shikamaru's posture Temari could tell he was comfortable in his body, even if he was still reluctant for all of the men in his squad to drop their gear.

"You checkin' out his 'brains', Temari?" Videl teased.

"And the rest of him…" Temari replied back, not missing a beat.

Videl raised an eyebrow at Temari's cheek, but kept quiet. She had to admit though, among all the guys on the big screen, there wasn't a bad one of the bunch. If she wasn't with Gohan already…

All these girls had better stake their claim before the rest of the world did.

Finally, it was Naruto's turn. _'Saved the best for last, I see.'_ Inner commented. He unzipped his black and orange jacket leaving him in only his weighted mesh shirt. His body was perfect. _'Literally perfect.'_ Sakura thought. She figured it was all the Fox's doing, its chakra had always given Naruto the side effect of constant regeneration. As a result, Naruto was devoid of any scars or blemishes that one could expect from the line of work of a ninja. Out of all the guys they had seen so far, Sakura figured Naruto was the perfect blend of all of them. Not too lean and not too overly defined. A right balance between Shikamaru's leanness and Choji's overly muscular physique. The only other thing notable about Naruto's body was the one thing he would rather keep secret from everyone else.

"Sweet tattoo, Naruto, when did you get it?" Kiba asked. Thinking that the spiral seal on Naruto's belly that was used to imprison the 9 Tailed Demon Fox within Naruto was nothing more than a tribal tattoo.

"Oh, I um… I've always had it." Naruto answered nervously. It wasn't too often that the source of his misery was brought up for questioning.

"Bullshit, come on, when did you get it?" Kiba pressed further. After two days of golden clouds, the slightest new sight filled him with inquiry.

"I got it when I was five alright?" Naruto said quickly hoping to shut Kiba up.

"When you were five?" Neji asked quizzically.

"Yeah alright? I just walked into a tattoo parlor one day, saw this cool design, and the guy gave it to me. End of story." Naruto hastily explained. The guys all looked at Naruto like they thought it was bullshit.

Shikamaru on the other hand knew for a fact it was bullshit. From what he remembered of seeing Naruto get treated by the shop keepers back when they were kids, Naruto wouldn't be allowed anywhere near a tattoo parlor. Besides the fact, Shikamaru had a pretty good idea of that tattoo's true origin. If he was right, it would definitely explain a lot of things, and for certain Naruto wouldn't be eager to share it.

"If he says it's a tattoo, then it's a tattoo. Can we drop it and move on?" Shikamaru stated, this time getting the rest of the guys decided to drop it. Naruto looked at Shikamaru, uncertain if what he had just done was intentional or not, but Naruto was extremely grateful to his genius friend.

With each of the shinobi having stripped down to their boxers, their headbands, and their kunai pouches, the group was ready again to take on the endless road.

* * *

Neji perked open his eyes, he had never been so tired. Not Gai's Youthful training or even 120x gravity could even compare. This was a constant slough that they were just too ill prepared for. The only thing keeping the group moving was Naruto's ungodly tenacity and Shadow Clones.

Twice now one or more if the guys had tried to get Naruto to stop and rest. That no matter how unshakable his resolve was, even Naruto would have to face the facts. The distance was too great and they were out of time...

"Naruto..." Neji began, saddened that he would have to break the news to their impromptu leader, but everyone knew the whiskered idiot would literally run himself into the ground before he would stop to rest. Before he could speak though, Naruto interrupted him.

"Neji... (huff) could you scan ahead with your (gasp) Byakugan?"

Naruto sounded so desperate asking the Hyuga clansman like that. His very resolve hung in the balance of Neji's findings.

Reluctantly, Neji agreed, summoning up his last ounce of chakra.

"Byakugan..." Neji stated, alerting everyone that he had activated his clan's kekki genki. His vision extended out 10 miles ahead of them.

"Nothing..." Neji reported back. All the boys felt another pile of defeat weigh down upon them.

"Could you check again?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, I can see up to a ten-mile radius and I see... wait..."

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"I see a large structure up ahead. I think this is Princess Snake's castle that Bardock told us about." Neji said, earning excited cheer from the group.

"Are you serious?! Kiba whooped for joy. Everyone else became aroused by Kiba's outburst and started to wake up.

"Mmmmm, what, what?" Shikamaru said, swatting his hand around sleepily. Choji also was stirred awake, still free from any kind of fat after burning them off to keep up the running pace. Now all that remained was a lean, mean, sculpted teen.

"We made it you guys! Up and at'em!" Naruto cheered.

"That's great! Carry me!" Shikamaru cried.

"No way!" Choji cried in disbelief.

"I can see it right on the horizon!" Neji shouted in joy.

"It's about damn time!" Kiba shouted as she struggled to stand.

"Yosh! Let's go my friends!" Lee wiggled his way off of Naruto's Shadow Clone, as soon as his feet touched the ground he collapsed in a heap and had to be caught by the same Shadow Clone.

"I got all of you, just relax." Naruto said as his clones picked up everyone.

"How are we going to fight when we're this wiped out?" Neji asked.

"Who the fuck cares?! We made it!" Kiba shouted, drunk on euphoria. No one else seemed to care either, they made it!

Naruto and his clones picked everyone up and made a mad dash to the castle. They were in th home stretch and they could feel their broken spirits begin to mend. The last thought on everyone's minds was how they planned to compete in the tournament if they had little or no energy, save for Naruto who head seemingly limitless amounts of stamina.

 _'Once we get there, we'll finally be able to save Sasuke.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Upon arriving at the door, Naruto had no choice but to collapse, his enormous pool of energy finally tapped out.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru and the guys called out to him. _'Damn it. The running must have taken a lot more out of him then we thought.'_ The Nara heir reasoned to himself.

All the guys tried whatever they could to wake Naruto up while the Castle doors swung open without any of them noticing.

"Oh dear, do you need help?" A voice called out to them.

Kiba was the first to turn around.

"Yeah we need help! Our friii-" He tried to speak but no words would come out. Standing there in front of him were three of the most beautiful blue ladies he had ever seen. Their curves hugged by their Chinese style dresses of blue with red trim. Their long black hair caressed down their backs, done up in pony tails or trimmed to bob cuts, or long enough to reach their ankles. All had adorable concerning looks upon their faces that made Kiba forget all about his fatigue and his friend's well being.

"Hello" He emphasized the 'e'.

"Please, you all can come inside for food and refreshments You may also rest your weary bodies in or private, luxury hot springs." one of the women said.

The rest of the boys were about to protest when they got a look at the women standing over them. Their concerns melted away.

"Did you say food?" Choji asked.

"Hot springs?" Lee said, feeling his aching muscles.

"Woof?" Akamaru asked.

The woman with shorter black hair giggled.

"Yes of course! Please, follow us in." The woman beckoned and like under some kind of spell, the ninja's followed with Naruto being carried by Shikamaru.

The boys were led into a lavish hall with ceilings at least two stories tall, drapery was hung all above them, giving the room a warm feeling of red to compliment all the deep blues surrounding them. Arm in arm with at least one handmaiden per ninja, the boys took a seat at the dining table. Somewhere a bell was rung and the side doors opened with an army of more blue handmaidens carrying enormous trays of food. Choji, Kiba, even the ever stoic Neji couldn't help but water at the mouth at this breathtaking spread. Juicy meats roasted to perfection sat atop piles of tender vegetables which sat atop silver platters. Freshly cooked rice, still steaming from the pot was piled high next to every plate. The boys wasted no time attacking the feast.

All except for Shikamaru, who was still holding an unconscious Naruto upright.

"We can take care of him for you." One of the handmaidens said to the Nara heir, who looked at them with a sense of mistrust.

"I think I'll keep him in my sight if it's all the same to you." Shikamaru stated, something was fishy about this whole scenario.

"Shikamaru! They've got grilled Mackerel and kelp! Your favorite!" Choji called out to him in between bites of the cooked bear hands.

"But my mother always told me it was rude to turn down a free meal soooo…" Shikamaru said as his stomach growled something fierce. Reluctantly, he handed Naruto over to the handmaidens who all buckled underneath the blond's weight, leaving Shikamaru to pull up a chair next to all the guys and chow down on his favorite seafood dish.

Back in the Leaf, Shikamaru's father slapped his forehead at his son's naiveté.

Just then, the view on the Descry Orb seemed to split in two. One half of it stayed focused on the group of boys still engorging themselves on the mouthwatering food while the other began to follow Naruto around. Probably so that the entire Leaf could pick and choose which of the boys to watch at all times.

Naruto was then dragged away to another chamber hidden deep inside the castle where a slightly taller blue skinned woman was waiting for him. She was strikingly beautiful with orange hair and blood red eyes. Wearing large purple earrings, a white fur boa, a grayish-purple snakeskin qipao, a pair of white gloves, and a pair of purple high-heeled pumps. She had a figure that every male in the Leaf village would die for and every female would kill for.

"Princess Snake, we brought you the one you requested." The nearest handmaiden with a long red haired pony tail spoke up.

"Ah yes, I've always had a thing for blond's. Put him right here on the bed." The princess ordered.

Wordlessly, the servants obeyed, placing Naruto carefully on the warm and fluffy bed in the center of the room, then retreated back to give the one called Princess Snake a clear view of the unconscious blond. With a smirk on her face, the Princess took a delicate finger and traced it along Naruto's forehead, pushing a strand of spiked blond hair out of his hansom face.

In the Leaf, Sakura was fuming, how dare this blue skinned skank lay a hand on her Naruto while he was unconscious and Sakura couldn't smack the make-up off of her?

"Gohan, who the Hell is this Princess Snake?" Sakura asked through gritted teeth.

"Someone not to be trusted." Gohan said simply. "MY dad met her on his first visit to Otherworld when going to King Kai's. She tried to seduce him and when he wouldn't fall for her charms, she tried to eat him."

"THAT SLUT!" Sakura shrieked.

"That's putting it mildly." Gohan said with a stern look on his face. "Naruto is in real danger right now and he needs to be aware of the situation, otherwise... Naruto won't be returning with the others..."

 _'Nobody gets to eat Naruto's dick except us!'_ Inner thought furiously.

 _'Yeah!'_ Sakura thought back. _'…Wait, WHAT?!'_

"Wait, she tried to eat your father? In what way?" Videl asked.

"As in with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy." Gohan replied.

"What did you think I meant?" He continued.

"Oh nothing..." Videl replied, looking away at Gohan with a blush adorned across her cheeks.

Sakura also had a deep blush on her face at her overreaction, then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait, you mean, actually physically EAT him? With a fork and knife?" Sakura asked.

"Yes! Seriously, what are you two on about?" Gohan asked in confusion.

"Nothing!" They both said quickly before returning their attention towards the Orb.

"... Oh, I know what you meant. Get your minds out of the gutter..." Gohan scolded.

The two girls ignored him as best they could and Gohan was forced to drop it as well.

Back in the Afterlife, Naruto was muttering something in his sleep.

"Looks like he's dreaming. Girls, bring in the dream mirror at once." Princess Snake commanded.

"Yes, M'lady!" One of the servants chirped before dashing off into another room and re-entering soon after.

"The quickest way to understand a man is by observing his dreams." Snake commented as her handmaiden held the mirror over Naruto's sleeping head.

Practically the entire village turned its attention away from watching the other boys stuff their faces and turned to see what went on inside the head of the Leaf's most infamous prankster.

Sakura in particular felt her sense of curiosity become overwhelming with the desire to know what her boyfriend dreamed about…

The mirror started off only reflecting Naruto's sleeping face, but quickly the image became distorted until it changed completely to show things from Naruto's perspective…

He was standing out in the middle of muddy brown sea. Of in the distance he could see an island that would have been a picture postcard of paradise had it not been for the frankly disgusting looking sea water that surrounded Naruto. Gohan, who was watching him from the real world noticed that the muddy water was steaming, like it had recently been boiled. If this gave dream Naruto any discomfort, he didn't show it.

Just then a large dolphin with a long scar across its nose jumped out of the murky water and landed right in front of Naruto and then disappeared beneath the surf. He looked down to take a closer inspection of the water. Which had bits and pieces of food floating on the surface. Sliced onions, bits of corn, shiitake mushrooms, dried up seaweed. Inspecting the water even closer, Naruto could see a pack of noodles swaying in the ocean waves below him in the place of actual seaweed. Naruto then felt something brush against his leg. His ninja reflexes allowed him to capture it for closer inspection. Instead of it being a fish however, it was a large cut of pork!

It was a sea of Ramen!

Sakura couldn't help herself but double over in laughter. After all this time being either angry or worried about Naruto, Sakura could now plainly see that he was still a kid at heart to be dreaming about something as childish as a sea of ramen.

"What's so funny?" Gohan asked, finding it odd that Sakura would find ramen hilarious.

"It's nothing it's just… Typical Naruto, of course he would dream of ramen. He's such a child sometimes." Sakura said, offering a rare laugh neither Gohan nor Videl, or anyone, had seen in quite a while.

"I don't think you'll be laughing for too long though, Sakura." Videl pointed out, Sakura looked back up at the Orb to see what she meant. What she saw made Sakura's jaw hit the floor.

As Naruto looked up, the scenery changed. No longer was it an empty sea of Ramen, but what was once an isolated place was now packed with pink haired girls.

"Naruto-kun!" They all cried out in joy.

Back in the real world, Sakura couldn't help but freak out. Here was her boyfriend, dreaming about her. Scratch that, an army of her, NAKED, in a sea of ramen!

The dream Naruto ran towards the army of dream Sakuras, who all beckoned for him to come join them. He seemed so giddy as the Sakuras all surrounded him. Either running alongside him in the surf or standing provocatively as he ran by.

Across the Leaf village, Sakura's father Kizashi was trying to restrain a flailing Mebuki from running out and punching something. He himself felt like punching something, but was secretly grateful that the steam of the dream ramen was covering his daughters most private parts. Still, him and Naruto would have words when the boy returned, he could count on that.

Finally, the Sakuras caught up with Naruto and started tugging at him, touching him, cooing in his ear, dragging him underwater. The Orb zoomed out of view of the mirror so that everyone could see the actually sleeping Naruto and the shit eating grin he had on his face.

As Naruto resurfaced from beneath the water the scene changed dramatically. The ramen had turned into a kind of murky water you'd find in the middle of a lake. Naruto looked down and in his arms was a fully clothed and older looking Sakura instead of the army of naked younger girls around the age of the actual Sakura. This Sakura looked paler, almost like she had been swimming in freezing lake water for over an hour during the early spring. The mood had changed to a more dangerous affair.

Off in the distance everyone could see that Naruto was no longer in a tropical paradise, all the other Sakuras were gone too. Instead there was what looked like a massive castle looming on top of an island. At the beach there was a stadium set up where children of all ages wearing black robes were watching Naruto sprint over the water's surface towards the stadium with Sakura held protectively in his arms. It seemed like she was unconscious and shivering from the cold.

Naruto finally reached the docks and gently placed Sakura on the wooden panels. Someone outside of Naruto's peripheral vision handed him a blanket to wrap Sakura in. Looking around, Naruto took stock of the other people who were surrounding him. Like the dark haired kid with glasses and the lightning bolt scar on his forehead and most surprisingly- Gohan and Videl gasped when they saw themselves in Naruto's dream. They were both wrapped in thick blankets, huddled together for warmth even as they leaned over to see how Sakura was doing.

Naruto shouted to get Sakura to wake up, trying to stir her awake to make sure that she is alright. But she wouldn't stir.

"Naruto!" Came a voice off to the dream Naruto's left. He looked up and saw none other than Kakashi and a younger looking Sasuke, wearing the same outfit he wore when Naruto first became a genin. Naruto's mood instantly changed to joy as he waved over to the dark haired teen, who surprisingly smiled back like they were old friends who had never once fought one another over the waterfall at the Valley of the End.

Naruto looked back and Sakura a genin aged Sakura in her old outfit, same long hair and everything, only she was smiling at Naruto like they were still a couple. Naruto encouraged Sakura to run with him so they could both join Sasuke and Kakashi for another exciting mission together.

However, when Naruto looked back to run towards Sasuke, Kakashi was nowhere to be found, and Sasuke appeared to be sinking. Frightened that he might lose Sasuke, Naruto picked up the pace, running faster and faster towards Sasuke, but no matter how far he ran he never seemed to get any closer to Sasuke who never stopped sinking into the earth.

Naruto looked back to ask Sakura what they should do to save Sasuke, but Sakura seemed to be as far away from Naruto as Sasuke was. And just as Sasuke sank deeper into the ground, Sakura began to fade away into the background. As Naruto tried to run back to stop Sakura from disappearing forever, he looked back to see that Sasuke was sinking faster than ever. Bright flames began lapping at Sasuke's waist. As Naruto ran back to save Sasuke, Sakura seemed to become transparent. No matter what Naruto tried to do it seemed like he was destined to lose one or the other, and if he didn't act fast he would lose both either way.

It was so maddening, Naruto screamed and screamed, desperate for an answer, for someone to tell him what choice to make or how to save them both. Something.

Anything…

"GAAAHHH!" Naruto shouted loud enough to wake him from his deep sleep. Princess Snake and all her servants quickly backed up to not let the blond know they had been watching him sleep.

He awoke to an intricate ceiling painting hanging above Naruto's bed. The painting depicted two snakes entangled in an eternal dance. Or was it a struggle?

"Oh good, you're awake."

Naruto looked around and saw several black haired women, but one of them had red/orange hair. She also wore a fur piece around her neck.

He looked around further to see that he was surrounded by blue skinned woman all wearing similar dresses all be it much less fancy than the woman with the white boa. He then realized that he was naked and quickly snatched up the bed sheets to cover himself.

"Take it easy, it's alright. No one is going to hurt you here. Your friends are in the other room eating their feast." The leading blue woman stated. Hearing that his friends were alright calmed Naruto down enough to allow him to assess the situation.

"How long was I out?" Naruto asked.

"Less than an hour. My handmaidens found your friends huddled around you outside my castle." The woman in the fur coat spoke.

"Your castle? Oh so you are Princess snake?" Naruto asked. Remembering why he was here and what he was supposed to be doing.

"Correct. I am Princess Snake. But I don't believe I know who you are."

"Oh sorry... Naruto Uzumaki. My friends and I came out here to fight in the tournament." Naruto said with his classic grin.

"Oh you mean the Get Out of Hell tournament? Registration for that closes tomorrow if I'm correct."

"That's why we came here. We were told that you have an elevator that will take us to Hell."

"I do. Oh but you must stay the night. Rest your weary bodies. You strong men look as if you have been running for weeks."

"No... We only came here to other world 3 days ago." Naruto said, not realizing what he just said as looks of shock spread through the women present.

"Oh my, you six truly are amazing." Princess Snake laid on the flattery as her handmaidens swooned over the boys who were all eating it up. Even Akamaru was being surrounded by two blue dogs with fluffy tails.

"You can thank our friend Gohan Son for that!" Naruto boasted proudly.

That put another bit of shock through Princess Snakes face.

"This is so fun. I haven't had a guest over since Goku Son."

"You know Gohan's father?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Goku had a son?" Snake asked, a sense of disappointment. "Yes I knew him. He stopped by here on his way to King Kai's planet."

"Oh that's right. He said something about his dad going to King Kai's." Naruto realized.

"That's all ancient history I'm afraid. But come with me, you must be famished after running such a great distance in such a short period of time." To emphasize her point, Naruto's stomach chose that exact moment to growl like it had never growled before.

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Naruto replied sheepishly, embarrassed at his belly's loud noise.

Princess Snake giggled and led the hungry boy back to the dining hall, where all of his companions were still busy taking advantage of the spread of food, eating in ways that would give Gohan and Videl a run for their money.

Letting his baser instincts take over, Naruto dove for the buffet like it was a year since he had last eaten food.

Naruto scarfed down bowl after bowl of soups and legs of chicken, then moved on to a full rack of BBQ ribs before attempting to eat an entire slow roasted pig. The lady beside him poured him a glass of what he presumed was wine into his goblet. He drank deeply and downed the entire glass in a single sip. Without waiting for a prompt, the blue handmaiden refilled his glass and giggled at his eating habits (which sounded so lovely to the blond). Normally he never drank wine, he found it tasted too bitter, but at this point he didn't even care. Naruto had never been so thirsty in his entire life.

"Are you enjoying your feast?" Princess Snake asked from behind Naruto. He turned around to vigorously nod at her with a buttered roll stuffed in his mouth. The Princess paid it no mind and smiled in delight that she was feeding her guests so well.

All across the table were similar sights to the meal Naruto was having. The boys were all chowing down like they have never eaten food before.

Finally, after what seemed like everyone's tenth course, they all slammed their cups of wine and their knives and forks onto the table and let out of chorus of belches.

"Hot damn that was good!" Naruto declared to all the Heavens. The other boys all whole heartedly agreed as they rubbed their stuffed bellies. Choji in particular had regained all his precious body fat and was back to his lovable pudgy self, something that Ino was torn about.

"I'm…glad you liked it…" Princess Snake replied nervously. She had forgotten ever since servicing Goku that men could be pigs when it came to eating.

"Thank you so much for the meal. But I'm afraid we need to leave. So where is this elevator of yours?" Naruto asked, wanting to skip right to the point.

"Leaving so soon? But you haven't even had your bath yet." Princess Snake stated.

"No, no, just get out of there!" Gohan yelled at the Orb in the slim hope that it would suddenly decide to act as a two-way phone call. No such luck though.

"A bath? Nah, we really should get going." Naruto insisted.

"Oh come on Naruto, when's the last time any of us had a bath?" Choji stated.

"Chuckles makes a good point, Naruto. Hehehe…" Neji giggled. He had drunk more wine than he had eaten and now the Hyuga prodigy was noticeably tipsy.

"I don't know. Kiba, you're the smell expert, do we need a bath?" Naruto asked.

"Well you always stink, Naruto." Kiba teased.

"Fuck you."

"But as for the rest of us…" Kiba lifted up his arm to take a whiff of his own pit.

"GAAHHH, OH MY GOD!" He shrieked before landing his head on the dinner table.

"I don't know; we could probably use our stink to knock out our opponents in the tournament." Shikamaru thought out loud. He too had been rendered a little tipsy by all the wine.

"Yosh! My friends, it would be most un-youthful if we were to win in such a way! We should conjure our opponents not by cheap tactics but by the skills in our arsenals and the power of our fists!" Lee boldly stated.

"Well said, Lee!" Guy shouted for the entire village to hear.

"Fuck it, bath it is." Naruto decided, much to the delight of Princess Snake and all her servants.

"Excellent, I shall have my handmaidens escort you all at once. And when you get out we should have some new clothes for you all." Princess Snake said as she eyed each boy's physique up and down.

All the guys became very aware at their nakedness enough to feel subconscious about it.

"Yeah, that would be really appreciated." Naruto said. He and the rest of the guys stood up to be escorted to the bath room. Which turned out to be an open air hot spring. Complete with a perfect view of the sea of golden clouds and plenty of authentic boulders.

Sakura and the rest of the girls (plus Gohan) were all amazed by the sight of this luxurious hot spring. They were so envious that they didn't realize what this all meant until after it happened.

"CANNON BALL!" Kiba and Naruto shouted as they both stripped off their boxers and leapt into the bath water. Time seemed to slow down for the females of the Konoha 11 as the Descry Sphere seemed to change its position to get just the right angle for the entire orb to be filled up by both boy's asses.

The scene changed again to show Naruto and Kiba emerge from the bath water. Sakura couldn't help but pay close attention, focusing on every detail as the steamy bath water cascaded down Naruto's brow, along his neck, then his torso, going up and down with each pectoral, before clinging to his oblique, then down to his….

Something warm was running down Sakura's face, she wiped it off only to realize it was blood. She was having a nose bleed.

"Enjoying the view, Sakura?" A voice teased her.

' _You bet Naruto's dick we are!'_ Inner shouted in delight.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sakura replied, although she still wasn't sure who asked her.

"I said, are you enjoying the view?" Turns out it was Videl, as Ino was too busy gawking at all the other guys coming into the bath. While Sakura had been preoccupied, the other guys had joined Naruto and Kiba in the water. Each as naked as the day they were born. All across the Leaf, mothers were covering the eyes of their children while husbands covered the eyes of their wives.

In her office, Tsunade had decided that she was beyond giving a fuck at this point and had broken out a fresh bottle of sake. Instead of just pretending to focus on her work, she was going to kick back and enjoy the show.

' _Nice to see that the new generation has some stock to them.'_

Tsunade heard the door swing open and in walked her assistant Shizune.

"Lady Tsunade, what are you-ooooooooooohhhhhhhh!" Shizune said as she got an eyeful of 16-year-olds.

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh at her ward, looking so flustered at seeing a bunch of young men in their prime, naked and wet.

"So how does Kakashi stack up compared to his student? Have you still got a leg up on Sakura?" Tsuande teased. Shizune turned her head to face her mentor/mother figure. "Lady Tsunade! I-I don't know what you mean by-

"Is Kakashi bigger than Naruto?!"

While that conversation played out, Sakura and the others had just realized that everyone else in the village could see what they were seeing.

"Not bad overall. But I'm happy with my man." Videl smirked.

"Could you like...not stare at him so much?" Sakura begged, her sense of embarrassment was through the roof. Never mind that it wasn't even her up there waving her "bathing suit regions" out for the whole village to see. It was still Naruto and a huge chunk of her friends. None of whom she had ever had to look at like this before, until now.

"Yea, I've had my fill. You've seen one schlong, you've seen'em all. Except Gohan is still bigger."

"VIDEL!" Gohan shouted as his face turned cherry red.

"I don't know...I think Choji has them all beat in terms of girth." Temari determined logically.

"Hmm... I'd say him and Naruto are pretty even. Better watch out, Sakura. Naruto may leave you sore for a week with that stick." Videl teased.

"VIDEL!" Sakura shrieked. "Ino, say something!" Sakura cried, trying to get some back up from her oldest friend.

"I think sore is an understatement. You won't be able to move for a week." Ino stated as she thought about the state she'd be in after Choji.

"UGH! All of you are hopeless! Are dicks the only thing you guys ever have on your minds?! Sakura shrieked in indignation.

"It's the only thing TO think about right now, Forehead" Ino countered.

"Not anymore..." Gohan said softly as he redirected everyone's attention to the sphere where the boys found themselves surrounded by a harem of the blue skinned handmaidens from earlier. Only now instead of wearing those Chinese dresses, the women were now wearing nothing but white bathrobes.

"May we join you?" One of them giggled as the rest giggled with her.

"Oh...shit..." Videl said as she looked over to Sakura, who was trying very hard to keep her temper under control. Her eyes flashing from green to blue and her hair from pink to purple.

"Why yes you can!" Kiba answered immediately, trying to keep his smooth talking persona up. The girls giggled again and slowly walked down the steps into the steamy bathwater. Taking extra special care to put some extra swish in their step as they sunk in beneath the water's surface. Some opened up their towels before their upper halves submerged into the water, exposing everything to a VERY captivated audience both on their plane of existence and on another. While others new how to properly tease and entice the dimmer sex by making a show of removing their towels after their goodies were submerged.

"I swear to god... If anyone of them touch MY Naruto... I'll..." Sakura hissed.

"Stand in line, honey." Temari stated as she cracked her knuckles.

"She better not fucking go near Choji..." Ino growled.

"If that slut touches Lee, she's dead." Tenten spat.

"You're a dead man Kiba!" Hinata spat, which shocked everyone present.

"Hinata, when did you get here?" Gohan asked.

"Shortly after they got into the hot springs. But enough about that. Kiba is gonna hear it big time from me when he gets home..." Hinata growled.

"Woah now, getting a little territorial, aren't you?" Videl inquired. "I thought you weren't that into Kiba?"

"I had some time to reflect on things. That's all I'm saying." Hinata hissed.

Just at that moment, the blue skinned bitches were splitting off to bathe with each guy, two or three per man. Kiba laughed when one of the ladies jumped into his lap.

"Oh my god..." Videl breathed out as she watched Hinata clench her fists so tight that they bled.

"Ooh, Lee-kun, your muscles are so...defined." One of the ladies gasped as she felt up Lee's biceps.

"Well you know, I do a few push-ups every now and again. Handstand push-ups of course, gotta keep myself in decent shape." Lee said, trying to under sell his usual comically overdone workout routine.

Tenten meanwhile, was clutching a kunai in her hand, nearly to the point where it was about to snap in half.

"Decent shape my ass Lee. All you ever do is work out." Kiba stated.

"When you are by yourself, or with me and Tenten in the Gravity chamber or with Gai-sensei. All you do is train." Neji added.

"Are you saying you don't train as much, Neji-kun?" The girl on his right asked softly as she batted her eyelashes at him.

"Not nearly as severe or as often." Neji said blankly as he ignored the woman's advances.

Kiba on the other hand was eating it up. "Oh yeah, I'm out there training from dusk till dawn. Gotta keep my village safe, you know?" He said in a cool off handed kind of way.

"Oh you're so brave." The girls cooed.

"You're so full of it, Kiba. The first day of training in the gravity chamber and you were on the ground crying because Videl kicked you into a wall." Shikamaru stated.

"It's true, he did." Videl said to the girls.

Naruto on the other hand, kept shifting uncomfortably as the girls around him tried to get with him.

"Yo Naruto, what's up?" Choji asked as he was being glomped by three girls, each treating him like their personal teddy bear.

"I'm not comfortable with this..." Naruto said seriously.

Back on Element, Sakura was now paying closer attention.

"Why? We're just taking a bath." One of the woman on his right said innocently.

"Normally when I take a bath, its either by myself or with other guys. And the only woman I would want to bathe with is Sakura-chan." Naruto said sternly.

"Ah come on Naruto. Live a little!" Kiba said as he pulled the girls in tighter.

"By living do you mean cheat on Sakura? Are you out of your god dammed mind?! I would NEVER do that to her!" Naruto spat.

"This isn't cheating you idiot! This is relaxing!" Kiba insisted. "From the way you've been acting whenever we bring her up its like you guys are on a break, so just enjoy yourself."

"No..." Naruto said as he got up. "If I let myself fall to your level, I would be betraying the trust and love I worked so hard to get from Sakura. I may be mad at her right now, but I still love her enough that I would never do anything so unfaithful to her. You guys can have fun, but I'm leaving."

"Oh come on Naruto-kun! Don't leave!" One of the bustier ladies whined. "Yeah, at least let us wash your back!" Another insisted.

"No. I'm going to my room." Naruto declared as he walked out of the bath and grabbed a towel. "I would think that with all of your confessions for the girls you like you would have some sort of dignity to show respect to them by not giving into these women. I guess I was wrong." Naruto said softly as he walked out of the hot springs.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru said as one of the girls brought him a cigarette and a lite it for him.

Back on Element, the girls were all stunned at Naruto's actions, but Sakura more so. here she thought that he would be like any of the guys there, but no. He showed undying loyalty to her even though they were not currently on speaking terms.

Sakura's parents also saw this and felt proud of him that he refused to give into temptation.

"Unfortunately, he's right." Shikamaru stated. He finished a long drag before putting out his cigarette on one of the rocks and got out of the bath.

"Thanks for the smoke ladies, but I do have someone else in mind. As troublesome as she is."

Back on Element, Temari's heart melted.

The girls around him all begged and moaned for him to stay, but the pineapple haired genius would not budge. Instead he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist, then headed for the door.

"You're leaving, too?!" Kiba said in shock.

"Yup!" Shikamaru said back without even a backwards glance.

"As am I." Lee proclaimed. "I have too much respect for Tenten to be influenced by these women."

"What the hell?! It's not like any of them will ever know for Sage's sake!" Kiba shouted.

"Yeah, I'm gonna get out too. This feels weird." Choji commented. He stood up and the water level was lowered by an inch.

"Oh for fucks sake..." Kiba sighed. "Seriously, what the hell? You guys aren't even going out with anyone!"

"Neither are you, but if Hinata were here, how do you think she'd take this behavior of yours?" Neji countered.

Kiba pondered that for a moment. "Please, do you honestly think she'd care enough? She's still hung up on Naruto, even if she won't admit it." Kiba stated with absolute certainty.

"You may think that, but even she has realized that she would never be able to have Naruto now that he and Sakura are together. She had come to terms with that a while ago and now she's distant because she's afraid there is no one in the village for her. You told us that your feelings are strong for her, yet here you are, indulging in demon women with the assumption that all she sees in being with is Naruto." Neji said logically.

Kiba looked down with a dejected look on his face. The demonic girls on either side of him were rubbing circles on his chest but he was paying them no attention.

"Screw it, the mood is ruined anyway." Kiba declared as he got up to leave, much to the dismay of the girls who had given him so much attention.

"You coming boy?" Kiba called out to Akamaru, who was busy getting his fur combed in the water by two girls as a blue furred dog sat nearby rubbing her snot on him affectionately.

"Never mind." Kiba turned to leave.

Once he was past the door, Neji smirked to himself. _'And now that all the other guys are gone...'_

"Ladies..." Neji stated, gathering up all the girl's attention.

"Let's have some fun..." Neji stated with a smirk, as all of the girls flocked to him.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Hinata shrieked. "UGH! Why do I have THAT as my cousin...?"

"Now Hinata, be reasonable, it's not like Neji ever acts like this when he's around you." Gohan reasoned, trying to play peacekeeper.

"No, but he does almost all the time." Tenten countered. "Honestly, what did I ever see in him?"

"What? Neji's a playboy? Since when?" Ino asked. She had always assumed Neji to be the stoic and cool types, so obsessed with his training and nothing else.

"The whole 'training to be stronger' act he pours out so much is such a load of BS. It's nothing but a façade just to get women. I've seen him do it enough times." Tenten stated with disgust.

"Are you sure this isn't just him letting loose his repressed libido?" Ino asked. Her mental health training made her aware that this was all too common among clans that emphasized the prim and proper.

"Possibly... But doubtful." Tenten stated.

"That could explain why I've heard the noises of women come from his room." Hinata reasoned.

 _'Damn. He's a regular Glenn Quagmire.'_ Videl thought.

 _'You're comparing Neji to a Family Guy character?'_ Gohan thought back incredulously.

 _'I'm surprised you knew what I was talking about.'_

 _'Believe it or not, I did get out every once in a while when I was a kid. Or at least that's what I called it when I cracked my mom's password on the computer and got to go on non-educational websites when she wasn't looking.'_

Videl mentally smirked. _'Oh really? You rebel... I guess that's where those positions you showed me the other night came from.'_

 _'From Family Guy? No, those were from all the porn I could find.'_ He thought without thinking.

"I fucking Knew it!" Videl shouted out loud. The whole block turned to stare at her.

Videl looked around and then realized what she did and timidly shifted as she blushed heavily.

"Sakura-chan..." They all heard the sad voice of Naruto and turned up to see said blond sitting on his bed with a sad look.

Sakura immediately took notice as she saw the man she loved sitting alone in sadness.

"I wish you had come with me... Why do you have to be so stubborn...? I can't believe how close I was to leaving you then... I don't know if I can forgive you for what you said to me..." Naruto said sadly as a tear fell from his eye.

"So don't." Came a voice from behind Naruto. He turned around to discover it was none other than Princess Snake herself.

"Don't forgive her. If she will not show you such simple loyalty, why should she expect it from you?"

"What are you doing in here..." Naruto growled. All he wanted was to be left alone.

"I am here to offer you a better deal than the one fate has burdened you with." She said as she sultry walked over to Naruto's bedside, putting as much swish into her step as possible.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" Naruto asked, not being able to help himself watch her move. The way her hips swung back and forth, it was hypnotic.

"Simple, I know that you are on a quest of sorts to save a friend's soul from the fires of Hell. Why else would you brave the GOH Tournament? As strong as you and your friends are, it is a suicide mission. However, I can offer you a better solution." Snake explained, she paused to allow Naruto to speak. When he remained silent she took it that her offer was worth listening too.

"My husband just so happens to be King Yemma himself, the judge of the Dead. Don't worry, we are in an open marriage." Snake quickly explained as she giggled, like she just shared a joke with Naruto who didn't yet understand the punch line.

"With a little encouragement from me, King Yemma can free your friend's soul from his punishment in Hell as soon as the next tribunal commences. A much more surefire plan than your current strategy."

"And what would you have me do if what you say is true?" Naruto asked.

Princess Snake giggled to herself, a giggle that was like nails on a chalkboard to Sakura.

"It gets so boring around here without a man around. My servants and I ache for attention. Something you and your friends could provide. I offer you all a permanent place in my halls. With all the food you can eat, wine you can drink, bathes you can take, and women you can lay with. Plus, your friend's ascension to Heaven in no more than a year's time. Then the seven of you may stay here for all eternity. No more fighting or struggle, just pleasure, relaxation, and you Naruto..." Princess Snake stepped into Naruto's personal space, her leg leaning in between his legs and rubbing up his crotch. "...you would have my personal attention."

"Fight it, Naruto..." Gohan said, which earned the girls' attention. "This is what my dad had to go through. It's a trap..."

That's what Sakura hoped Naruto would realize, but at the same time she couldn't help but think what an enticing offer this was.

Achieve everything he had sent out to do and then spend an eternity in blissful paradise.

It wasn't every day you were offered to live with a princess in her castle with an army of servants, but this wasn't just any beautiful woman, this was a goddess. A literal goddess. What kind of idiot would turn down such an offer?

"No thanks." Naruto said firmly.

"What?! But, I could give you so much!" Snake said in shock.

"You could give me anything I wanted, that much is true. But in the end, you couldn't give me everything. A village that respects and looks up to me, fulfilling my dream of being Hokage, and a family with the woman I love. I may be mad at her right now, but that doesn't mean I don't still love her with all of my heart."

Back in the living world, Sakura felt like crying. She didn't deserve this man, she couldn't.

"So thanks, but no thanks." Naruto said as he slipped on the clothes Princess Snake's servants had been so generous to sew for him and his friends. A blue robe with sleeves that went midway down their forearms. It also came with matching string tie pants. A simple design, but Naruto could tell from feeling it that the fabric was sturdy, it would hold up well in the tournament he was about to partake in.

"I'll give him this much." Videl said. "He may be an idiot, but he's a loyal idiot. Don't let him go, Sakura. I know you have your doubts, but if he is willing to go to such great lengths to keep you, then show him the same courtesy and never leave his side."

"Don't you worry, Videl." Sakura said softly. "You may have been bugging me about it for some time. But I plan on showing him just how much I love him as soon as he gets back."

"You are making a very big mistake!" Princess Snake insisted as she tried to walk in front of Naruto to block the door, but he was too fast and made it into the hallway.

"I don't think I am. I appreciate your hospitality, truly, but I think it's time for me and my friends to leave." Naruto said without looking back.

"I could give you richessss, make you the Hokage of my castle!" Snake pressed, growing more and more desperate.

"Ok you're starting to freak me out now. Where's the elevator? SHIKAMARU! CHOJI! LEE! KIBA! NEJI! WE'RE LEAVING!" Naruto shouted out, hoping his voice would echo throughout the castle.

Three servants then ran up besides Naruto to try persuade him to stay.

"Oh please don't go! Don't you want to see our sword dance?" The first one cried as she brandished two impractically large curved blades. Naruto shrugged her off.

"What about my gun?!" Another said, shoving a Colt Revolver right into Naruto's face.

"There's this really fun game I love to play with it, I've only lost once. You just take this one bullet, put it in the chamber, give it a spin, put it to your head, pull the trigger and you're off to the races. Like this!" **BANG!**

Naruto stopped as the ear shattering bang of the gunshot blew a hole in the poor handmaiden's head.

Meanwhile parents in the Leaf pondered if they had just let their children watch a suicide on the big screen.

"I think I'd rather play chess with Shikamaru." Naruto deadpanned.

 _ **'Interesting weapon though.'**_ the Kyuubi pointed out.

 _'Too violent, not enough control.'_ Naruto thought, temporarily forgetting that he wasn't talking to the Kyuubi.

' _ **Yeah, that is true...'**_

"The Hell was that?!" Shikamaru cried, poking his head out from his room.

"Never mind it, just get the rest if the guys and help me find the elevator. We're leaving." Naruto stated.

"No! You can't go!" Snake hissed.

"Oh give it a rest, skank..." Ino sighed.

Naruto stopped in his tracks, he was getting annoyed now. He didn't want to be rude, this woman's hospitality had probably saved all their lives, but he was losing his patience.

"Look Lady, I said I'm not interested, what part of that don't you get? Now please, just tell...me...where the...elevator..."

Naruto never got to finish his sentence, for at that moment as he turned around he realized that he was no longer talking to Princess Snake, or at least the Princess Snake he knew. In her place was a giant grey scaled snake with dragon horns on either side of her head and yellow eyes as big as Naruto was.

 **"I said, YOU CAN'T LEAVE!"** The snake hissed.

"Ohh...crap baskets." Gohan and the women all said in unison.

"Now, you see what I was talking about." Gohan said and all of the girls nodded with open mouths.

"It's like Orochimaru all over again." Sakura stated, making Videl shudder in fear.

"Please don't bring up his name." Videl said as she tried to hug herself. That name brought up very unpleasant memories.

"Oh shit, not again!" Naruto screamed like a girl. He couldn't help it, the snake took up the entire hallway, and was lunging right at him-OH GOD!

Princess Snake snapped her massive jaw at Naruto who just barely jump back to safety in time.

" **I'm going to eat you!"**

"No!" Naruto shouted back as he sprinted away, leaping off the ground and off the walls whenever he needed to turn, anything to get as much distance from him and the giant snake that was slithering towards him as fast as he could run away from her.

Sensing another commotion, Shikamaru stepped out of his room in his newly worn clothes, the same as Naruto's. "Naruto, what the Hell is-

He didn't finish as Princess Snake slithered past him faster than a runaway locomotive, her cumbersome belly smashed into his wall, knocking him back into his room.

"Ugh... It's going to be one of those days." Shikamaru stated as he started after Naruto and the snake

The Descry Sphere had since split again, now it was focusing on three main groups of the guys; Naruto running away from the head of the snake, Shikamaru and the rest of the guys trying to catch up to the snake's tail, and Neji who was still relaxing in the hot springs.

Naruto was just barely keeping out of the snapping jaws of the giant snake.

"Oh Hell no! I am not getting almost eaten by a snake three times in my life!" Naruto frantically declared.

"3 times?" Videl asked.

"Don't ask..." Sakura sighed.

Naruto took a left down the hall, then a right, two more lefts, a right, then a dead end.

"Ah shit!" Naruto shouted. He turned around to see Princess Snake barreling towards him, he could see fire burning through the slits of her mouth. With nothing else to do, Naruto braced for impact.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried out and everyone else looked away. Gohan and Videl remained fixed on the sphere.

CHOMP! A resounding snap of a massive pairs of jaws was heard, Naruto thought for certain he was dead.

Until he realized the darkness was coming from him covering his eyes. Upon opening them he found himself face to face with the massive lips of Princess Snake.

On another view from the Descry Sphere, it showed Choji, Lee, and Kiba gripping on the tail end of Princess Snake like they were in a life or death game of tug of war. Lee was gripping with all his strength, Choji had enlarged his hands to grab as much of Snake's tail as he could, and Kiba's claws were dung as far as they could into her scaly hide. Even Shikamaru had grabbed a hold of her with his Shadow Stitching Jutsu. Coupled with all their hours of gravity training, the four shinobi had stopped the million-ton reptile right in her tracks just in the nick of time.

"Oh... Thank the Sage..." Sakura said as she let out a sigh of relief.

Sensing this was an opening he could not afford to miss, Naruto wasted no time in creating a Shadow Clone and as large of a rasengan as he could.

"Rasengan!" He shouted as he buried the beach ball sized cyclone of chakra into Princess Snake's massive snout.

The force of the blast sent ripples across her entire face, knocking her head back and up into the ceiling.

"Take that!" Naruto cried in relief. But his joy was short lived as Princess Snake immediately shook off her daze.

 **"You'll have to better than that! Even Goku hit me harder than that!"** The snake hissed demonically.

"Hey! By Gohan's accounts, I should be stronger than his dad was when he visited King Kai for the first time. So what the Hell?" Naruto whined.

 **"He's been here more than once! He came back here 7 years ago!"**

"Oh... He never told me that." Gohan stated.

"Oh... Well I guess that's something then. But back to the point, STOP TRYING TO EAT ME!" Naruto shouted.

 **"NEVER!"**

"Naruto! Words are not going to work with this opponent!" Gohan said out loud. He then looked upon the faces of the women around him. "This is bad, you guys. If she took on my dad after the Cell Games, He is in deeper shit than I thought."

"Well it's not like she beat him right?" Ino reasoned, hoping against hope that Gohan was overreacting.

"I don't know. He never told me he encountered her a second time." Gohan said grimly.

"Oh come on, you've seen her. How strong can she be?" Tenten stated as Princess Snake began ramming through the walls of her palace like they were made of Styrofoam.

"I've only seen her through this sphere, not in person." Gohan clarified.

"You know what I mean!"

"Even you know that watching an opponent through a screen is very different than in real life. I doubt she beat my dad and Naruto is as strong as my dad in his base form after he beat Freeza. If we were to gauge power here, based on Princess Snake's past and her motives, they could be on par."

"HOT, HOT, HOT!" Naruto cried as Princess Snake spit fire at his backside.

"Is that with his Biju transformation or without?" Videl asked and Gohan face-palmed.

"Shit! I forgot about that... I was judging him with the Biju transformation. Without it..." Gohan didn't want to finish that sentence.

On the other end of Princess Snake, the boys were squaring off against her tail.

"HOLD HER DOW-

Kiba shouted before getting tailed whipped right in the face like he was hit with a whip.

Lee was busy being bulked around, he had grabbed on to the tail and couldn't let go without being thrown through a wall.

"Ugh... Guys! I'm losing my hold on her!" Shikamaru shouted.

"Yeah, same!" Choji shouted, Snake's squirming scaly tail was starting to cut into his palms.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he created 100 clones.

 **"Well, this is new! Can't say I've seen a technique like that! But it won't do you any good! I matched Goku in his golden form almost perfectly!"** The giant snake hissed.

"And that's what I was afraid of..." Gohan said.

"Good for you, we're still gonna kick your ass though!" 100 Narutos shouted at once.

 **"Try it!"**

100 whiskered blonds smirked and then charged at the massive snake, raising kunai and their fists to attack her.

* * *

Over in the hot springs, Neji was still enjoying himself in the presence of his own personal harem of blue women.

"And that is how I saved all those orphans." He said nonchalantly.

"Damn you Neji! I swear I'm kicking your ass when you get home!" Hinata hissed with gritted teeth.

"Oh Neji-kun, you're so brave." One of the girls giggled.

"And so good with children." Another chimed in.

"Can I call you, Neji-nii-san?" One of them asked in a timid voice. Neji turned his head to look at the girl that had made the suggestion. She was a long hair brunette with straight hair and bangs. Her hips were filled out and her tits were easily double Ds.

"Why yes you can." He replied in a sultry voice that made all the girls shriek with laughter.

"Eulch!" Hinata wretched at that thought.

"What the fuck?" Videl said in disgust.

"Is incest legal here or something?" Gohan pondered.

"Yes... Sadly..." Ino said in annoyance.

"That's disgusting..." Videl deadpanned.

"What? It's how my parents got together." Tenten defended.

"OH MY GOD!" Videl said in complete disgust as he started retching in a nearby trashcan.

"Tenten, in our world, incest is considered illegal as well as repulsive and disgusting. If you had a brother, do you think you would have a family with him?" Gohan said over Videl's vomiting.

"Brother!? Eww no, what are you talking about? My parents are distant cousins!" Tenten exclaimed.

"How distant?"

"Like...second cousins, I think?"

"See, in our world, that would fall under the disgusting and illegal category. 3rd or beyond it doesn't matter. Not to mention, a child can be born with many birth defects from having one too many chromosomes because the parents are so closely related. See what I'm getting at here?" Gohan explained.

"Well I turned out fine, thank you very much. And my parents are happily married too, I'll have you know." Tenten said.

Gohan held up his hands in defense. "I'm just telling you why it's illegal in our world. It's not as common amongst 2nd cousins as it is 1st or brother and sister. There is a 50/50 chance of it happening with visual defects or internal defects. Like breathing issues, or an underdeveloped heart or-"

"Wait a minute. Underdeveloped heart?" Tenten asked as she went blue in the face.

"Yea... that's one of the defects. Why?" Gohan asked, but Tenten was too scared to answer. Luckily, Sakura was there.

"Tenten was born without the left ventricle in her heart. An artificial one had to be made to keep her alive." Sakura said as Tenten nodded sadly.

Gohan looked at Tenten in complete shock. Now everything made sense as to why she was slower than the rest of the group in training.

* * *

While they were making a case for Tenten's condition, Neji was enjoying a thorough back scrub by two of the girls when the wall to the castle exploded.

"What the hell?!" Neji shouted as he looked back to see a giant snake that had gone through the wall.

"COME ON YOU SCALY BITCH!" A loud voice shouted while riding atop the snake's head.

"Naruto?" Neji cried, then he realized that Naruto wasn't riding on top of the giant snake, he was fighting against it.

"Damn, all you girls get to safety!" He ordered while standing up to get into his gentle fist stance.

 _'BYAKUGAN.'_ Neji activated his clan's special kekki genki, which allowed him to see 360 degrees in any direction. He was only fortunate enough to notice a viper strike coming directly from behind him.

With ninja reflexes, Neji dodged a snake bite that was meant for his neck. He then snatched the blue viper by the head preventing it from biting him. The snake then wrapped its tail around his arm and constricted it to limit his movements.

"Dammit! Gonna have to do better than that! Eight Trigrams; Palm Rotation!"

Neji's rotation knocked back the first viper and half a dozen other vipers that had tried to lunge at him. He quickly found himself surrounded by dozens of other snakes. Yet every single on the women he was with were nowhere to be found.

 _'So, that's their game. They lured us here to be their snacks.'_ Neji deduced.

"I SAID I WON'T LET YOU EAT ME DAMN IT!" Naruto shrieked, up above Neji could see Naruto was holding the giant snake's jaws apart with his arms and legs.

"Naruto!" Neji shouted as he started towards his comrade.

He was cut off by a pit of vipers all slithering around him.

"Get out of my way!" Neji ordered, the veins around his eyes growing thick with intensity.

"Noooooo." One of the vipers hissed.

"Get let us eat you, Neji-nii-san. One little bite." Said another.

While they thought Neji was distracted, two vipers tried to sneak up from behind him, this proved as ineffective against the Byakugan as last time. Neji quickly snatched them out of the air and threw them against the rocks with enough force to leave cracks and to knock them both unconscious.

"Thank you, gravity training." Neji muttered to himself. Normally the gentle fist style relied on pinpointing the enemy weak points and exploiting them, anything else might have been a simple poke with the fingers. But thanks to the added strength of over 100x gravity, Neji could deal damage even when his pinpoint attacks fell short.

Another viper tried for the direct approach, leaping straight at Neji. He thrust his palm out while releasing a concentrated burst of chakra to hit the viper midair with the equivalent of a brick wall.

"Damn... Neji has gotten good." Videl said as she watched Neji beat the shit out of every snake that came near him.

"Pervert or not. He was hailed as a prodigy for a reason." Tenten chimed in.

Meanwhile inside the castle, Shikamaru and the others were sprinting through the hallways trying to navigate this maze of a castle.

After Princess Snake had burst through the castle to the hot springs she had slithered her tail out if sight of the four other Shinobi. But not before they had managed to tear off a foot or two from the tip of her tail, leaving a decent sized blood trail for them to follow.

"I'm gonna make a wallet out of that bitch!" Kiba cried, his cheek still swollen after getting whipped in the face with that damn tail.

"Not after I make some stylish pants!" Lee added, Princess Snake having smashed his head into 4 different hallway lamps.

"She would make decent body armor." Choji chimed in, his hands had to be wrapped in bandages made out of strips from his robe thanks to those damn snake scales.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement and was about to add his desire for a snake skin overcoat when he noticed something peculiar along the hallway.

"Guys hold up." He said while screeching to a halt himself, the other guys quickly followed suit.

There, in the middle of the hallway was an old fashioned elevator.

"Well, I'll be damned." Kiba breathed out.

"Do you think this is the elevator we want?" Choji asked, hesitant to believe that they could be so lucky.

"I think it's a safe bet that it is. But just in case." Shikamaru stated before forming a cross sign. "Shadow clone Jutsu!" A single clone appeared next to Shikamaru. "Take the elevator down and see where it goes. IF it's the one to hell, send it back and dismiss yourself."

"Got it." the clone said as he got into the elevator and descended rapidly.

"So what now?" Lee asked, anxious to get moving.

Shikimaru paused for a moment, the gears of his genius mind rapidly turning.

"The way I see it, our best course of action would be to keep following this trail, find Naruto and then Neji and Akamaru, then hightail it back here. Forget about trying to take out Princess Snake, let's just give her the slip for now and get to the tournament."

"And what if this isn't the elevator we need?" Choji asked, still being skeptical.

"If it comes to that, we'll find Princess Snake again and make a big show of saying we are headed to the elevator. We give her the slip. And when she panics, she'll slither over to the real elevator to defend it." Shikamaru said.

"And then...?"

"Then we improvise to get her away from the elevator and sneak aboard it."

Just then, the memory from his clone hit him and he smirked.

"My clone just came back to me." Shikamaru said.

"That was fast." Kiba stated.

"Yea, this elevator is really fast, but it is the one to Hell."

"So never mind the second plan then?" Lee asked.

"Yeah, let's just find Neji, Naruto, and Akamaru and get the Hell out of here."

The boys all nodded in agreement, but before they could resume their chase Kiba went wide eyed.

"SHIKA LOOK OUT!" He cried as he grabbed Shikamaru by the scruff of his robe and pulled his head down. Shikamaru felt the rush of something sharp arcing over his head and then the sensation of his hair falling down.

The four ninjas leapt backwards to gain some distance from their newest assailant. Shikamaru saw that it was two of the handmaidens, both of them brandishing large single handed curved swords.

He noticed that one of them had her blade stuck in the wall after having nearly cut his head off, but had succeeded in chopping off his ponytail. His hair was now cascading down his head like a short haired Sasuke minus the duck butt sticking out in the back.

"You won't escape her so easily!" One of them declared as she twirled around her sword in some impressive way.

"Guys, change of plans, you go on ahead and I'll catch up to you in a minute tops." Shikamaru stated coldly. The guys all looked at him like he was crazy.

"No way man, let's just take them out together. Or at least split up so it's two on two." Kiba suggested.

Shikamaru just looked at him sternly. "No, they're mine "

"Oh come on man. What? Do you have some kind of fetish for fighting girls?" Kiba teased, but was still completely serious.

Shikamaru looked at Kiba with an expression that Kiba never though he'd see on the lazy genius's face, pure determination, the kook of a man who had been wronged.

"They messed with the do." Shikamaru stated, which sent shivers up Kiba's spine.

"Oh shit! Get'em, Shika Baby!" Temari cheered without realizing what she said.

"Shika Baby?" Videl deadpanned.

Temari blushed fiercely. "D-did I really just say that?!"

"Yup" Videl said.

"What's this about Shikamaru having a fetish for fighting girls?" Gohan asked politely.

"O-oh... Yea, he likes strong women and finds it very enjoyable to fight them." Temari said.

"Makes sense why he has a thing for both Temari and Videl." Tenten pointed out.

"No he doesn't!" Ino interjected. "He just has an unlucky streak of always having to fight girls. Like in the preliminaries of the chunin exams and then the third exam and when he was fighting against that sound bitch when chasing after Sasuke."

"Right, I buy that..." Videl said as she rolled her eyes.

Back in Snake castle, the rest of the guts had begrudgingly agreed to Shikamaru's desire to take on the two sword-stresses at once.

"So is it true?" One blade dancer asked. "Does this really get your rocks off fighting a couple of girls?"

"Maybe you could just stay here with us and be our sparring partner?" The other suggested in sultry voice as she brought her sword up to her lips and licked the blade without breaking eye contact with the Nara heir.

"Not even going to humor you." He said firmly. He took out a single kunai and made a beeline for the nearest enemy.

"What the Hell is he doing? Since when does he just go for a full frontal assault?" Sakura stated, this wasn't Shikamaru's usual fighting style.

"Wait for it..." Ino said, having more faith in her long time teammate to always run in with a plan.

Shikamaru dodged the first strike from the enemy he engaged and blocked her second sword with his kunai, the Konoha standard metal was just enough to hold back the larger blade that was clearly designed for ceremony above practicality in a fight. Shikamaru stepped into the woman's space but she was still a thousand years ahead of him in terms of practice. She kneed him in the gut as her partner came from the side and swung her blade towards Shikamaru's arm in an attempt to maim, not kill. The tactical genius anticipated this though and was already back stepping out of the blade's range, even after getting squarely kneed in the stomach.

The second girl continued her dance and allowed the momentum of her limbs to arc the other blade towards Shikamaru. He stepped back again but this time she caught some of his robe creating a decent tear but no actual injuries.

The girl stopped to reorient her stance, which Gohan would have thought would be a perfect opportunity to either begin his own counter attack or to retreat and gain even more distance. Shikamaru did neither, instead he felt to his knee and entered his usual stance for his clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu. But he wouldn't be able to capture his opponent fast enough, the girl had begun a downward swing that Shikamaru's Shadow Possession could cancel out the momentum of, at least not before the blade was embedded into his shoulder.

The Leaf held its breath waiting for the axe to fall when the swordswoman was staggered forward. Gohan looked again to see that she had been struck in the backside with her partner's blade. Enough to knock her aside and spare Shikamaru from another crew cut.

Temari looked on in awe when she realized what her crush had done. He had taken control of the other woman's shadow and made her throw her sword at her partner. Not enough to impale her, but still enough to stagger her. Giving Shikamaru the small window he needed to spring up and wallop the staggered handmaiden with a right hook, enhanced by the gravity training. The poor blue bitch was knocked out cold before her head hit the floor.

"Sweet Sage!" Sakura said in shock.

Shikamaru then walked over to the second woman whose shadow was still trapped by his jutsu.

"As if any of you troublesome ladies could give me a challenge. I barely had to think five moves ahead." He stated as he used his Shadow Strangle jutsu to take control of the woman's neck, he forced her to slam her head down on the floor so hard so sustained a concussion and passed out.

"Wow... I never knew Shikamaru could be so..." Sakura stopped as she tried to find the right word.

"Brutal?" Videl finished.

 _'I think I'm in love...'_ Temari thought to herself.

"Yea that works." Sakura confirmed.

"Told ya so." Ino said smugly.

Wasting no more time, Shikamaru sprinted off to join the others in his group, which had just caught up to Princess Snake outside in the hot springs.

They saw Naruto thrashing about with Princess Snake and Neji fighting an army of normal sized snakes.

"Choji, use your expansion Jutsu to steamroll those smaller snakes. Kiba, you and Lee get Snake off Naruto." Shikamaru ordered.

"Shikamaru?" Kiba exclaimed. "Fuck me you took them out quick."

"They messed with my do." Shikamaru answered simply.

Choji quickly expanded into his clan's signature jutsu and steamrolled over the pile of snakes. Giving Neji a much needed breather.

Lee meanwhile activated his third gate and jumped five stories into the air to deliver a devastating kick into the Princess's side. The 6,000-foot snake was sent crashing into her garden next to the castle.

 **"MY BEGONIAS!"** Princess Snake cried. She looked on at the now blue robed boy with the bowl cut and the eyebrows so thick she could see them even from that great a distance. She whipped her tail out at Lee who was still falling in midair after his attack and swatted him into the rocky springs below.

"Lee!" Neji and Tenten cried simultaneously.

Lee slowly emerged from his crater, battered and bruised, but very much still ready to fight.

Choji and Kiba (who opted to fight the smaller snakes first) had just finished taking out the last of the servants and quickly ran in front of Lee to get between him and Princess Snake. Neji and Shikamaru then began to help Lee up, who was a bit shaky on his feet.

"Wait, where is Naruto?" Shikamaru thought aloud.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto answered for him. Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant Rasengan the size of one of the boulders in the hot springs came crashing down on Princess Snake's head, smashing her down into the rocky barrier the separated the hot springs from the Princess's special garden. The guys all looked up to catch a glimpse of a streak of blond hair falling dangerously far down to earth (or heaven, I guess).

"Shit, he's falling too high!" Shikamaru observed.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

Just before Choji could finish the hand signs necessary to inflate his arm to turn it into a man sized catcher's mitt, Naruto quickly righted himself in midair. His face was screwed up in concentration, but he managed to noticeably slow his descent until Sakura could swear he was floating.

But the thing is, he actually was.

"He didn't!" Gohan shouted.

"He didn't what?" Ino asked.

"He's floating!" Videl said in shock. Just as soon as it was all said and done, the blond fell right on his ass with a thud.

"Well, that didn't last long..."Gohan sighed.

"Damn, that's trickier than it looks." Naruto reported as he stood up and dusted off his behind.

"What the Hell was that?" Kiba questioned. Looking at Naruto like he just fell from the Moon.

"Oh that?" Naruto said, looking back at the unconscious body of Princess Snake. "That was just an extra-large rasengan. I had five clones make it with me instead of just the usual two. More clones, more chakra, bigger rasengan." He explained. "Can't believe it worked though..." He muttered to himself.

"Not that! The floating you idiot!" Kiba spat.

"Oh that. Yeah that actually helped me with the giant rasengan. Gave me and the boys time to make it while hiding in front of the sun." Naruto explained, he then saw the annoyed look on everyone's face and realized he needed to get to the point. "But yeah, Gohan has been trying to teach me how to fly with Ki. The most I've been able to do so far is just floating though. So I figured that even if I could only push off the ground a few inches, the same force would help slow me down when falling. And it turns out I was right." Naruto smiled, proud of his accomplishment.

"Gohan?! You've been teaching Naruto how to fly?! Where the fuck was I?!" Sakura screeched as she glared daggers at the tall Saiyan.

"S-sorry! It was during the time you were working at the hospital! honestly!" Gohan said nervously.

"You're never gonna stop surprising us, are you?" Shikamaru stated, yet he couldn't help but smile at the blond.

"Nope! The sooner you accept that; the sooner we can work that much better together." Naruto replied while folding his arms behind his head.

As the boys all enjoyed a hearty laugh after such a harrowing battle, they failed to notice a certain gigantic snake stirring about not 20 yards away from them.

"What are they doing? MOVE YOU IDIOTS!" Videl cried out, like those friends who shout at the characters in horror movies.

Only Neji with his still activated Byakugan noticed her first, but it was still too late.

"MO-" He tried to shout out to warn everyone, but before he could even finish his warning, Princess Snake had snapped out her jaws as only snakes can. Faster than lightning, she struck and then retracted her neck back. The boys all leapt back to avoid an attack they didn't realize had already been completed.

Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Lee, and Neji all back up to the peaks of the other end of the hot springs, but one hyperactive ninja was unaccounted for.

"Oh for fucks sake..." Videl said as she face-palmed hard.

"Chalk that up to the board as number 3." Ino deadpanned.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sakura yelled.

"Son of a-" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Hey you bitch! Spit out the idiot right now! We need him to justify this stupid trip!" Kiba shouted.

"Give us back Naruto right now!" Lee exclaimed, ready to beat the shit out of that damn snake.

"You've got 3 seconds!" Choji ordered, cracking his knuckles, his palms were still sore from trying to play tug of war with her scaly tail.

"3...2..." Choji began.

GULP!

The boys all froze when they heard the unmistakable sound of a very large reptile swallowing her latest meal.

"Oh no... That's new..." Ino said in horror.

"... Naruto..." Sakura said quietly as her eyes started to water up, fearing she had just lost her sunshine forever.

Before the shinobi could attack the overgrown snake in retaliation, they noticed that she was starting to get bigger. Almost like she had her snake lips around a helium tank and was inflating like a balloon.

She got bigger and bigger, her cheeks puffing up more and more, her eyes looked like she was going to be violently ill until...

 **"BLUEGH!"** She puked.

"Eww..." Videl said. Ino gagged, Tenten puked in a trashcan, Hinata and Sakura fainted and Temari laughed.

The skyscraper sized snake vomited her guts out all over the hot springs, which so happened to contain thousands of Naruto clones, all covered in snake stomach acid and saliva. Princess Snake then became lightheaded and slammed her head against her castle, toppling the top 2 floors over and fell over on to Snake Way and hung her head over the edge. A stream of drool could be seen dripping off her mouth and down to Hell.

The thousands of vomit covered Shadow Clones began dissipating one by one, until all six ninjas were left laying on their backs, their clothes permeated with the smell of snake puke.

"YUCK!" Kiba shouted as his nose was completely stuffed with the smell of snake vomit.

"Yeah..." Choji wheezed out. "That was gross..."

Lee and Neji were coughing violently, their mouths having been open when the wave first hit.

Shikamaru just stayed quiet, he was now 110% done with Snake's castle.

Just then, Akamaru came out from behind the rocks. What he was doing there, no one could tell for certain, although a certain blue dog had come out from behind those very same rocks a moment later before scurrying off back into the remains of the castle. Akamaru on the other hand ran up to his master and started licking the puke off of Kiba's face.

"Oh come on, man! First you let your dog get his rocks off, then you let him lick your puke covered face?!" Choji said in disgust.

"Ah, shut up..." Kiba spat, his voice riddled with exhaustion. He only let Akamaru continue on because he preferred his face to be covered in dog saliva over snake saliva. He petted Akamaru behind his ears to let him know he was a good dog.

"Is that were Akamaru was this whole time?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Neji said simply. "Don't ask me anymore. That's all I'm saying. Other than one thing; Way to go Akamaru." Neji said with a slight smile.

The guys all laughed at their misfortune, but at least one of them had gotten laid out of all this.

"Well, I think is time to get out of here." Shikamaru said finally.

"Yea we gotta find that Elevator." Naruto stated.

"Already did." Choji replied. "We just need to get going."

"How about we get in a change of clothes first?" Lee suggested. "Yeah," Neji chimed in. "I'm still naked."

 _'No complaints here.'_ Most of the women in the village thought, plus some guys.

"Woof!" A dog barked, but it wasn't Akamaru this time. The boys all turned their heads towards the entrance where the blue dog from earlier had somehow managed to drag a man sized tub filled with water and six fresh pairs of the blue robes they had been given.

"Woof!" She barked again.

"Akamaru picked a good one." Naruto said with a grin.

Kiba scratched behind Akamaru's ears as a reward for his fine selection of bitches.

* * *

A half an hour later, after washing off all the puke with the tub and each of them changing into a fresh pair of robes, the boys raided the kitchen one last time to stock up on snacks for the road and to give Bluebell (their name for the blue dog, no one felt very creative at the moment) as big a steak to eat as they could find as a token of their gratitude.

"Hey, why don't we bring her with us?" Naruto suggested. "Akamaru would be very lonely without her."

No one in particular felt like arguing with him, so Naruto crouched down to speak with her face to face. "Whadda say girl? Ya wanna come with us?" Naruto said in a sing-song voice.

Bluebell lowered her head and her ears went back as she started to whimper.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked.

"She doesn't want to leave Princess Snake and at the same time, she wants to go with us." Kiba said as he started to comfort the sad dog.

"I can talk, you know." Bluebell spoke to him clearly.

"WHAT?!" All of the guys said in shock. Even the ever stoic Neji was in complete shock.

"Holy shit!" the women save for Videl shouted.

"Eh... Old news." Videl said in a bored tone.

"Oh like you saw this coming." Temari stated critically.

"Animals talking isn't new to Videl and me." Gohan said. "In our world, a lot of animals not only talk, but walk like a person and even hold paying jobs."

"Well excuse us for living in a normal world where animals don't talk...except for summons." Temari stated.

"Actually, I think Kiba's mother's dog companion can talk." Hinata pointed out.

"Really?" Videl asked.

"Wait a minute. Why am I surprised? Gohan told me about the animals in his world that can walk and talk like any average Joe." Naruto stated.

"I honestly have run out of fucks to give at this point." Shikamaru stated. "Let's just get going before something else ridiculous happens." Shikamaru making a beeline for the elevator.

"Like us running into a man, made of bubblegum?" Choji suggested as he joined Shikamaru.

"Or discovering one of our long lost brothers?" Lee chimed in.

"You mean Majin Buu?" Bluebell asked. "I don't think you'll meet him anytime soon."

"Don't know, don't care!" Shikamaru shouted back without turning his head.

"So are you coming or what?" Kiba asked Bluebell.

"I... I don't know... Snake had given me a home and I hate to just take advantage of her..." Bluebell said in a mixture of sadness and confusion.

"You mean like she tried to take advantage of any guy that comes through here?" Naruto replied.

"There is a reason for that. She wasn't lying about being married to King Yemma, but the problem is that he can't... um... please her because of how big he is. This is why they have an open relationship. Snake can get the pleasure she desires and Yemma has a beautiful wife to be with."

"Yea, but she tried to eat and KILL us! Does she do that with every guest?" Kiba stated.

"Well thank you for the now pointless backstory, LET'S GOOOO!" Shikamaru shouted, clearly having lost all his patience.

"Keep your panties on, Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted at him.

"She had been doing that a lot lately. Why, I don't know. She wasn't like this 100,000 years ago." Bluebell said like it was the most common thing.

"Well I guess she just needed a good fucking." Neji stated.

Naruto looked around at the destroyed castle. "Well we certainly gave her that." The blond stated.

"The way I see it, you obviously love Akamaru and he would be devastated to go home without you. Your home is destroyed and Snake is sure to be sore when she wakes up. I say you should come with us. My clan has all kinds of dogs there for you to get along with." Kiba said happily.

Bluebell became teary eyed. "I would love too." She said as Akamaru came up to her and rubbed his cheek against hers.

The whole village sighed with happiness at the sight of finding true love.

Back in the Inuzuka compound, Tsume was teasing her canine companion. "Looks like you're not the only talking dog of the pack now, Kuromaru."

The grey wolf scoffed. "Yes, finally I'll have someone intelligent to talk to."

"We are cutting it really close!" Shikamaru shouted to the rest of his comrades, signifying them that they needed to get their asses in the elevator before they missed their chance to sign up for the tournament.

"Alright already! Geez..." Naruto said in annoyance. "Let's move out guys."

The six guys and two dogs then piled into the elevator that was thankfully large enough to accompany all of them. Shikamaru who was closest pressed the lowest floor number, floor -666.

"Really?" Videl commented but none of the villagers or the shinobi in the afterlife seemed to notice anything wrong.

The elevator doors closed on them as music began playing.

 _Stayin' alive..._

 _Stayin' alive..._

 _Ah, ah, ah, ah! Stayin' alive!_

* * *

 **Author's Note: samuraipanda85: I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starting to notice a pattern with chapter lengths. So if anyone has a problem with too long chapters, please say so and we'll cut them in half into…well not bite sized chunks, but more manageable portion sizes. I always think 10K is a healthy length for fanfic chapters, I read them on my phone though, so to each their own.**


	19. Chapter 19: Preliminaries Part 1

**Author's Note from samuraipanda85: I accept full blame for why this took three months to get out. All my fanfic writing "homies" know how easy it is to get sidetracked by life or even by writing other fanfics. Five Year Mission blew up and the chapter ideas just kept coming between me and cmartin. That's the problem with this arc in particular. I have a very clear idea of what I want the plot to be and for better and for worse it is hampering the writing process. So feel free to go to my author's page and spit on your computer screens in protest. Go ahead, I won't even get mad.**

* * *

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, AFTERLIFE!" A blue skinned man wearing sunglasses with a suit and tie shouted into a microphone. He was met with a deafening roar from the audience. Millions of souls from all across the multiverse had come out to enjoy the tournament. They sat atop simple stone benches that had been carved from the same block. Surrounding them were several holographic images being used as video scoreboards. Showing the viewers in the back whatever highlights of the fights they couldn't normally see.

"Are you ready for everyone's favorite tournament in the Afterlife?" The crowd roared in approval.

"Alright! The judge who will be proceeding over the entire tournament this year is none other than the God of Destruction for Universe 7. Lord BEEEEEERUUUUUUSSSS!" The announcer called as the screen zoomed in on Beerus. Who sat upon his throne with all the excitement of a man being given a lecture on the history of furniture.

"As always, the rules for the tournament are simple. Hundreds of teams compete and yet only one can will the grand prize to free a soul from their eternal punishment. To do this, the teams must advance through three days of epic fighting. The first day is the preliminaries, where teams fight in a rapid fire battle royal to advance. The second and third day are a different affair however. The second day, that is the semi-finals, will have more

I will now explain the basic rules of the tournament. Ahem. The first day of the tournament is the preliminaries. These are the rapid fire, high stakes, battle royal matches. Here, teams of up to six participants will fight one another in quick winner take all matches. A team can send out all six of its fighters or a sole warrior or any number in between. As can the opponent team with no regard for their foes. However, when one side's fighters have all been defeated, the side loses. Regardless if they still have able bodied fighters on reserve."

"So that means if team A sent out 1 fighter and he lost to team B who sent out all 6 of their fighters, team A would lose. Even if they still have 5 fighters still ready to go." Shikamaru summarized.

"Exactly." Bluebell chimed in. "It's a risk reward strategy. On the one hand you're more likely to win if you send out all your teammates for a match, but at the same time that means that they will all tire out faster and you won't have anybody fresh for the next round."

"Fascinating, this'll surely be troublesome…" Shikamaru smirked.

Back in the living world, his clansmen and the rest of the Leaf couldn't help but agree.

"At the end of the day, only four teams will be allowed to enter the Semi-Finals for the next day. Which will be with similar rules as the previous day, but will allow teams to fight until they have exhausted all their available fighters. The winner of those two matches will then advance to the Finals, which will take place the next day. The Finals has every fight be broken up into individual matches. One side only claims victory when the other has no more fighters left standing. So one participant can fight multiple times, but once he has been defeated by knock out or ring out, he will be disqualified." The announcer explained.

"And by the end, things get more traditional." Shikamaru thought out loud.

"Yes." Bluebell once again spoke up. "Originally that was how all the stages of the tournament were. Teams doing one on one fights, but the judges in centuries past thought that this took too long and resulted in many tedious matches. So they switched things up a bit for the preliminaries and semi-finals."

"So our biggest hurdle will most likely be the preliminaries. We don't get much of a break in between matches. But the semifinals and finals we get a night to rest for each." Shikamaru summarized.

"Without further ado! Let's get the first few rounds of the preliminaries up and running! Fighters! When I call your team name, please report to the designated ring! The winning team of that match will then be given a short break before being called back for their next match! With that being said, would the first two teams report to stage 1 for the first match?! Team Tortoise of dimension 17 and Team Sasuke of dimension 24!" The announcer shouted, summoning up cheers from the audience.

In the crowd of fighters, Shikamaru groaned as he remembered how his team got that ridiculous name.

 **Flashback to yesterday evening when Shikamaru and the others were registering for the tournament…**

 _Ding._

The doors to the elevator slid open revealing the burning planes of Hell to Naruto and his friends. Although it actually looked kind of nice, actually.

Everyone was expecting to see endless fields of fire and brimstone where the damned were to be eternally tormented for all of time. The air was supposed to be putrid with the smells of burning flesh and the stench of corpses. Instead the sky was a calming shade of pink (Naruto sighed), the fields were filled with green meadows dotted by a few trees here and there. Surrounding them were golden cliff sides devoid of any kind of jagged rocks or anything sharper than a boulder. The air itself was filled with the scent of jasmine and juniper berries. The only thing close to their conceived perception of Hell was the blood red lakes that looked more inviting than anything, especially with the bikini clad demon girls playing in the water. This looked more like a subsection of Heaven rather than Hell.

"Well this is anti-climactic." Naruto stated. Much to the agreement of the rest of his buddies. Most of whom were hoping to be fighting off winged demons by now.

"Don't be fooled. This is only one section of Hell." Bluebell explained, her fur standing on end. "This is the area reserved for those souls that enjoy torture and misery. So to punish them the demons put them in these lovely meadows they cannot destroy to torture them psychologically. It drives them mad worse than some of the regular sinner that are tortured. And if the sickos ever break and begin to enjoy themselves they are sent over to the more traditional torture areas."

"I see. So then where is the tournament located?" Shikamaru questioned, God only knew how much time they still had left, or even if registration for the tournament was still open.

"Just past that canyon, we can't miss it." Bluebell informed, raising up her right paw to point at the canyon on the other side of the field.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto shouted as he sprinted off towards the canyon with the rest of the group following close behind. Soon they were through the canyon and the view opened up to an impressive view.

The closest thing Gohan and Videl could have equated it to would be an Olympic stadium, only 3 times larger at least. The stadium was in the classic oval shape with an open ceiling. The actual building was made entirely of bone white concrete, with a thicket of black stone thorns covering the entire exterior of the structure.

Outside the stadium was a collection of buildings that made up a village. Of the two most noteworthy buildings, the tallest building unmistakably looked like your average run of the mill hotel. Why Hell would need a hotel was beyond even the great Shikamaru's genus IQ. The other building, the one nearest to the stadium looked like a place to register for the tournament, judging by the line of scary looking guys of all shapes and sizes standing patiently in a row.

With no other options to try, Naruto walked up to the back of the line and tapped the last man in line on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, this is the line to register for the tournament right?" Naruto asked, trying to sound polite.

The man turned around to reveal himself to be having the face of a fish and the body of a werewolf.

"Oui, cela est le lieu approprié pour vous inscrire au tournoi mes bons gars. Et quel tournoi jolly good il devrait être." The fish/wolf/man spoke.

"Ah, thank you…" Naruto replied before returning to face the rest of his guys.

"Ok, I'm 40% sure that this is the line we want." Naruto reported back.

"Oh it's definitely the line we want." Neji confirmed, the veins surrounding his eyes sticking out, indicating that he was using his Byakugan. "I took a peak at the papers the guys in front are signing and this is definitely the line to register."

"Great, and now we wait…" Naruto said as he returned to the back of the line. Where the fish man was giving him a really creepy smile.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. The line was surprisingly small, maybe thirty people of various definitions of people lined up, and it soon became clear that a majority of them were teamed up into groups of sixes. You did occasionally see a lone warrior enter the tournament with a cocky attitude, but it seemed that in this tournament everyone was playing it safe.

"NEXT!" The red skinned demon called out, signaling to Naruto and the rest that it was finally their turn. They stepped up to the table feeling a bit nervous but excited that they had made it.

"Names?" The demon asked without looking up at the boys and their canine companions.

Looking around to see that no one else felt like speaking up, Naruto took it as a cue for him to do the talking. "Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka, his dog Akamaru, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Bluebell." Naruto introduced.

The demon worker then breathed a great deep sigh. _'They just had to make it difficult, don't they?'_

"Only six souls may enter per team…" He explained in a tired voice before looking up. His eyes went wide when he saw seven living beings and a demon hound. Without a doubt the most interesting group of individuals to grace his registration station in decades. How dare they shake up the monotony he had grown accustomed to?

"I'm sorry, this tournament is normally reserved for souls of the deceased. What, might I ask, are you living souls doing here?" The demon worker asked, being sure not to generalize species as to not offend the dogs standing nearby.

The humans looked around at each other, confused at being referred to as living souls. The blond one with fox whiskers was the first to speak up, perhaps he was one of those hybrids from "those" dimensions.

"What does it matter if we're alive? Whis said the tournament was open to anyone."

"Whis?" The demon asked, now sorry that he had inquired about why they were here.

"Yeah Whis. You know, caretaker to Beerus the Destroyer. Tall, blue, taller white hair…" The blond one described by exaggerating his hands over his head to demonstrate how big Whis's hair was. This also intrigued the demon worker.

"Whis? …The Whis?" He said. Sweet Kami these humans were gonna be difficult weren't they? Thinking that using a famous namedrop would get them preferential treatment in the tournament bracket.

"Yes, him." The blond said impatiently. "He's the one who let us into the Afterlife in the first place."

"Ok, ok, that's fine." The demon worker said hastily, hoping to avoid a confrontation and just to move this along.

"So which of you will be participating in the tournament exactly?" He said with his clipboard in hand and his pen at the ready.

"That'd be me and the rest of the guys. Not the dogs though." Naruto said.

"Hey wait, hold up, Akamaru is my partner, can't he fight with me?" Kiba interjected. Causing the demon worker to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"As I said before, sir, only six participants are allowed per team. Six fighters, i.e. six souls. Your friend here has a soul; therefore, he can only participate if another one of you decides not to participate. And at no time may you substitute one of your teammates for an outsider." The demon wearily explained.

Kiba looked annoyed at the worker, but held his tongue. "Fine, then I guess it's just us humans."

"Fantastic." The demon said with fake enthusiasm. "Now I'll just need all the participants to sign their names here." He showed them the contract and pointed towards six dotted lines. "To ensure that you all agree to the terms of the tournament and to not whine to the gods about any unsatisfactory outcomes that may pass." He handed the boys his clipboard with the contract and a pen to share.

"Such as…?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Not winning…?" The demon worker said, stating the obvious.

The boys all took turns trying to read the contract. The font was so small and the words so jammed packed together that it became difficult to read. Plus, it was written in some stupidly intricate and spiky red typeface that the boy's all guessed was just to be in keeping with the Hell theme that the tournament had going on. In practice it only made the small words even more difficult to read.

The boys finally gave up and each signed their names. Figuring that they had come this far, a little fine print wasn't going to make them turn back now.

"Excellent. Now I just need your team name for the roster and I can send you boys to your room for the night." The demon worker then gestured towards the hotel in case any of them felt the need to question him about where the hotel was located.

"Team name?" Naruto questioned. No one had ever said anything about a team name.

"Well we're definitely not calling it Team Naruto." Kiba quickly spoke up.

"Why not? What's wrong with that name?" Naruto defended.

"I'm not being on a team named after a fish cake." Naruto growled at Kiba. Nobody makes fun of the name his parents had given him.

"Hey, what about team Maverick?" Choji chimed in, thinking of Naruto's old nickname.

"Yosh, we should call it team Flaming Springtime of Youth!" Lee declared.

"I'd rather it be called team Fish Cakes." Neji countered.

"What about team Bluebell?" Bluebell suggested.

"Woof." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Just so long as we don't call it Team Sasuke." Shikamaru joked.

"Team Sasuke it is." The demon worker said, as he hadn't been paying attention until the pineapple haired one spoke up.

"Wait, no! Not that name! Do-over!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"Sorry, already put it into the computer." The demon worker said with indifference.

"No you didn't! You don't even have a computer! I just saw you write it down!" Shikamaru shouted as he leaned into the booth to get into the demon's face.

"Sir, step away from the booth or I will call security." The demon stated, his thumb hanging over a big red button hidden underneath his desk. Slowly, Shikamaru backed up.

"Great, now your room will be room number 1758. The tournament begins tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM sharp. Tardiness will disqualify you. Breakfast will be served in the hotel lobby an hour before until 7:45. Please do not wander around before or during the tournament, as any attempts at sabotage is also grounds for disqualification. Have a nice day and good luck." The demon worker handed Naruto a room key and shooed the ninjas off to deal with the new team of giant turtles who were to enter the tournament.

Team Sasuke then grumbled off towards the hotel where they would be staying.

 **Flashforward back to the announcement of the first match…**

"Right off the bat huh?" Naruto smirked as he cracked his knuckles.

"That's fine by me." Kiba said.

"YOSH! LET'S DO THIS, FRIENDS! IN THE NAME OF YOUTH!" Lee cheered. The rest of the group just sighed at their comrades' antics. Without wasting any time, the six of them all walked onto stage 1. Which, compared to the stadium they were in, was a tiny box with concrete tile flooring. 30x30 meters. With just enough room for all the fighters. Shikamaru cursed to himself. He was a long range strategist. His best position was in the back coordinating the assault, even in small skirmishes such as these. With such a short distance between him and the enemy, he couldn't avoid close combat. He might be able to trap the enemy team in his Shadow Possession more easily, but how long until all the other teams observing them would pick up on his trick and devise counters to it? This would handicap him, as well as the rest of his teammates. They were all ninjas. They were trained to make use of their environment. Specifically, wide open spaces where they could maneuver. This battlefield however, this was Gohan's territory. Up close and personal powerhouse fighting. They would have to rely on his training now more than ever.

"Guys…" Shikamaru whispered to all of them.

"What's up, Shika?" Naruto whispered back. Shikamaru ignored the nickname Naruto just gave him.

"Don't use your ninja techniques. Use Gohan's training and taijutsu as much as possible."

"Are you sure?" Choji asked. His clan techniques were a huge part of his fighting style. No pun intended.

"Positive. The terrain and objectives of this fight aren't suited to our usual combat style as ninjas. Save for Neji and Lee, the rest of us need to hold our ground and use more straight taijutsu for now."

"Alright, if you say so…" Naruto replied, trusting Shikamaru to have thought through every possibility and come up with the best solution.

As they finished their discussion, their opponents came waddling onto the stage. Six bear sized tortoises that stood up on their hind legs like men and carried around giant, menacing maces. They were so huge they looked like you could hollow them out and stuff people inside them.

"Oh come on, are those things even allowed!?" Naruto whined.

To answer his question, a fat blue imp came fluttering onto the stage in a black and white striped referee uniform. "All weapons carried onto the field by the fighters prior to the start of the match are acceptable weapons. Anything sentient or taken onto the field after the match has begun are forbidden. Is that understood?"

All twelve fighters nodded their heads.

"Very good- ARE THE FIGHTERS FROM TEAM SASUKE READY?" The referee shouted.

"READY!" The boys all shouted.

"TEAM TORTOISE ARE YOU READY?"

"RAAARH!" The Tortoises replied.

"BEGIN!" The referee shouted as he waved down his red fan. As soon as he did that though, alarms blared and the stage turned red. Both teams froze in place, mid charge.

"Whoops, looks like we have a rule breaker on Stage 1, folks! And on the very first match too!" The announcer relayed to the audience. Each team looked over at one another, certain that it was the other guys who tried to cheat.

The referee swung his red fan in a circular motion, activating some sort of program that had the titles on the stage shift around until the red glow was completely centered around Naruto.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru questioned. All eyes then turned towards the blond.

"Wha- I'm not a cheater." Naruto stated as the referee came closer towards him.

"If this is about my kunai poach I was wearing it when I stepped into the ring." Naruto said as he quickly undid the belt around his leg to hold up the pouch and show it to the ref.

"That's not the problem young man. Your team has one too many participants." The referee stated.

"One too many? There is only us six!" Naruto defended. He counted out all his other teammates; Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Lee, Neji, and himself made six.

"Yes, plus the one I can sense you have trapped inside you." The referee said. Naruto's blood ran cold.

The Leaf then went abuzz with the younger generation gossiping. Wondering what it was that the blue imp was talking about. Naruto didn't have another person trapped inside him. Did he?

The older generation and a few select individuals kept quiet however. For they knew the truth, or at least a distorted version of it. And now over a decade of speculation was finally going to be answered once and for all.

"Um, I ah…don't know what you're talking about…" Naruto sputtered, trying to play dumb.

"Really now boy, don't play games with me. This'll go a lot faster if you just cooperate. Now lift up your shirt." Naruto gulped.

"Oh come on. What, did you sneak in Shino inside your belly or something?" Kiba teased. Shikamaru just gave him a look telling him to shut up.

Slowly, Naruto lifted up his shirt. Once again revealing his black spiral tattoo to the ref and therefore the entire Hidden Leaf Village. The boys on Naruto's team all crowded around him and saw that the tattoo was no longer just a marking on Naruto's abdomen. It was glowing! Pulsing like a heartbeat as it seemed to grow under everyone's gaze. Naruto tried to control it, but it was clear that his nerves were putting his chakra control out of whack.

"W-what are you going to do?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"I'm going to remove it." The referee said bluntly. He poked Naruto in his belly and turned the seal. The Kyuubi's blood orange chakra bleed out of Naruto's seal and the jinchuriki screamed in pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Stay back." The referee said firmly.

"N-Naruto? What's happening to him?!" Kiba shouted.

"They're removing the 9 tailed fox from him..." Shikamaru said grimly.

"The demon fox?! But it's dead!" Lee cried. Naruto's belly then exploded outward and a gigantic orange fox was thrown out.

"No... It's not..." Neji said in awe as he looked at the Kyuubi.

All across the village, the majority of the people gasped in shock as they once again saw the 9 Tailed Fox appear in front of them, only this time, he appeared in Hell.

"My God..." Ino said.

"What the fuck...?" Videl gasped out. "IS that what I sensed inside of him...?"

"So it's true..." Sakura breathed out.

"Yes...it is..." Kakashi stated as he looked up at the sphere. The memories of that terrible October evening come flooding back to him. The sight if that impossibly tall monster standing over the Leaf village like it was a sandbox.

"They'll kill him... They'll kill Naruto if they do this!" Sakura cried.

"What?!" Videl and Gohan exclaimed.

"A Jinchuriki like Naruto will die if the Biju gets extracted from its host. If they don't have a better way of extracting the Kyuubi from Naruto, he will die." Kakashi said darkly.

"Oh no..." Gohan said. They looked up and saw that Naruto was still on his knees screaming bloody murder. His teammates were all gathered around him trying to help, but every time they tried to grab him they were repelled by the Kyuubi chakra still leaking out from the jinchuriki. The chakra seemed to violently bleed out of his every pore, all trailing outward towards the 9 Tailed Beast thrown aside.

The fox too was on all fours looking to be in immense pain. His tails were thrashing violently throughout all of this, kicking up gale storms that shook Hell itself.

Finally, the referee had enough of Naruto's screaming and gabbed ahold of the chakra stream that was connecting Naruto with the Kyuubi. Instantly the raging chakra calmed itself and formed a single thin red strand of chakra cord, connecting the jinchuriki to his bijuu by a thread.

Naruto collapsed onto all fours and vomited his breakfast all over the floor.

"Naruto! Talk to me!" Shikamaru begged.

All around him, Naruto's teammates gathered, trying to see if there was something, anything they could do for their friend. Until they felt a singeing air pressure looming over them. They collectively looked up at the towering demon fox. Who looked down upon them with eyes filled with pure rage. They had all heard stories from their parents about the Kyuubi and how terrifying it was. Only now did they finally appreciate its ungodly presence.

Those in the Leaf who knew of Naruto's status as a jinchuriki but had never seen the Kyuubi or any Tailed Beast for themselves could only think one thing.

 _'Naruto kept this at bay? It's...impossible...'_

Back in Hell, the Kyuubi was eyeing up the six mortals kneeling before him in terror. He then looked around at where they were.

 _ **'I'm free…?'**_ The Kyuubi thought privately to himself.

Shikamaru and the rest looked up at the Kyuubi, not certain what it was thinking. Then the Kyuubi raised up his mighty claw and brought it bearing down upon the Leaf Shinobi. Too fast to dodge, too big to survive.

"STOP!" Naruto cried out.

But the Kyuubi wouldn't stop. Shikimaru closed his eyes and braced to be squashed like a bug.

Everyone watching looked away and heard the skull rattling **CRASH!**

Shikamaru opened his eyes a peak and saw that he wasn't dead. He was still in Hell, and the Kyuubi had missed.

"Wha...?" He looked over at Naruto who was panting harder than he did before. Shikimaru looked down at Naruto's hands and saw that his orange clad friend had grabbed the chakra cord connecting him with the Kyuubi and, as impossible as it seemed, had yanked the Kyuubi forward, causing him to miss Naruto and all his friends entirely.

"W-what just happened?" Kiba said in confusion.

"Don't you... (gasp) hurt... my friends..." Naruto said in a dead serious voice. Even with one foot in the grave, he still found ways to look intimidating when facing down a demon the size of a mountain.

The Kyuubi huffed out flames in retort.

"Well, now this is a surprise." Beerus mused.

 **"Don't give me orders, brat."** The Kyuubi spat.

"It can talk!?" Neji exclaimed, which was the general consensus off all who thought they knew the Kyuubi.

"Yes... He can..." Naruto wheezed out.

 **"Oh, so you're even referring to me as a he, not an it. I'm fucking honored. Now let go of the chakra string so I can move and kill you."** The Kyuubi snapped. Even since Naruto had gripped the string, the Kyuubi lost all power over his limbs, making him numb from the neck down.

"If you think... I'd put... The lives... of my friends... in your hands... you're...dumber than me... Naruto gasped out.

 **"I wasn't asking, brat! Either let me finish you off or I'll kill your little friends once you're done keeling over!"** The Kyuubi growled.

"Fuck...You..."

"Ok, enough of this." Came a voice standing next to Naruto and the others. They looked to see that it was none other than Whis.

"I'm sorry, but we need to get a move on with the festivities." Whis said nonchalantly as he flicked his fingers and knocked the Kyuubi back to the other side of the stadium like a piece of paper caught in the wind. Then with a snap of his fingers, the Kyuubi found himself trapped inside a thick steel cage one size too small for him.

 **"No! Not again!"** Kyuubi bellowed.

"H-he just flicked him aside like it was nothing..." Kakashi gasped in shock.

"Holy shit..." Gohan gasped.

"Naruto..." Sakura said in fear as she waited to see if Naruto was okay.

Whis meanwhile was admiring his handiwork. It had been awhile since he had had to manhandled a demon, but as his master always said, it was just like riding a bicycle.

"You should probably give him one of those Senzu beans you brought with you. Otherwise he really will die." Whis spoke to the boys with a smile.

"Oh, right." Shikamaru said as he took a bean out of his pocket and fed it to Naruto.

The blond forced himself to swallow it, which quickly rejuvenated his strength. Even still, he still felt exhausted and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Ugh... Thanks Shikamaru."

"No problem buddy. How are you feeling?"

"Like Gohan had me train in 1000x gravity."

"Hmmm..." Whis muttered as he leaned forward to observe Naruto. "Perhaps we'll have you sit out this one match. Let you catch your breath."

"Yes, that would be the best option." Neji agreed as his Byakugan saw that Naruto's chakra coils were fluctuating all over the place.

Naruto wanted to protest, but couldn't find the energy to argue.

"Excellent. Now one more thing to note." Whis picked up the chakra string connecting Naruto and the Kyuubi. "You can think of this as your life line. Or even your red string of fate." Whis teased.

"That's just great. You rip the Kyuubi from me and now you are tethering me to him..." Naruto groaned.

"It is the one thing keeping you alive, and will allow us to reseal the Kyuubi back in you with ease." Whis explained.

"Keep him." Naruto growled.

"No can do. I'm afraid if we do that, you really will die." Whis said.

Naruto groaned, his one real chance to be rid of the Kyuubi and it was dashed.

"Wait a minute. So, you don't have anything that can remove the Kyuubi from him completely without killing him?" Kiba asked.

"The Kyuubi is bound to Naruto's life force. If one dies, so does the other, same with separating them." Whis explained.

"So how did he even get the Kyuubi sealed inside him in the first place?" Kiba exclaimed. "The 4th Hokage was supposed to have killed him."

"You see, Kiba. A Tailed beast from your world can't be killed indefinitely as they are made purely of Chakra. They will dissipate and reform after 3 years, but not actually die." Whis explained.

"The forth didn't kill him...he sealed the Kyuubi inside me...to protect the village." Naruto explained.

"But the villagers. They treated you like crap. Called you fox brat and- Oooooohhh." Choji said.

Now everyone in the village really felt terrible. Those remaining who always saw Naruto as the demon reincarnated could now see for themselves the "demon boy" and the actual demon. Standing opposite one another. One ready to destroy the young shinobi and all his friends, and the boy who was never the demon, but it's jailer.

"So then why seal then in anything mortal? Why not a vase or a rock or something?" Kiba asked. Whis was starting to get annoyed. They were starting to get off schedule.

"I don't know all the ways you humans think. Probably to have the living vessel harness the power of the Tailed Beast and use them as a weapon."

"So the 4th Hokage turned Naruto into a weapon?" Kiba growled. The rest of his generation seemed to be in a similar outraged state of mind.

"Perhaps. That would definitely be the reason your village elders kept him around." Whis said nonchalantly.

"No, he didn't..." Naruto said softly, trying to defend his father.

"It hardly matters now. You remaining five need to fight now or forfeit the match." Whis stated.

Team Sasuke and the rest of the Konoha 11 felt nothing but rage boiling inside them. How could anyone, do that to Naruto?

"Guys, you need to do it." Naruto stated.

"Sure thing, buddy." Shikamaru said as Naruto slowly walked off.

The five standing fighters of Team Sasuke looked at their comrade step off the stage. They had always seen him as a loveable knucklehead that liked to pull pranks, screw around, always had your back, and could be counted on to surprise you. Now they saw him in a different light. As a man who bore a terrible burden. A silent hero, braver than any chunin or jounin they had ever met.

"Guys, this one is for Naruto..." Kiba stated as he cracked his knuckles.

"Damn straight." Shikamaru said as he popped his neck.

"Yosh! Naruto's youthfulness shall lead us to victory!" Lee cheered.

"What he said." Neji agreed.

"Oy! Let's do this!" Choji shouted as he and the rest of his team took their position in front of their opponents. The giant Tortoises with the big fuck off stone maces.

The five remaining shinobi stood before the six massive Tortoise juggernauts. Each of them quickly prepared in their own way. One of the Turtle-men sneered.

"Team Sasuke vs. Team Tortoise! BEGIN!"

The crowd roared as the Tortoises lunged forward while the Shinobi executed a quick Bull Head formation. Lee, Kiba, and Neji leapt forward to engage the enemy head on while Shikamaru dropped to one knee to begin his sign weaving while Choji stood guard over him.

Lee was at the head of the formation and leapt at the middle Tortoise with a heavy kick, that the Tortoise blocked with his gigantic stone mace. Lee then used the mace as a platform to jump back out of reach of the mace and begin another assault.

Kiba took the position of left horn and dodged his opponents initial swing before curving around and landed a clean swipe with his claws against the Tortoise's right shoulder. Unfortunately for Kiba, his opponent had natural armor plating on his shoulder and chest, meaning Kiba only left tiny scratches.

' _Too thick, figures.'_ Kiba grabbed ahold of the edge of the Tortoise's shell and swung onto its back. This had the desired effect of getting a second Tortoise to attack his brother while Kiba leapt up to safety. The Tortoise he was piggybacking on wasn't so lucky though, and took a 1-ton stone mace to the upper back. Forcing it down on one knee.

Neji was on the right and was having the most trouble of all. It soon became clear that even on the parts of the body without shell armor, their skin was just too thick. Making his fighting style of attacking his opponent's chakra points useless. All he could do was use his gentle fist style to redirect the flow of the maces that his opponent swung at him. Which allowed two other Tortoises to slip him by.

"Choji!" Neji warned, but the fat bodied ninja had already seen them. The two Tortoises used the stage's confined area to their advantage and swung their maces down with the handles extended as far as they would go. They aimed for Shikamaru, who they perceived to be the weakest owning to his small stature while crouched down on one knee. The Nara's teammate, however, was used to playing defense on behalf of his squad's tactician. In an instant, both his forearms inflated to a size matching the Tortoise's maces and blocked them head on. The downward force of the two stone maces was incredible and Choji found himself bulking under the weight. The stone tiles beneath him cracked under the transfer of energy. If it weren't for the gravity training, Choji wasn't sure he would have been able to catch those weapons like he did.

Thankfully this gave Shikamaru all the time he needed to pull of his signature jutsu. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru's shadow immediately branched out into six tentacles that found their marks of the six Tortoises. "Complete!" He shouted, signaling to his teammates that their opponents would be frozen in place for a time. Which synced up perfectly with the other three fighters who were already airborne.

"Dynamic Entry!" Lee shouted, slamming his heal into the spot between his opponent's neck and shoulder. The Tortoise bulked as the force of the kick reverberated into the softer parts of his torso.

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba cried, as he unleashed a slashing tornado down the right arm of his second opponent, his added chakra to his claws gave them just enough bite to carve ribbons into the Tortoise's thick skin.

"Air Palm!" Neji stated, using one of his clan's few medium ranged attacks, he sent a massive burst of chakra out of his palm that hit the stationary Tortoise at just the right angle to knock him off balance.

"Expansion Jutsu Kick!" Choji cried, his hands still holding back the maces, Choji brought his leg up like a spring and donkey kicked the Tortoise on his left right in the gut, while Choji's leg inflated to a massive size to increase the force of the blow. The Tortoise skidded back, but stayed on his feet. This gave the second Tortoise on Choji's right the chance to step into the ninja's arm's length. It them backhanded Choji across his cheek with its scaly forearms. Leaving little ribbons of cuts across Choji's face like he had Naruto's whiskers. Ino sucked air through her teeth when she saw what had happened to Choji. The right side of his face now looked like Naruto's, only bloodier. She hated only being able to watch and not do anything.

Shikamaru however, didn't have that problem. He took the opportunity Choji gave him to dash around the Tortoise with a lasso of ninja wire ready. He strung the wire around the Tortoise's neck and stamped his foot on its shell.

"HOOOOO!" He cried as he gave a great heave. Among the rest of his peers, Shikamaru was the furthest behind in gravity training, but that never handicapped him before. He had his brains and the angling of the wire he had around the Tortoise's neck meant only one thing, that this big hulking bastard was going down.

Sure enough, as Shikamaru pulled the Tortoise was forced to backpedal, desperately grasping at the metal strings buried deep within its neck. It wasn't enough though, all Shikamaru needed was for one of the Tortoises to come to their buddy's aid and Shikamaru could consider himself a sitting duck.

"Choji!" Shikamaru cried. His best friend got the message and sent a massive right hook at the Tortoise's upraised chin.

 **POW!**

The scaly beast took a two ton hit and finally fell on his back. Shikamaru leapt out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed. He looked over at his opponent only to see it flail pathetically on its shell, unable to stand back up.

' _Classic.'_ Thought Shikamaru. "Knock these guys on their backs!"

"What?! Seriously!?" Kiba shouted as he dodged his opponent's sweeping club.

"Yes! They're just like any turtle! turn them over and they can't move!"

"Fuck me! Easier said than done!" Kiba shouted as the rest of guys (save for Shikamaru) were actively engaged in one on one fights with the big turtles. Expect for Lee, who ended up fighting 2 at once.

Shikamaru scanned the battlefield, he needed to help out the one most needing him. Lee was outnumbered, but holding his own. Choji was going toe to toe with one of the Tortoises. Kiba was also landing hits and staying out of range from his opponent's retaliations. That just left...

"Neji! Back up!" Shikamaru shouted, letting the Byakugan user know that help was on the way. Shikamaru made his hand signs and launched his Shadow towards the Neji's Tortoise.

Neji saw what the Nara genius was doing and stepped into his opponent's range to initiate a counter attack. At that moment the Tortoise lifted his massive hammer above his head, ready to squash Neji like a bug. That was the moment that Shikamaru caught him in his Shadow possession jutsu, freezing the Tortoise in his off balance pose and giving Neji a sitting duck to play with.

"AIR PALM!" Neji thrusted his arms forward with chakra, sending a powerful air blast directly at that turtle's face. Again and again he struck him until the big behemoth finally toppled over.

"Good, two down." Shikamaru said before turning his attention to Lee.

"Lee! Use the second gate and overpower them!" Shikamaru instructed.

"Neji! Back him up!" Shikamaru instructed. Neji nodded in confirmation and sent an air palm down at the back knee of one of the Tortoises.

 _'Divide and conquer.'_ Shikamaru thought as he ran towards Kiba and his opponent.

"First gate! The gate of opening! Open!" Lee yelled as his power suddenly surged, creating a red aura around him and turning his skin red. "Second Gate! Gate of Healing! Open!" Lee grunted and his aura intensified.

The entire stadium was taken back at the living mortal's sudden increase in power. Those with scouters read Lee's now power and were shocked to see what they saw.

"My word..." Ginyu started. "That boys power level just shot up to 48,000."

"And those turtles only have a power level of 14,000 apiece. What a shame..." Freeza said with a fake pout.

The Demon Frost Emperor shook his head in pity as he turned his attention back towards his own pathetic opponents.

"Ginyu, dispose of these worms for me would you?" Freeza asked, waving his hand dismissively.

"Yes my lord!" Ginyu happily obliged.

Back with the shinobi, Lee had just put a small crater in the lead Tortoise's once impenetrable shell with his boot.

Said Tortoise fell flat on the floor, completely unconscious where as Neji kicked out the legs of the other one, sending it to its back.

"Yosh! Two down!" Lee cheered.

"And two to go." Neji added.

"Make that one!" Choji shouted from his little corner of the stage. Where he had managed to lift the stupidly heavy Tortoise he was fighting and toss it out of the ring.

"Yea, now help me out here!" Kiba yelled.

"Help us!" Shikamaru corrected as he took the broad side of the stone mace to the face and was knocked clear off the stage floor.

"What the...?" Kiba looked on as one of the tortoises got back up and went on a rage fueled rampage.

Choji didn't notice this and was instead focused on his best friend being knocked out.

"Shikamaru!"

The Nara heir back flipped over in midair like a cat, using his ninja training to right himself and them his saiyan training to catch himself.

At the very last possible second, Shikamaru shot out his arm to grab the edge of the stage to slow himself down. What he didn't expect was that his fingers would dig deeply into the white stone tiles. Like his hands were claws and the stage was Styrofoam. What was more amazing was the Shikamaru just hung there in the air. Suspended by his horizontal arm and his wrist strength alone.

"What the hell...?" Shikamaru said in confusion to himself. "I wonder..." Shikamaru moved his arms up away from the floor, only to find that he wasn't falling. He somehow was able to float right where he is. In the last possible moment out of desperation, he was able to harness his Ki to hover over the stadium floor.

"Ring out!" The referee called.

"What?! That's bullshit!" Naruto shouted from the sidelines.

"Excuse me?" The ref said, eyeing Naruto.

"Um, I mean, his feet haven't touched the outside of the stage yet. Technically he's floating." Naruto pointed out.

"Yes, but his thumb touched the sides of the stage. The rules state that the area is out of bounds." The referee explained.

 _'My thumb?'_ Shikamaru thought as he looked at the sole thumb crater he had punctured into the stone stage while trying to slow his flight. "Guess I'm out."

"Baaaah..." Naruto grumbled. Shikamaru decided to test his control and was able to slowly float towards Naruto before touching down next to him.

"Well, that was interesting." Shikamaru said in slight amusement.

"How did he do that?!" Videl exclaimed.

"He must have accidentally harnessed his Chakra to form Ki in order to float out of desperation to stay in the fight. That isn't unheard of." Gohan deduced.

"Alright, Little Boy." Temari smirked at her soon to be official boyfriend.

Back in Hell, Choji and the others were finishing off the two Tortoises left standing.

"Expansion Fist!" Choji cried as his enlarged fist slammed into one of the Tortoise his team had stumbled, leaving only one Tortoise left standing.

The remaining Tortoise had picked up one of his fallen brother's maces and was duel welding them. To counter this, the ninjas began to encircle him. Looking for openings to strike while the Tortoise looked for a way out.

"Give it up. Just surrender peacefully. You can't win." Choji stated, not certain if the Tortoise could speak or not.

The Tortoise looked around and saw he was covered on all four sides. He knew there was nothing he could do except surrender. He sighed, accepting his defeat, and dropped both maces, which they both landed with a thud.

He then lay down on his belly and curled into his shell.

"The last Tortoise has surrendered. Team Sasuke wins!" The announcer exclaimed.

All around them there was a general applause from the audience. But back in the Leaf, there was thunderous cheering.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Naruto commented from the sidelines.

"Perhaps, but it's only the first match." Shikamaru stated as he reached inside the breast pocket of the robes Princess Snake had given them and pulled out a carton of cigarettes the handmaidens had been so kind to offer him. After he had stolen it over their unconscious bodies of course.

"True, how many matches do we have left?" Naruto asked as he looked over at the tournament bracket. His eyes went wide.

"Holy shit..."

Shikamaru sighed as he turned some of his chakra into fire to light his cigar with his thumb.

' _This is gonna be troublesome.'_

* * *

 **Author's Note from samuraipanda85: Yeah this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous few. I feel it helps the pacing better. Plus, when a reviewer cries out in agony about you not updating in three months and its only then that you realize, "Holy shit, we haven't updated in three months!" That you decide to hunker down and get shit done. Thank you lonewolf420 for the wake-up call. And to everyone else who reads and reviews. Thank you too.**


	20. Chapter 20: Preliminaries Part 2

"Computer, return gravity levels to normal." Videl said as the room returned to normal gravity. Videl had just spent 4 hours training in 250x gravity in her Super Saiyan form and working on a new fighting form that she figured would give her the edge in combat that she needs. Using a towel to wipe the sweat from her brow, she picked up her dark red jacket (similar to the one Future Trunks wore) and turned to walk out of the chamber to get something to eat. As soon as she opened the door, Sakura was standing there getting ready to knock on the door.

"Oh, hey Sakura. I thought you'd be watching the guys on the sphere right now." Videl greeted. Instead of her usual combat dress that she wore, she was wearing a white tank top, dark grey loose fitting pants and yellow boots.

"I was, but I wanted to ask you something." Sakura started. "How hard was it for you to learn how to fly?"

"Honestly? It seemed more difficult than it actually was. Gohan used to tell me how most of his friends struggled to learn it were as I got it down pat in less than a week. That partly has to do with my Saiyan heritage." Videl said.

"And for someone like me?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Videl sighed as she thought everything over. "This has to do with seeing Naruto fly, doesn't it?" Videl asked, to which Sakura nodded. "I'm gonna give it to you straight. I'm surprised he was even able to learn it. Not because I didn't think he could learn it, but that he had used Chakra all his life. But, Gohan had told me his theory about Chakra and Ki being similar in some ways. He said that if you separated the mental and physical energies that make up Chakra that it was possible to use Ki abilities. Turns out, he was right. for someone like you, who is naturally gifted with superb Chakra control, you have a pretty good chance of learning to fly in about a few weeks' time."

"Are you serious?!" Sakura asked happily.

"I don't see why not. I'm not a true expert on Ki, that's Gohan's area. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm surprised Naruto hasn't taught you the Rasengan yet. With your chakra control, you could have it down in a few days." Videl stated.

"Well I mean... with everything going on, there was never a need for me to learn it. The Rasengan always seemed like Naruto's signature technique."

"Same with Gohan's Masenko and Kamehameha, yet I know them as well and I'm working on my own. I also know the Rasengan and I'm trying to see if I can add my fire element to it to make it stronger. I could teach you what I know of the Rasengan, but I figured that Naruto would want to do that if you asked him."

"Really?" The pink haired girl looked up hopefully at the thought of doing something as useful as training. Anything to take her mind off of Naruto and the others risking their lives in the GOH tournament.

"Sure, seeing as Gohan is training with Ino and Asuma right now, why not?" Videl said with a shrug. "I'll have to turn down the gravity setting first. I had it at 250x."

"No need! Let's just get right to work!" Sakura exclaimed as she stripped off her red zip up tank top. Left only in her black sports bra and matching spandex shorts, Sakura walked right into the gravity room, confident and ready to work her ass off.

"Are you sure? last time I checked, you were at 150x." Videl asked with concern.

To answer her question, exactly two seconds after Sakura had stepped into the room she fell face first under the excess force of gravity.

"I warned you..." Videl deadpanned. "Computer, turn down gravity to 150x."

"COMPUTER, BELAY THAT ORDER!" Sakura commanded from the floor.

Videl gasped in shock as she watched with continued shock as Sakura slowly started to stand. As she tried to put a knee under her, she fell again.

"Sakura, this is ridiculous. It's obvious you can't handle this gravity."

"NO!" Sakura shouted as she propped herself up on one knee again. "I've got this..." She hissed.

Taking a few short breaths to steady herself, Sakura focused her chakra on the center of her forehead where she kept her excess storage of chakra. A purple diamond tattoo then appeared and spread out along her limbs like ribbons. Her chakra network became flooded with a massive amount of chakra, filling her muscles with renewed strength. Sakura swung her other leg out and stood up against the 250x gravity.

"Holy shit..." Videl gasped out. "How did you do that? You are at half of my Super Saiyan form in power..."

Sakura continued to try and catch her breath, but was able to find the strength to respond.

"It's my Strength of 100 Hands Seal. One of the last techniques Lady Tsunade's taught me. Taught to her by her grandfather the 1st Hokage himself. Basically I store a certain amount of chakra in my forehead which I can call upon whenever I need it in dire situations. Or when I need a boost in strength and regenerative powers." Sakura explained.

"I so need to learn that..." Videl thought out loud.

"Hold your horses. You're teaching me how to fly AND how to use the Rasengan first..." Sakura said. "Besides, this technique requires so a superior level of chakra control that Tsunade will only teach it to her most talented medical students." Sakura said with a hint of smugness in her tone.

"Well, then Gohan could learn it I suppose." Videl said in a defeated tone. She then perked up so she could help Sakura out. "Alright. First, I want you to get used to this gravity. Then we'll work on seeing if you can split your energies that you would normally use to form Chakra to use Ki." Videl said.

Sakura nodded and began going through the motions of her signature style of taijutsu. Working all her core and vital muscles she used in her everyday life as a ninja.

* * *

Elsewhere, Gohan was going through the fundamentals of Shinobi teamwork training with Asuma and Ino, in the form of a lecture. Gohan was absorbing all Asuma was preaching like a sponge, but he needed to apply it to a real world situation before he could say that he was ready to take up a mission again.

"And that about covers the differences in hierarchy in Shinobi ranks. From genin to the Hokage position. Any questions?" Asuma asked, taking his trench knife away from the marker board.

"How would you classify my position right now?" Gohan asked.

"You? Well if we were going by experience alone, you would be classified as a genin with jounin, no scratch that, Kage level power. Which is not as uncommon as you think. You get prodigies in every generation and history textbooks are filled with underestimated genin taking on Kage level ninjas."

"So, then I would be like Naruto when he first started out." Gohan deduced. "I see... Then I have a long way to go."

Asuma chuckled. "I don't know where you got the idea that Naruto is on a Kage level just yet. But if it makes you feel any better, you do already have the leadership sense of a chunin. At least one who has concern for his allies. What you most need to work on is assessing the situation of a battle in progress and formulating an appropriate strategy on the fly."

Gohan nodded. "Should have paid more attention to Vegeta's lessons..." Gohan said to himself.

"Perhaps, but from what you've told me. Vegeta is more used to going off on his own and going headlong into battle."

Just the, a sudden burst of energy was felt by him and Ino.

"Woah!" Ino said suddenly.

"You felt that too, huh?" Gohan asked.

"I think I felt that too. What was that?" Asuma said.

Gohan concentrated his senses and found another energy source near this one. It was Videl's energy and the other one was...

"No way..." Gohan gasped out. "It's Sakura. Her energy just went through the roof!"

"Sakura?" Asuma commented.

"Oooh..." Ino said as it dawned on her. "She must have released her seal."

"Seal?" Asuma said, starting to get sick of being out of the loop.

"Lady Tsunade taught Sakura a sealing jutsu to store Chakra inside of her until she would need a power boost. It's called the Strength of a Hundred Hands seal. The first Hokage created it." Ino explained.

"She mastered a technique of the 1st Hokage's?" Asuma asked with awe. "Damn, your generation is turning into all kinds of overpowered."

"Not all of us..." Ino said sadly as she really didn't have much going for her other than some gravity training.

"I'm sorry, is that anyway for my ever confident kunoichi Ino to be speaking?" Asuma asked as he pulled out his first cigarette of the hour.

"I know strength isn't everything, sensei. But it's gotten to the point where I don't even hold a candle to my friends anymore." Ino said seriously.

"I can get Videl to train you in the gravity chamber some more." Gohan offered, but Ino shook her head.

"It's not that, Gohan. It's my abilities. The majority of my jutsu's are mind based and I suck horribly at close quarters combat."

Asuma stopped as he was just about to light his cigarette. He had thought Ino's Taijutsu had improved by leaps and bounds, but it was evident to him based on Ino's attitude that there was still much to be done.

As she ranted about this, Asuma couldn't help but chuckle about it some more. He couldn't help it, being the proud new owner of the BBQ Place had put him in a carefree mood.

"Gee, I wonder how we could improve your close quarters combat?" Asuma asked sarcastically as he took out his trench knife and twirled it around in his fingers with the grace and control of an expert.

"What do you mean by that?" Ino asked.

Asuma sighed that his second smartest student was acting dimmer than Gohan when it came to subtle hints.

He tossed his knife up into the air and caught it by the tip before handing it to Ino.

"I think it's time I handed down some of my signature moves to one of my star pupils. Wouldn't you agree, Ino?"

Ino's eyes widened in surprise as she looked upon Asuma's trench knife with genuine curiosity. "Y-you mean..." Ino breathed out.

"I do." Asuma smiled.

Ino's face turned into the biggest smile anyone had ever seen on the blond woman. She dropped the knife and glomped her sensei for all she was worth.

"Thank you, sensei!" Ino cried happily.

Asuma was surprised at his student's childlike glee at the thought of more training. The Ino he used to know from her genin days would have scoffed and complained about training, thinking it a waste of her valuable time that could have been spent shopping or gaining the young Uchiha boy's attention. He was proud of the kunoichi she had grown to be.

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't turned you into a master of the duel trench knives yet." Asuma chuckled as he returned his pupil's hug.

"I won't let you down. I promise." Ino said softly. Then an idea came to her head as she pulled away from her sensei. "Why not train Gohan with a weapon? Sure fists and kicks work well, but a weapon would seem less brutish."

"That's not a bad idea. But I refuse to train him in anything else until he has mastered teamwork. I can only teach those I deem worthy you know? Otherwise I'd be teaching every odd kid that came across my path." Asuma explained with a grin.

"Right." Ino nodded. She then looked over to Gohan, who seemed to be confused. "Well? You up to that?" She asked.

"Sure, but I don't see why I would need to train with a weapon. I used to use a broad sword when I was a kid... Then again, that was a long time ago..." Gohan pondered out loud.

"It's always useful to know how wield weapons in a ninja battle, Gohan. In long drawn out fights, being able to switch up your tactics and fighting style in the middle of battle can give you a huge advantage over your opponent. Even knowing how to properly utilize kunai and shurikens can make all the difference in the outcome of battle."

"Yea, that's true. Alright, well let's get through this first. Then I would like to use a weapon I'm already familiar with." Gohan said eagerly.

"Sure thing. I'm no expert in broad swords though. So you'd have to sneak off from my training and find yourself a sword master if you wanted to start relearning it now."

"Sounds good." Gohan replied.

* * *

5 hours later back in the gravity room, Sakura was excelling well with her training as she held up a tiny glowing yellow orb in her hand.

"Okay, now slowly start adding more energy to it." Videl instructed to the already exhausted and sweating Sakura.

"Ugh, what the hell is the point of this again?" Sakura asked with irritation.

"you want to learn how to fly, right? Well, this is the first step. Ki control is key in flying and with poor Ki control, you will just fly into a tree or not get off the ground at all." Videl explained.

Sakura huffed as the sphere started to wobble violently and it took her a minute to get it back under control.

"I never thought Ki would be so unruly."

"Ki is a very volatile source of energy. In a lot of ways, chakra is safer, but Ki is stronger."

"Yeah, normally with chakra it's just a matter of keeping your focus, but with Ki it's like whenever I try to focus on it I lose control."

"You are focusing too much is the problem." Videl said as she held up her hand and created a ball of Ki in her hand. "Ki is simple to wield and doesn't require the focus Chakra does. But it does take a lot to control it properly. Too much Ki, and it will explode in your face." She said as her ball of Ki grew very large and started to become unstable. "Too little, and it won't form." Then her ball of Ki was reduced to a barely visible dim light.

"So then how do I do something without thinking about it?" Sakura asked as her ball became unstable again.

"Watch it! It's gonna-"

 **BANG!**

"Explode..." Videl deadpanned as Sakura was now charred from the unstable Ki. "You do have to think, just not nearly as much as you would with chakra. That's your problem, you're over thinking it."

Sakura angrily threw aside her hair. "Ugh, so what then?! Am I just supposed to FEEL it?!"

"Just, relax Sakura." Videl said calmly. "This isn't something you're going to get on the first day. The fact you have gotten this far is nothing short of amazing. It's going to take time."

Sakura slumped down onto her butt, her body was aching for a break.

"I know...but I have to get this right. I need to catch up to him..."

"And you will. Just don't rush it." Videl said softly. She really was proud that Sakura had gotten this much in just a short amount of time. Videl handed the tired medic a towel and a bottle of water.

Sakura graciously accepted it and the two kunoichi sat down together in silence.

"...Do you think I deserve Naruto?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

This caught Videl by surprise. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"I don't know... It's been on my mind a lot since yesterday. After Naruto turned down that goddess's offer." Sakura looked down at her water bottle hoping it too would offer up some answers.

"Why would you think you didn't deserve... Ooooh... Sakura..." Videl said softly as she realized that her relationship with Gohan was similar in a way. She sat down next to Sakura and put a hand on her shoulder. "I think it's time I told you how Gohan and I really got together."

 _'This ought to be good.'_ Inner thought as Sakura just paid attention.

"When Gohan and I first met, I always found him to be mysterious, like he was always hiding something. I had done my damnedest to find out who he was and what he was hiding, even going so far as to black mail him." Videl admitted. "The reason for this is because when I first met him, he was standing in front of a bank after an attempted robbery was thwarted by what everyone described as a young male with blond spiky hair and green eyes. It was Gohan in his Super Saiyan form, but I didn't know it at the time."

"Soon after that, I saw him in my class and realized that he was the same guy from earlier that morning. Of course word travels fast around my city about the 'Golden Fighter' as the city folk dubbed him. Since Gohan was wearing the same clothes as the Gold Fighter, At first I thought it was him."

"But then I remembered what my father told me about people who could change their hair color at will. he said it was nothing but a cheap trick, so I dismissed the idea. A few days later, a new hero appeared by the name of Saiyaman. It was Gohan in the most ridiculous get-up I had ever seen. Of course I didn't know that then. I had no knowledge about Ki, or Saiyan's other than the reports of the two Saiyan's who attacked East City many years ago. So seeing this man wearing a trashcan on his head display the ability to fly and lift up heavy objects such as a passenger plane and a bus, of course I wanted to find out more."

"for about a month this had gone on. Anytime I would leave class to fight crime as per my job description, Saiyaman would show up. I started getting suspicious of Gohan when I learned every time I would leave to fight crime, Gohan would disappear from class and show up moments before I got back. But then I thought about how silly the idea of a nerd with no fighting skills secretly being a super hero."

"Until one day, the circus was in town and they had a new attraction; a baby dinosaur. I caught Saiyaman making off with said animal and had it set in my mind that he was just another common thief, until the babies' parents arrived and caused a mass panic."

"Out of fear of everything that was going on, the baby scratched Saiyaman on his cheek. I didn't think anything of it at first because I was trying to catch a supposed criminal. He had told me that the babies parents would show up and they did as he had said. so, instead of trying to take him down, I helped return the baby to his parents. That was when I learned that the leader of the circus was the one who kidnapped the baby from his nest and brought him to the city. He was charged with animal cruelty, endangering the welfare of the public and stealing an officers side-arm. The next day, Gohan came into school with the same scratch on his face and that's when I knew he was Saiyaman. Using that knowledge to my advantage, I blackmailed him to teach me to fly if he wanted me to keep his secret. He accepted and that weekend, we came here after I had apologized for everything I did once I learned who he really was and what He and his friends did for our world. there were times I thought I didn't deserve even his friendship, let alone love. But he even said that with me being by his side, he was able to get out of his long time depression over his past and find something he never had before; true love." Videl finished.

"I know we have said that we are together based on Saiyan instincts, but the truth is, that's only part of it. We love each other with all of our hearts and we lean on each other for support. Sakura, Naruto has loved you since you two were kids. You are giving him something he has never had before and he would always cherish it. And its true love, Sakura. Something Naruto never had."

Sakura sniffed to hold back the tears. "But am I the right person to give it to him? Doesn't he deserve someone just as amazing as him? Someone prettier, gentler, and more dedicated?"

"If that were the case, he would have been chasing after someone other than you now wouldn't he? You are just as amazing as him whether you realize it or not. You continue to surprise both me and Gohan in your training and never wanting to give up no matter the obstacle. You are gentle and caring when you are around him and while you are caring for the sick and injured. You are very dedicated to anything you set your mind to. And in his eyes, you are a goddess among gods when it comes to being pretty. But, its not looks that attracts him to you. It's who you are, Sakura. That is what he sees and loves about you the most."

"Y-you really think so...?" Sakura's voice was shaking like a leaf.

"I know it. You forget, Gohan and I have the ability to read minds." Videl said with a smile.

Sakura thought about that for a little bit. A sense of relief washed over her and she stood up.

"What are you sitting around for? Let's get back to training. No boyfriend of mine is gonna have a wimp for a girlfriend."

"Just a minute." Videl said as she got back up. "Your reserves are low." Videl stated.

"My what?"

"Your energy. Here, Take my hands." Videl said as she outstretched her arms.

Sakura was hesitant at first, but complied. Videl took both of Sakura's hands in her own and Videl flared up her aura, enveloping Sakura in a golden light.

"Now, just relax. I'm transferring some of my energy to you." Videl stated as her aura began pulsating more rapidly.

Sakura's eyes were bulging at the sensation she was feeling. It was pure, unrestrained raw energy and it was coursing through her. It wasn't painful... It was warm, like a flame from a candle. It was soothing, almost relaxing. The sheer amount of it was what threw her for a loop.

She then heard Videl chuckle lightly. "What's so funny?" She asked in confusion.

"Nothing. It's just, you look pretty good as a blonde." Videl said with a grin.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and turned to look at one of the reflective panels. Her jaw dropped when she saw herself in the panel, her hair spiked up and gold, but her eyes remained the same.

 _'So much for that theory...'_ Videl thought.

 _'What's that?'_ Gohan replied mentally.

 _'Our theory that Sakura is a Saiyan. I transferred some of my Super Saiyan energy to her and her hair changed, but not her eyes.'_

 _'Damn... I was so certain on that one...'_ Gohan said.

"Oh my God..." Sakura breathed out as she looked upon her new features. "I wonder what Naruto would think about this..."

 _'He'd think we were some long lost cousin on his father's side.'_ Inner joked.

 _'Hahaha, maybe.'_ Sakura laughed in response.

"You could always dye your hair and spike It up." Videl suggested.

Sakura thought about it for a second. Until she remembered that Naruto had indirectly said that her hair was the prettiest. Prettier than his mother's at least. And the Bloody Red Habanero was nothing if not known for her long beautiful hair.

"No way."

Videl shrugged. "Fair enough. Well, the least I can do is take a picture of you." Videl said. She took away one of her hands and pulled put her camera phone. "Look this way." Videl asked as she got the camera ready.

"Odd looking... Wait, why am I even surprised by your technology anymore?" Sakura said.

"I'd just roll with it at this point." Videl shrugged.

"Might as well." Sakura sighed as she smiled lightly. A click was heard through the speaker of Videl's phone and the image was saved.

"Well, now Naruto can decide which way he likes it the best." Videl stated as she finished transferring her energy. Not a moment later, Sakura's hair went back to normal, but something was still off. "What color is your seal normally?"

"Uh, purple?" Sakura answered.

"It's... Gold now..." Videl said as she pointed Sakura to the panel in the room.

Sakura crossed her eyes trying to get a good look at the seal on her forehead. "Oh no!"

"Your seal must have absorbed my energy and stored it!" Videl exclaimed. "I have no idea what that will do!"

Sakura ran over to the panel and got a closer look at her now golden diamond that was on her forehead. It was also larger than the previous one.

"Hmmm, nothing really. I just have some of your chakra stored inside me. If I release the seal, your chakra should just be absorbed into mine."

"Um, Sakura... That was pure Ki I transferred to you, not Chakra." Videl admitted, now more concerned than before.

Now Sakura was worried. She remembered how her best attempt at controlling Ki had resulted in it exploding in her face.

"Well then... I guess I can't use the Hundred Hand Seal until I've mastered Ki." Sakura deduced.

"Well... Here's the thing..." Videl started. "You weren't with us when we stopped those two Akatsuki a little while ago, but when I transformed for the first time, I created a fire style jutsu that mixed with my Ki, creating a devastatingly powerful attack. In theory, if you released the seal, my Ki would mix with your chakra, making you many times stronger than you ever had been anytime you have used the seal previously."

"But I can't control my own Ki, let alone your's. What if it blows up in my face?"

"Doubting yourself will also keep you from proper control. Also, to answer your previous question, you in fact, do feel your Ki in order to control it."

"Oh..." Sakura said, now feeling like a complete idiot. "Well... That's probably why I'm not getting it too well."

"Hence why I said you were over thinking it. you need to have a calm mind to wield it properly." Videl informed.

Sakura nodded and took up a fighting stance, but Videl shook her head.

"Let's go about this in a different way." Videl said. She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs in front of her. "Let's do some meditative training. This way here, you can get a calmer mind and focus better on your Ki."

"Ok, let's do it." Sakura dropped down into a meditative pose mimicking Videl's. The two then sat together facing one another with their eyes closed.

"Now, calm your mind." Videl stated as she heard Sakura take several deep breaths to get her into a relaxed state. "Now, feel around in your body until you feel a warm, pulling sensation. It should come from the pit of your stomach."

 _'Pit of the stomach...'_

 _'Abdomen...'_

 _'Sea of chakra...'_

 _'Seal...'_

 _'Demon...'_

 _'Naruto...'_

 _'Didn't go with him...'_

 _'Hell...'_

 _'My fault...'_

 _'Woah now. Easy there, skipper.'_ Inner said.

 _'Disloyal...'_

 _'Unfaithful...'_

 _'What kind of teammate-'_

 _'Horrible teammate...'_

Videl opened an eye to see tears streaming from Sakura's eyes. That was when she knew that Sakura wasn't relaxing, she was causing herself pain. "Sakura!" Videl shouted.

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

"Huh, what?"

"What's going on? your mind is not calm and you're crying."

"I-I... I guess my mind wandered."

Videl sighed deeply. "Okay... Seems we have more work ahead of us than I thought." Videl stated.

* * *

Elsewhere, across town, Gohan had finished his training for the day. Asuma had said that he had progressed a lot faster than he had thought and sent him home early. But he decided to pay Tenten's family's shop a visit.

He walked in the door and saw a busy Tenten running about the shop, categorizing every one of her weapons.

"I'll be right with you!" Tenten called from the back.

"Take your time, I'm just browsing." Gohan called back and Tenten recognized the voice almost immediately.

"Gohan?!" Tenten called from the back. "What brings you here?!"

"Been thinking about getting reacquainted with a broad sword." Gohan replied.

"Broad sword?!That's an unusual request! We usually get katanas or some shorter variants!" Tenten shouted back as she stumbled her way through her father's mess of a back room storage.

"I used one as a kid and so it's the most familiar to me." Gohan replied.

"To each their own! Let me check the back!" Tenten shouted as a resounding crash came from the back room.

"I'm ok!"

Gohan chuckled lightly to himself as he looked around at the selection of weapons Tenten had. He was amazed by the selection there was.

"Damn. Yamcha would love to see this." Gohan commented.

Gohan was brought out of his thoughts when Tenten stumbled out of the back with a massive sword, thanking the gods she did some gravity training so the sword wouldn't drag her down.

"You're in luck! We've got one last replica Crusader sword!" Tenten proudly declared.

"Replica? Is it not battle ready?" Gohan asked.

"Oh no, everything here is battle ready. This is just a sword design we took from the Crusaders."

"Oh!" Gohan said happily. Tenten handed him the massive sword and he held it up with one hand, eliciting a gasp of shock from Tenten. Even as strong as she was, she still had to hold it with two hands.

Gohan balanced the blade and got a good feel for it. "Not bad. Bigger than the one I had. Do you have a scabbard and belt?"

"Sure thing." Tenten happily chirped as she retreated back into the storage room.

"Hey Gohan!" She called back.

"Yea?!"

"Did you have Crusaders back in your world?"

"A very long time ago, but yes."

"Oh wow, did they bring you guys Christmas too?"

"What, Christmas? Wait, that's here too?! Awesome!"

"Oh yeah! A long, long time ago, some warriors calling themselves Crusaders came over from the west and started raiding villages. I think they were trying to expand their territory. But the ninjas back then beat them back over the mountains, but not for several years. By the time the concurred villages were liberated, the locals had adopted one of the Crusader's holidays. That ended up spreading to all the other villages. And that is how we started celebrating Christmas."

"That's amazing! I'll have to read up on that. Wait, how far away is it from now?"

"You celebrate it on the 25th of December right?"

"Yes."

"Well its October 5th, so just in a few months."

"OH man... I need to get something for Videl. She's not really a weapon user though..."

"Oh relax, you've got plenty of time. And I think we all have more pressing matters." Tenten gazed up prompting Gohan to follow her eye trail to the Descry Sphere.

"Yea... That's true." Gohan agreed. "So, how much will this all come to?"

"For a good friend? 4,000 Ryo."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Eh, it's just gathering dust in the shop and we can make another one like that." Tenten snapped her fingers.

"Oh okay." Gohan pulled out his wallet and counted out 4000 Ryo exact and handed it to Tenten. "You should come by the gravity room sometime. Videl is training Sakura right now."

"I wish I could. But my Dad is squeezing as much slave labor out of me as he can while my squad is on leave." Tenten sighed.

"Well that's a shame. You could really get the most out of Ki training too."

"Rain check? No way in Hell I'm going to let Neji and Lee pass me by." Tenten smirked.

"Of course." Then Gohan had an idea. He put the sword in its scabbard and strapped it to his back, just like Trunks used to do. "Not bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah, very badass. You look like one of the 7 swordsmen of the Mist."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Not sure I'm familiar with them."

Tenten was about to say something, when she looked up at the Sphere and saw Zabuza in full view.

"Basically him." She pointed up.

Gohan turned around and looked up at the Sphere to see the man in question.

* * *

While Gohan and Tenten had been talking, Team Sasuke had been taking a short break from their latest match of the day, and were waiting for their team name to be called again. During that time, who should they run into but one of Naruto's first ever adversary.

"Well if it isn't the orange-clad brat, Naruto Uzumaki. Never thought I'd see you down here." Zabuza said, a grin hidden behind his bandages.

"Zabuza? What are you doing here? I thought you going to Heaven with Haku." Naruto exclaimed. The boy's all did a double take when Naruto addressed one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist so casually.

"It turns out offing one scumbag businessman isn't enough to cleanse my sins after the life I've lived." Zabuza replied. "Not that it matters since fate has granted me a proper rematch against the same genin brat that beat me."

"You know Zabuza?!" Shikamaru said in shock.

"I take it you don't remember my teams first C rank mission turned A rank." Naruto replied.

"Oh, right... How could I forget that?" Shikamaru stated. His mind wandered back to a gathering of all their comrades before Naruto was to depart with Jiraiya. After Sasuke left, the remnants of what was already being called the Konoha 11 began to grow closer than they ever had during their time spent in the academy. So of course they would organize a small going away party for one of their loudest members. Shikamaru was certain that Naruto had never been invited to such a large gathering before, so it was only natural that he went all out while trying to have a good time.

Shikamaru shook his head at the sight of Naruto getting into a food fight with Kiba over some stupid dispute.

Anyway, the group ended up sharing stories about their past missions. Competing to see which team had the craziest mission under their belt. Kiba thought his team's escort of the minor land baroness was going to trump all, but Naruto and Sakura's recollection of their mission protecting the bridge builder in the Land of Waves won by a landslide.

The short version was that Naruto and his team had to protect an old bridge builder from being killed by Gato and his men. So that the man could complete the bridge connecting the poor island nation to the mainland. Their biggest threat was Zabuza the Demon Mist and his double agent ally Haku.

In the end, it was Naruto's courage that inspired the villagers to take back their homes and it inspired Zabuza to avenge Haku by killing Gato as a last act.

"Speaking of which, where is the rest of your team, kid?" Zabuza asked.

"They're back on Element. Me and the rest of the guys are here on... an unofficial mission, you could say."

"So, you're here and the Third doesn't even know? That's interesting..."

The squad of ninja all noticeably became sadder. "The Third is dead. He was killed by Orochimaru three years ago during our chunin exams." Shikamaru stated. "Lady Tsunade is now our acting Hokage."

"The Third is dead?" Zabuza exclaimed. He was by no means an admirer of the Leaf shinobi in general, but the Third Hokage was one of the few shinobi in the world that held universal respect. Even to a man like Zabuza. "That is a shame; he was a powerful shinobi, a talented warrior, and a great man. One of few I'd consider worthy of the so called title of greatest in his village."

"He wasn't that great..." Said a dark voice behind them. When the group turned around, Orochimaru stood before them, along with a group of five shinobi Team Sasuke recognized as the same group they had all faced on their mission to bring back Sasuke. The Sound Five.

"So, someone finally killed you, huh? Another one for Naruto I take it." Zabuza smirked.

"Don't give the brat so much credit, Demon of the Mist." Orochimaru sneered.

"To be fair. It was my team's newest recruit Videl who finally skinned Orochimaru." Naruto smirked. "How does it feel to know you were finally done in by a Genin?"

Zabuza laughed. "Are you serious?! The once feared Snake of the Sannin was done in by a mere Genin?! Bahahaha!" The feared swordsman of the Mist hadn't laughed like that in ages.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Zabuza. I merely underestimated the power of a Saiyan." Orochimaru hissed.

"That seems to the be mistake of a lot of us here." Said another voice that walked up to them. The being in question was a tall, green bug like man followed by a short, white and purple skinned alien with a long tail.

"Ahh... Lord Freeza and Cell. I have heard a great deal about the two of you." Orochimaru greeted. As he said that all eyes turned to the two newcomers. Naruto and the rest felt a chill pass down their spines. As did the rest of their friends back in the Leaf who had heard Gohan's stories. Gohan himself felt his stomach drop like it was filled with concrete. His absolute worst fears for his friends were realized. Two of the most powerful opponents he had ever faced had entered the tournament. His friends stood no chance.

Naruto got a feel for the power of these two newcomers and he gulped hard. Gohan wasn't kidding when he said these two were the strongest he would ever lay eyes on as far as villains go.

"I should have listened to him..." Naruto said quietly.

"What are you mumbling about, brat?" Freeza smirked. "Afraid of seeing a superior challenger?"

"How is it that you 6 are here in Hell anyway? You all seem to be alive." Cell questioned.

"Wouldn't you like to know, grasshopper?" Kiba smirked, trying to keep up a confident persona.

"Really, Dog Shit? Is that the best you got? I've been called worse by-"

"Gohan..." Naruto finished, much to Cell's shock.

"Oh? So you know about Goku's brat son, do you?" Cell asked smugly.

"I do. He's been training all of us for months now. He's almost got us as strong as he is. And if I'm remembering correctly, he beat you when he was 12." Naruto smirked his best poker face. It wasn't often that you ran into guys that could kill you with a flick of their finger.

"That he did, but I highly doubt you lot are anywhere near his power. Besides, I'm not participating in this tournament anyway." Cell countered smugly. "In fact, I doubt any of you could stand up to Ginyu over there."

"That F.A.G.?" Choji asked.

"Yes... I sometimes question their sexuality myself and yet they work for me." Freeza sighed.

"Wha- sexuality? I was just saying he looks like a Freaky Alien Genotype. Like you." Choji replied.

Freeza looked like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

"You're a FAG, Freeza." Naruto explained to him.

"Hmm. 122."

"Pardon?" Naruto replied.

"Oh nothing. It's just that I have been called so many names from across my universe that I started cataloging how many times I've hear it. Same with the heroic speeches." Freeza explained.

"Oh, so you've been called a fag 122 times?" Naruto pressed.

"Among other names. Your point?"

"I mean that's just sad. The fact that you keep score every time someone calls you a rude name. Like, let that shit go man."

"Oh no, you don't understand. I keep score as a hobby, not because it bothers me. Because if it did bother me, well, let's just say you wouldn't be standing here right now..." Freeza tried to explain.

"It seems to me like it bothers you a whole lot since you remember them all... It's really pathetic."

"Oh, and please, do tell what it is you have for a hobby."

"Watering plants, pulling pranks, training." Naruto listed off. Fairly typical stuff.

"Eating ramen." Kiba added.

"Fawning after Sakura." Neji added as well.

"Wha- I do not fawn over Sakura!" Naruto shouted.

"Yes you do." the rest of Naruto's team said.

Meanwhile in the Leaf, Sakura was blushing from all of Ino's teasing.

"I'm dating her! It's not fawning if you're dating!" Naruto blushed.

"Now you are, but before you weren't." Shikamaru countered.

"And another thing, I haven't fawned over her in years! We started dating practically as soon as I came back from my training trip!"

"Oh for fucks sake... DOES IT REALLY MATTER?!" Freeza shouted, getting annoyed by the continuous banter.

"The only thing you have proven to me is that you're a sniveling, pathetic brat that has no business down here." Freeza added.

"Oh yeah? Well you look like a purple dildo!" Naruto countered.

"A what?" Freeza asked, but a snickering Cell, Zabuza and Orochimaru could be heard. It was then that Cell leaned over to Freeza's ear and quietly explained to him what Naruto meant.

"Just for that, you will die slowly and painfully..." Freeza growled as his aura flared up.

"What are you going to do? Shove your head up my ass?" Naruto joked.

With a growl, Freeza immediately grabbed Naruto by the throat by his tail and squeezed, Causing the blond maverick to turn blue.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I can't hear you. Could you speak up?" Freeza said sarcastically. Naruto let out a pathetic sputter, his source of oxygen was completely cut off. Zabuza and the rest of Naruto's team looked like they wanted to help, but Cell stood in front of them and slowly shook his head, "no."

"Ahem..." An annoyed voice sounded from behind Freeza.

"Little busy here." Freeza replied.

"No by all means kill him. It'll be one less pathetic fighter I have to watch. But then again Whis tells me if I allow rule breaking to occur then it's my ass. Which really means it's your ass, boy." The voice spoke.

"Who dares to-" Freeza stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Beerus standing behind him. He gulped hard and released Naruto, the latter of which gasped for air. "L-Lord Beerus! M-my apologies, sir!" Freeza said fearfully.

"Save it Dildo head. I don't give a damn about your pathetic excuses. The fact is that you're holding up the next match which is precious extra seconds I will have to spend hosting this damn tournament."

"(gulp) O-of course sir! M-my mistake..."

"Good. Now every two legged creatures with a tail had better look scared and scamper before I start to get really pissed off." Beerus growled, flaring his impossible to match power level for added emphasis.

"Y-yes sir!" Freeza chocked out as he and Cell ran for the hills, followed by Freeza's Ginyu Force. Leaving the three teams from planet Element alone with the God of Destruction. Beerus then turned to them with an annoyed look on his face.

"Well what are you all looking at?" He scoffed before returning to his observation box on the northern side of the stadium. Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief.

"You alright, kid?" Zabuza asked as he looked down at Naruto who remained sitting, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm fine. I've been strangled worse by Sakura-chan."

"Yea, I can believe that." Zabuza chuckled.

"So tell me, who is this Videl that's on your team now? What happened to that Uchiha brat?" Zabuza asked curiously.

Naruto went quiet.

"He's the reason we joined this tournament actually." Shikamaru said.

"Wait, he down here? With as much trouble as Haku went through to subdue him, he's down here? how?"

"My apprentice ran away from me and got himself killed by Itachi." Orochimaru stated.

"I wasn't asking you, Snake! Like Hell that boy would-"

"He's right..." Naruto said softly.

"What...?" Zabuza said in shock

"It's a long story, but Sasuke left the village seeking this snake for power. And then his brother killed him before I could bring him back to the village."

"That is the last I would have expected of him. So where does this Videl come into play?"

"Oh that's even more convoluted. Videl and her then friend Gohan came from another dimension. Me and Pervy Sage met up with them on our way back to the Leaf."

"So that explains how those two characters know this Gohan. They must all be from the same dimension." Zabuza deduced. Then he realized something. "So, the snake was done in not only by a genin, but a girl at that! Oh man! You really are pathetic!"

"Hey! What's wrong with him being done in by a girl? You stupid pig!" The red headed member if the sound five shouted.

"Nothing at all from my point of view, just his." Zabuza clarified.

"Women are nothing more than weak pests. The only difference with that bitch was she is half Alien." Orochimaru said, glaring at the swordsman.

"Please. I bet Old Granny Tsunade could kick your ass, Snaky." Naruto said.

Back in the Leaf, Tsunade gave a satisfactory smirk.

"Perhaps you weren't there the day all 3 of us Sannin were facing down one another with our summons. Tsunade wasn't in the fight for very long."

"Yeah, but she was a drunken mess and twenty years out of practice. But now she's only a drunken mess." Naruto defended. Suddenly, Naruto felt a chill run down his spine.

"I wouldn't push your luck, brat. My old teammate can sense such insults. We once came back from a mission near the Rock Village and Tsunade sprinted all the way back because she had a feeling that our contact had insulted her. When me and Jirayia finally caught up with her we found out that the poor man had called Tsunade a bitch for not wanting to sleep with her before she left." Orochimaru said, reminiscing fondly about simpler times.

"If you say so, but I doubt she'd come all the way to Hell for something like that." Naruto smirked.

Back in the leaf, a desk could be seen flying out of the window to the Hokage's office.

"I CAN'T COME DOWN THERE, BUT YOUR ASS IS MINE WHEN YOU GET BACK YOU SHIT!"

Orochimaru frowned. "In case any of you decide to be smart and quit this tournament now. Let me give you some advice from the old generation to the new. DON'T, piss off your female teammates."

"As much as I hate to say it, He's right." Zabuza said, to which Neji, Lee, Shikamura, and Choji nodded, Naruto as well.

As one, all of the male ninjas in the Leaf nodded together.

"Pfft... Whatever." Kiba scoffed.

"Team Sasuke vs. Team Dosu! Will both teams please report to ring 35!" The announcer called.

"Well, that us, see you around Zabuza." Naruto waved his old enemy goodbye.

"Try not to get killed, would ya?! I wanna see how much you've improved, brat!" Zabuza called out to him. Naruto and the rest chuckled good naturedly as they made their way over to the ring. Then a thought occurred to Naruto.

"Wait, Team Dosu? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Don't you remember, Naruto? Those were the sound genin we faced off against back in the chunin exams." Choji reminded him.

"Holy shit, really? Those guys are dead?"

"Apparently." Neji stated as he gazed upon the three unmistakable silhouettes of the deceased Sound Genin; Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

"Should be easier this time around." Shikamaru stated with a smirk.

"Yeah, right, there's no walls for you to slam what's-her-face's skull in this time." Kiba smirked, recounting Shikamaru's match during the preliminaries of their first chunin exams.

"Who says I was going to fight?" Shikamaru stated.

"Why the hell not?!" Kiba exclaimed.

The group walked up to Team Dosu who were already standing in the ring. In the center was Dosu who still wore bandages all over his body like a mummy and had been allowed to keep his oversized arm guard in death. To his left was Zaku, a punk looking kid with a face guard and spiky black hair reminiscent of Gohan's. To both their rights was Kin, a plain looking kunoichi with long straight black hair and nothing else significant about her. As soon as she recognized the pineapple haired Shinobi in the center of her opponent's group she immediately looked down and blushed a deep shade of red.

"H-hello, Shikamaru." She stuttered. Drawing a striking resemblance to another long haired brunette.

Shikamaru just cocked an eyebrow and shrugged off whatever this girl was thinking.

"That's why." He said.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Zaku stated, ignoring Kin's pathetic attempt at flirting with the enemy.

"I wonder if they have done any training." Lee wondered.

"Probably not to our magnitude." Neji stated.

"Don't ignore me! What? You losers think just because you've been alive for a few extra years you're so much stronger now?" Zaku smirked.

"Um, yea that's it exactly. Unless you've had gravity training." Naruto stated.

"What is that?" Dosu asked.

"Well, that answers that question." Shikamaru stated.

"Hey, we had to train in the never ending fields of torture! Where only the most hardened souls survive!" Zaku bragged.

"Oh yea? Well we trained under 100 times gravity un instance heat and frigid cold!" Kiba shot back.

"Except Naruto has 150x gravity under his belt." Neji added.

"Plus he was personally trained by Lord Jirayia, one of the Sannin. Same as your precious Orochimaru." Lee added.

"And the Saiyan who took down Cell over there." Shikamaru added.

"Who the Hell is Cell?" Zaku asked.

"He means me." Cell said from outside of the ring.

"Nobody cares, grasshopper!" Zaku yelled. "Now can we get on with the fight already?"

"Yes, please." Dosu stated.

"Fine." Naruto shrugged as he turned to his team mates. "So, who gets who?"

"Well it's all one match, so it's more a matter of which three we want to send in at once. Or we could all go and just overwhelm them." Shikamaru explained.

"Well I'm definitely going. I've got a score to settle with the mummy over there." Choji said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yosh, me too. I've got to give them payback for the defeat I felt at their hands while defending Sakura." Lee declared.

"Wait, these guys attacked Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Yea while you and Sasuke were knocked out." Shikamaru said.

A dark cloud suddenly loomed over Naruto's face.

"Count me in."

"Alright then. Lee, Choji and Naruto. Give'em hell." Shikamaru smirked as he stood comfortably on the sidelines with Neji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Bluebell.

"If both teams are ready, you may begin." The announcer said.

Naruto was the first to take off at full speed. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, he was in front of Dosu.

"'Sup." Naruto smirked.

"Hey Naruto, I wanted that guy." Choji whined from right behind Naruto.

"Ok geez." Naruto said, sidestepping out of the way so that Choji could wail on Dosu with his expansion jutsu fist. Before either Zaku or Kin could possible notice it. Their leader had been knocked out of the ring.

"Holy shit!" Zaku shouted. They had indeed gotten faster. Hell, they had gotten impossibly fast!

"Dosu!" Kin shouted

"I would focus on yourself right now." Lee stated as he roundhouse kicked Kin in the head, snapping her neck as she was flung out of the ring.

"Shit, Kin! Throw some-" Zaku tried to shout, but Lee had already taken out his second teammate.

Zaku whipped his head forward to see Naruto standing smugly still, right in front of him.

"So, how to deal with you. Are you the one that attacked Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked smugly and darkly.

"Who? You mean the pink haired bitch?" Zaku asked as he secretly prepared an attack.

"Yeah, that's her." Naruto said with a vain popping out of his forehead. "Now, I'd like for you to apologize for that rude comment you made about my girlfriend."

"Pfft. Like that will happen. You know, every moment I was pounding her face and ripping her hair out, I imagined just how tight that pussy of hers would be. I was really close to finding out, too. A damn shame that Sasuke came too and broke my arms..." Zaku said smugly with a proud grin.

 _'Motherfucker what?'_ Inner commented as Sakura looked up upon her boyfriend squaring off against her least favorite team from the chunin exams.

"Broke both your arms, huh?" Naruto said as high rage boiled to the surface. "In that case I'll have to do one better."

Sensing it was now or never, Zaku raised both his arms to hit Naruto with his maximum power. As they were raised, Naruto grabbed them by the forearm and pulled them close. Zaku was staggered by the sudden jerk forward and found his palms to be pressed against Naruto's chest, perfect for a direct hit!

Wasting no time, Zaku unleashed his chakra down both barrels, but Naruto was still too quick. He stepped into Zaku's personal space where the air cannons couldn't hit him, his arms still keeping and ironclad grip on Zaku's arms.

"You sure you don't want to apologize?" Naruto asked, his nose barely a centimeter from Zaku's nose.

"W-what are you...?"

"No? Good, I wasn't going to forgive you anyway."

Naruto did a quick hop and kicked out both his feet against Zaku's knees. The force of the blow skidded his feet back and forced him into a kneeling position, but not before cracking his bones by the force of impact. Had Zaku still been alive, he wouldn't have been able to put weight on his legs for six months.

Naruto wasn't done there though, he his hands that were still gripping Zaku's forearms and squeezed them. Thanks to the 150x gravity training, the radius and ulna bones snapped like pretzel sticks.

 _'Woah... Hubby is brutal when he's pissed.'_ Inner commented.

"Eww, gross, you actually do have metal tubs in your arms." Naruto commented.

"H-how do you think... I do that..."

Naruto didn't answer and instead delivered a massive head-butt to Zaku's face. Shattering his nose and knocking the dead sound ninja unconscious.

Naruto turned his head and spat. "That was for Sakura-chan you fuck..."

"Winner, Team Sasuke." the announcer stated.

* * *

As this happened, Sakura and Videl looked on in joy as they saw Naruto's team take revenge against the 3 who gave Team 7 so much grief in the past.

"Well, Sakura. If that doesn't prove how much Naruto cares for you, I don't think anything will." Videl commented.

Sakura nodded as a happy tear trailed down her cheek. "I didn't realize how close I was to getting raped then."

Videl's breath hitched in her throat as she remembered her experience from years ago.

"That is something that no woman should ever go through..." Videl said quietly.

That was when Sakura remembered their first mission with Videl against Orochimaru. She looked at the hybrid mother to me sadly as Videl struggled to keep her composure.

"Oh no... That's right. You said something about you being a victim back on our first mission together.

Videl nodded. "It's time I tell you just what went on."

* * *

In Tenten's shop, Gohan and Tenten were cheering at their friend's victory.

"That was awesome!" Tenten exclaimed to which Gohan nodded.

"This is a good thing for them. But... I worry about Freeza." Gohan said grimly.

"You mean that walking dildo?"

Gohan nodded. "Trust me, he is a lot stronger than he looks. My dad fought him until the planet we were on blew up from their power. As strong as I am now, I could one shot him with ease. Cell, the bug looking guy, that's a different story..."

Just then, Shino walked into the shop.

"Hello, Tenten, Gohan." Shino greeted in his usual stoic tone. "I saw this Cell you were talking about, Gohan. I can see why you wouldn't have a fondness for bugs."

"Well, it's not all bugs. It's just the really big ones with abnormal powers. I actually used to have a pet Phasmid growing up." Gohan said.

"Also known as the stick bug or walking stick. They are excellent for stealth missions and used by some of my clansmen who are on ANBU. They also release a pheromone that has a soothing effect on those with a great deal of stress. An excellent choice of pet if I do say so myself. Anyway, I came to pick up my order, Tenten." Shino said.

"Oh right. You needed more senbon needles. Just a sec and I'll go check to see if it came in yet." Tenten went back into her deathtrap of a storage room to look for Shino's order.

Shino looked about the shop when he noticed a very large sword strapped to Gohan's back.

"Never pegged you for a sword user." Shino commented.

"Martial arts may be my thing, but my first teacher gave me a short broad sword when I was 4, so it's the weapon I'm most familiar with. That reminds me, do you know of a sword master here in the village?"

"I can't say that I do. I've no interest in swords myself. Tenten's family are the weapons experts." Shino replied.

"My dad is a sword master! He hasn't had a student in years and I bet he would like to train you!" Tenten called from the back room.

"Really? I wouldn't want to impose." Gohan said.

"Nonsense! He would be delighted to pass on some of his knowledge!" Tenten shouted out as another loud bang of crashes could be heard coming from the storage room, plus the unmistakable cries of a cat.

"TORA!" Tenten's ear shattering cries could be heard from three blocks away. Gohan and Shino actually had to cover their ears.

Before Gohan had a chance to ask what was wrong, the shop doors burst open and in stepped the self-titled Konohamaru corps.

"Where is it?!" Konohamaru, the leader cried. His teammates Udon and Moegi stood on either side of his brandishing kunai, ready for attack.

"In the back!" Shino frantically explained. He himself was fighting his baser instincts to run in there and finally kill Tora once and for all.

Konohamaru nodded and signaled for the rest of his squad to move in. They disappeared into the storage room where a series of comical noises could be heard. Then finally, out scurried a black cat with a red ribbon on its ear, who ran right between Gohan's legs and out the door.

"Don't let him get away!" Konohamaru shouted as he and his team emerged from the storage room with visibly more cuts and bruises then when they entered. They exited out the front to put an end to the whirlwind of events.

"The hell was that all about?" Gohan asked in confusion,

"Tora the cat. The bane of all genin's existence." Shino explained with spite.

"Really? A cat being the bane of your existence?" Gohan said in amusement.

"You have no idea, Gohan..." Tenten stated as she walked out of the storage room, covered in scrolls and scratches from the cat. "It hates Genin almost as much as it hates its owner."

"Have you ever tried being nice to it?" Gohan asked. "Animals have feelings too. If you're not nice to them, then don't expect them to be nice to you."

"Well you may get to prove that. Why? Because that damn cat is coming back this way." Shino stated, to which Tenten immediately closed the door to her back room. Then Gohan got an idea.

"Tenten. Do you have any milk or a fish?" Gohan asked.

"Yea, but it's my lunch! I don't-"

"I'll take you out to lunch later to make up for it." Gohan offered, to which Tenten blushed, but nodded. She reached under the counter and handed Gohan a can of tuna and a small bottle of milk. "Do you have a little bowl or something?" Tenten then pulled out a small dish and handed it to Gohan.

 _'This ought to be good.'_ Both Tenten and Shino thought as soon as the cat barreled into the shop. Tora was frightened and shaking as he stopped in front of Gohan and took up a defensive posture.

"It's alright, little guy." Gohan said with a warm smile as he poured some milk into the dish. Tora seemed to relax a little and curiously stepped closer to inspect the offering.

He sniffed it a few times and then cautiously lapped up some milk. Realizing he was in no danger, he relaxed his guard and lapped up the milk with gusto. Gohan, with a small blade if Ki from his index finger, opened the can of tuna and set it down next to Tora. Said cat looked over to the can of tuna and dove into it, taking several big bites

It was then that Konohamaru's team entered the shop and spotted their target.

"There he is!" Konohamaru said, but Shino stopped them from making a move. "Hey! What's the big idea, bud?!"

"Stand down and watch." Shino ordered.

'Oh good idea. You guys distract it, and then we'll knock it the fuck out.' Konohamaru signaled to Shino with their Shinobi hand signals.

'No. Remain where you are.' Shino signaled back.

They turned their attention to Gohan and Tora. Tora was eating a can of tuna and drinking milk that Gohan had provided. The Genin team watched in amazement as Tora seemed to stop all hostility towards anyone.

It was then that Tora stopped eating and looked up at Gohan. It mewed softly and then nuzzled Gohan's leg as it purred softly. All of the shinobi present stood there, their jaws hitting the floor in shock.

"See guys, a little patience and YOUCH!" Gohan cried as Tora dug his claws into Gohan's pant leg before scurrying off.

"I wonder why he did that?" Gohan said in confusion.

"Because that cat is a demon..." Tenten said sourly. Not only did she not have a lunch, but her back room was in more of a mess than it was before.

"I remember Hinata trying your approach Gohan. She ended up wearing an eyepatch for a month." Shino said.

"Well, damn... That would have worked with any other animal back home." Gohan said sadly.

"And on any other animal it would have worked. However, Tora has run away from home so many times that he has learned all our tricks. So every new genin team has to come up with new ways to capture him."

That was when a twinkle came to Gohan's eye as he stood up.

"I'm gonna get that damn cat... Konohamaru, you and your team stay close." Gohan growled. "You are about you complete your mission." Gohan then charged out of the shop and almost immediately found said cat, cleaning itself in a nearby tree. Unknown to the cat, Gohan floated up to the branch the cat was on, completely undetected.

"Take advantage of my kindness, will you?" Gohan said, which scared the hell out of said cat. He jumped down off the tree, but was faced with Gohan again on the ground. He tried to run, but Gohan used his afterimage technique to make it look like there were 12 of him surrounding the cat. "I gave you milk and Tuna out of complete kindness and nothing more, and you repay me by attacking the hand that feeds you. You know, back in my world, I have a way of dealing with ungrateful animals." Gohan said with a devilish smirk.

"Gohan, you do know that Tora can't talk right? He's just a cat." Konohamaru called out to him.

He and his afterimages then powered up to the first form of Super Saiyan, expanding his aura violently as the cat stood in the center completely fear stricken. He had seen everything every Genin had used to capture him, but this... This was completely new and it scared him greatly.

"I projected the same message into his mind." Gohan said simply as his afterimages disappeared and within a blink of an eye, held up the cat by the scruff of his neck so that the cat's eyes met his.

Tora looked into the teal colored eyes of Gohan and shit itself. Gohan was giving off the most intensive killing intent the cat had ever seen and was now, fir the first time in a long time, fearing for its life.

"The next time you take advantage of someone's kindness will be the last time, fur ball. Just be lucky I'm in a forgiving mood. Otherwise, you would be the next main course for Akamaru..." Gohan growled. He flashed his eyes briefly and the cat was knocked out. Unharmed of course, but unconscious none the less.

Gohan reverted back to his normal form and handed the cat to Konohamaru with a warm smile. "I don't think he will be venturing outside anytime soon."

"I'm not going to hold my breath, but thanks Gohan." Konohamaru smiled as he took Tora by the scruff of his neck.

"Just to be clear, I wasn't going to hurt him, just scare the shit out of him." Gohan said, a little upset that he had to resort to such tactics. He was an animal lover, always had been. But, if there was one thing he couldn't tolerate, was those who take advantage of others' kindness.

"We were worried you were going to kill him. Not that we wouldn't have let you..." Konohamaru stated.

"No, I'd never take the life of an animal unless a person's life was at risk." Gohan said.

"Thank God. If the Fire Daimyo's wife ever found out her precious Tora was killed, we would never hear the end of it." Moegi sighed.

"Wait, this cat belongs to them?!" Gohan said in shock as a cold sweat began to form. He nearly killed the cat of the Lord of Fire country.

"Oh yeah, Lady Fire or whatever her name is smothers this stupid cat with so much affection that he runs away and it falls to us genin to catch him over and over again." Konohamaru explained.

"So that's what his problem is..." Gohan deduced.

"No, that's what our problem is." Udon spoke up.

"No, you don't understand. That's why he is so miserable. He runs away from his over affectionate owner and then tries to put up a fight when you try to send him back. He doesn't want to go back to his owner because he's miserable."

"We know he's miserable. We're miserable because he's miserable. But what can be done about it?"

"Let me talk to this lady. I believe I can set her straight." Gohan offered.

"Please don't make our lives more difficult. Just let us turn him in for the reward money so we can do some other job." Moegi begged.

"I was doing it more for Tora's benefit." Gohan explained. "But, alright. I'll let it slide this time. So, Konohamaru. Have you done any more gravity training lately?"

"Gravity training?" Moegi and Udon asked in confusion.

"Oh shoot, I forgot to tell you guys. Naruto has been doing this really cool training in this special room that makes you weigh more. It makes you incredibly strong, super quick."

"So that's why you started jumping 5 stories into the air instead of 3." Udon observed.

"Talk to your sensei and I'll set it up so that you guys can train under my fiancé while you're not on a mission." Gohan said happily.

"No way, seriously?" Moegi said with sparkles in her eyes.

They were interrupted when Videl flew past them and into a rock, bouncing off of it and onto the ground.

"Okay... That one hurt..." Videl wheezed out.

"Videl! Are you okay?!" Gohan asked in a panic.

"Y-yea. Sakura and I are doing an intense training workout outside of the gravity chamber. She hits harder than I thought." Videl said as she exploded into the air and back to where Sakura was.

"Woah... Could we become that strong...?" Moegi asked in amazement.

"I don't see why not." Gohan said happily.

The three genin looked at him like he was Santa promising to turn them into unstoppable ninjas.

"Anyway, you three best go turn in your mission before Tora wakes up." Gohan said.

"Aye aye!" Konohamaru saluted before he and his friends ran off back to the Hokage Tower.

"I never knew you were good with kids, Gohan." Tenten said.

"Of course. I helped raise my baby brother, why wouldn't I be?" Gohan said happily.

"I don't know. You get all kinds in a ninja village. And only a few of them you would leave with your kids."

"I get ya. Well, that's why Videl and I have entrusted Naruto and Sakura as godparents to our children."

"YOU GUYS ARE PREGNANT?!" Tenten squealed.

"Wow. That's old news, Tenten. I'm surprised you didn't know." Gohan said.

"Did I know? I must have forgotten, so much stuff has been going on." Tenten rubbed the back of her head.

"Videl has been pregnant for... nearly a month now." Gohan said.

"Well don't you guys wait until then to tell anyone besides close family members?"

"Oh WAIT, yeah, Ino told me you guys were gonna have twins." Tenten realized.

"That's right! It kinda happened by accident... Saiyan mating season."

"Well, however it happened. I'm happy for the two of you!" Tenten said happily.

"Thank you." Gohan smiled.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Meanwhile in a metaphorical version of Hell…**

 **Two beleaguered young men crawled up the brimstone walls of the mountain side. The sky rained fire and the wind howled poisonous gases and embers that burned their lungs with every breath.**

" **Panda…PANDA!" cmartinHFD cried. "We have to stop! It's not worth it!"**

" **No damn it!" samuraipanda85 shouted. "I'll get us out of Hell! If it's the last thing I do!" He screamed it to the heavens. He had taken them too far to pull out now. They would see it through. Or die trying…**

 **BANG!**

 **Panda blinked and saw a winged demon falling to the pits of hellfire with a gaping hole in its chest. It was mere feet away from him and he hadn't even noticed. He looked up and saw cmartin cocking his trusty shotgun.**

" **Well? Let's fucking go then." Cmartin barked. Panda could only smirk at his good friend before the two of them resumed their climb.**


	21. Chapter 21: Preliminaries Part 3

The day had been going well for Gohan. He had a new sword in hand and had helped out Konohamaru and his team with a cat. Now he was wandering around the streets at dusk just taking in his surroundings.

All around him there were colorful banners and lanterns draped everywhere they would hang. Kids were running around the streets playing with firecrackers and fake kunai. Adults were chatting with old friends and stores were selling their wares out in the street.

The whole village was basking in the gentle glow of the evening sunset while up above them the Descry Sphere continued to show Naruto and the others fighting and winning their tournament matches in the preliminaries.

Gohan just had to stop and take it all in.

All his life he had lived practically in isolation. Miles from any living soul save for his close family. Sure he could fly, but he never felt any sense of community. These people here, who lived mere blocks away from their friends and where they worked, they truly knew what it meant to be connected, and they were more than happy to share it with Gohan and Videl.

"Hey Gohan!" A store vendor called.

Gohan turned his attention to the tall bearded man who greeted him.

"Hey Mr. Saito." Gohan greeted politely. Mr. Saito was a candy store owner that had taken kindly to Gohan and Videl when they arrived. The man had a sweet tooth that had yet to be matched until he had met the two half Saiyans.

"Come try this candied apple. Tell me what you think." Mr. Saito offered Gohan a gleaming red apple on a stick.

"Oh wow. I haven't had one of these in forever." Gohan beamed as he graciously accepted the offer.

He took a single bite and was instantly reminded of his childhood.

"Mmmm... man that's good. I haven't had one this good in years."

"Special treat I'm making for the kids tonight. I'm thinking 50 Ryo an apple." Saito said, delighted.

"You have my vote. That was tasty."

"Good to hear. That'll be 50 Ryo." Mr. Saito held out his hand.

"Oh sure." Gohan pulled out 100 instead of 50. "I'll take one for Videl as well."

Saito graciously accepted the bills. "Of course. Give her my regards, would you?" He said as he handed Gohan another apple.

"Will do. See ya around." Gohan said before running off with Videl's treat.

He made it all the way down the street before he stopped to let a couple of kids in ANBU masks run past him and heard an unmistakably familiar voice.

"YOOOOOUTH!" A man shouted from the rooftops.

 _'What the...'_ Gohan wondered. _'That can't be Lee, he's in Hell...'_

Gohan looked up to see none other than Kakashi and a man who looked like Lee from the future. A man wearing the exact same green spandex outfit with matching orange leg warmers and Chunin vest. With the same eyebrows so thick, Gohan could see them from a mile away. A man cheering on the boys competing as loud as he could while his masked companion sighed as he read his little orange book.

 _'Wow...now I know where Lee got his look from.'_ Gohan thought.

That's when Gohan caught the eye of the copycat ninja who gave him a short wave.

"Yo, what's up Gohan?" Kakashi asked.

"Not a lot. Just on my way home." Gohan said.

That however got the green clad man's attention. "Is that Gohan? Hey Gohan! Come up here!"

"Uh, sure." Gohan lifted up off the ground and flew up to see the two Jounin Ninja on top of the building, gently touching down next to them.

"Excellent, come and join us as we see which of our beloved students truly is the most youthful!" The green clad man declared.

"Well, I think..." Gohan stopped when he saw their next opponents and broke out in a cold sweat. "Oh no..."

"What?" Kakashi asked before he looked up and saw who his students were supposed to face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Demons and Aliens of AAAALLLL races!" The announcer beckoned. "May I have your attention please!"

The crowd in Hell and among the village roared in approval.

"Please direct your attention to Stage number 1! Where we will be conducting the final match up for the preliminaries!"

The noise was absolutely deafening. Halfway across the village, Video was walking through the streets with Sakura. Looking for Ino and the others, when they looked up and noticed that the next match was about to begin. The Sphere showed a glimpse of the Hell Stadium scoreboard listing which teams were fighting and Videl gasped.

"No, not him..."

"In this corner! Consisting entirely of living souls for the first time in this tournament's history! I present to you; the fighters Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee, Choji, Kiba, and Neji! TEEEEEAAAAAMMM SASUKE!" The announcer shouted, much to the cheers of the audience.

All six of the boys waved to the crowd. Naruto and Lee even blew kisses.

"Aaaand in this corner we have some of Earth's greatest villains! Dr. Gero, aka Android 20, Murasaki the greatest Ninja of Earth, General Blue of the former Red Ribbon Army and a creation of Gero himself, Cell!"

The audience exploded with approval. The one called Cell was supposed to be one of the most powerful beings in Hell and had been sticking to the sidelines for all of his team's matches. To finally see him come out for the final match was truly a treat. Too bad he was wasted on such on worthy foes.

However, for those in the leaf who heard of the stories from Gohan, they all became afraid for their heroes.

"Of all opponents, it had to be Cell..." Gohan said grimly.

"He will be no match for my student Lee's flames of Youth!" The green clad man declared.

"I have a hard time believing that... It took everything I had to put him down there 7 years ago and he killed my father... He is by far the deadliest opponent Earth had ever seen."

"Nonsense, Lee's Springtime of Youth has not yet begun to peak!" The man declared.

"Give it a rest Guy, this is serious." Kakashi deadpanned.

Guy raised a skeptical eyebrow before looking at the serious face on Gohan as sweat dripped from his brow.

"Gohan...Lee is going to win, right?" Guy asked.

"I'm going to completely blunt and honest... None of them are going to live after this..." Gohan said grimly.

* * *

Back in Hell, Team Sasuke was a little less worried. They had Shikamaru after all, he would come up with a plan.

"So what's the plan, Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

"Well if half the stories Gohan told us about him are true. We should be on our knees praying." Shikamaru said.

"Why don't you just divide and conquer? Take out his teammates and then gang up on the big man?" Bluebell suggested. The whole group turned their attention over to the talking blue bitch they had all forgotten about.

Cell perked up at the sound of that name.

"Gohan? Curious how you know the name of the brat that did me in." Cell spoke.

"Didn't we mention him earlier?" Naruto spoke up.

"Perhaps, but I hardly pay attention to weaklings. But, I am curious as to how you know him. Aren't you from a different universe?"

"Well he came to our universe." Naruto explained simply.

"Is that so?" Cell asked and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Then I'm sure he's told you what to expect from me."

"Honestly, I wasn't even paying attention. He can really drone on sometimes." Naruto laughed.

"Really? That doesn't sound like the Gohan I remember. The one I remember was fierce, powerful and unrelenting. Then again, a lot can happen in 7 years."

"He's still powerful. He can just be a bore is all." Naruto said, earning a snicker from the guys.

"Yeah." Kiba laughed. _"Oh guys, my father abandoned me to train and I was raised by a slug man who always hit me cause I never learned how to dodge. Waaah!"_ All of Team Sasuke laughed at Kiba's imitation.

Meanwhile, Gohan was fuming. "Assholes..."

"Jeez, as if he's the only one with daddy issues." Naruto said. Earning a concerned look from a blond man in the crowd.

"Seriously." Kiba agreed. "My dad ran away from my mom, Neji's dad was killed to save his twin brother, Shikamaru's dad won't stick up to his wife, god knows who Naruto's dad is, and Lee's dad might be freaking Guy."

"And I was the one who killed his father. The fool, he got himself blown up just to save his pathetic world, only for me to survive in the end." Cell gloated.

"And then you got your ass killed by a mere child, only because you underestimated the power of a Saiyan." Gero said.

"And who might you be?" Shikamaru asked.

"I am Dr. Gero, the one who created Cell."

"Oh, so Cell here had daddy issues too?" Naruto asked.

"Please... this sorry excuse for a man had gotten himself killed by two of his own creations because he was too weak to control them." Cell scoffed.

"Weak father huh? We feel you, man." Kiba said. "What about you two?" Kiba called out to Blue and Murasaki. "Any daddy issues?"

General Blue looked down shamefully. "Daddy never let me have my pony. Said it was too girly for a boy..."

The guys all shook their heads in sympathy.

"My father was a very honorable man. He raised me to be the best Ninja earth had ever seen." Murasaki stated proudly.

"Woah, woah, woah... you're a ninja? From Gohan's world?" Naruto asked, earning the attention from everyone from the village.

"Yes. From my village, I am known as an elite Jounin." Murasaki said proudly.

"But you're so weak looking." Naruto deadpanned.

"Pfft... Elite Jounin my ass. My dad beat him easily when he was only 12." Gohan scoffed.

"And what's with that purple get up? You get out of bed earlier?" Kiba added.

"SILENCE! I will teach you not to dishonor me! Shuriken strike!" Murasaki yelled. The others were expecting a barrage of shuriken to come at them, but he only threw 3 of them and they landed at Kiba's feet.

"Shuriken strike?" Kiba asked. "Really?"

"Did you just telegraph your attack like that?" Neji, the one actual Jounin present, asked.

"Wait for it." Murasaki smirked before the shuriken exploded, creating a thick smoke screen.

"Holy shit, these are the slowest smoke bombs I've ever seen." Choji said.

"Smoke bombs? The smoke isn't even that thick. Heck it's so diluted I can see right through it. Plus, he didn't do anything." Lee said.

"Who is this clown?" Kakashi asked over in the Leaf.

"Exactly that, a clown. He doesn't even rank as a Genin as far as our standards go." Gohan informed.

"No shit. He doesn't even rank as an Academy student." Kakashi said, feeling offended that he allegedly shared a rank with that man.

"Fools! That smoke screen is filled with helium!" Murasaki gloated.

 _"With what?"_ Naruto said in an extremely high pitched voice.

Kiba laughed. _"You sound like a fairy!"_ He laughed in an equally high pitched voice.

"Okay... didn't know about that..." Gohan sweat dropped.

 _"HahaHA! Guys guys, my voice sounds so fucking weird!"_ Choji cried with high pitched laughter.

"I can see how that would be a good distraction tactic... for an Academy student." Kakashi mused.

"That's about what he would measure up to..." Gohan sighed.

Murasaki smirked and drew out a katana. He charged right at Kiba while they were distracted.

The boys were all laughing at their high pitched voices. Not that it mattered since Kiba caught Murasaki's sword arm with ease. He threw grappled his arm behind his back and held him.

 _"Hahaha! Hey Neji, you wanna do the honors?"_ Kiba asked in his high pitched voice.

 _"Gladly. This is for all the real Jounin, bitch."_ Neji said before punching the fake ninja's lights out. Everyone laughed at how weird it sounded when Neji said bitch.

"Murasaki is out by knockout!" The announcer exclaimed as the smoke screen faded.

"Remind me, Dr. Why did you hire him again?" Blue asked.

"He really was the best ninja our world had." Dr. Gero admitted.

 _"Wow, really? That's what Gohan thought ninjas were like? No wonder he underestimates us."_ Naruto squeaked.

"Not anymore." Gohan grumbled.

"Alright, enough playing around." Cell declared before coughing.

"Blue, you better pick up the slack that buffoon left." Cell ordered.

"Gladly." Blue smirked.

He charged at them only to get punched in the face by Choji. Blue fell over backwards completely knocked out.

"General Blue is unable to fight!"

"Really, Doctor? Was your whole army nothing but a bunch of weaklings?" Cell deadpanned.

"They won't get so lucky with me." Gero declared.

Gero blasted forward with speed the Leaf ninja had only seen from Gohan and landed a blow directly into Neji's gut, causing him to double over.

Neji tried to retaliate with his gentle fist, but it was rendered useless upon discovering that Gero's body was mostly metallic.

"Your pressure point tactics won't work on me, brat. I'm an android." Gero smirked as he used his other hand and clamped down on Neji's throat.

"Shit..." Gohan cursed. "He's going to absorb Neji's energy."

That's when Naruto charged up his Rasengan and slammed it into Gero's chest which exploded outward leaving a massive hole.

"N-no... not again..." Gero gasped as his body collapsed to the ground.

Cell just sighed. "I guess I have to do everything myself..."

"Ha! What could you even do? We beat all your teammates with ease!" Kiba bragged.

"Heh. I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way." Cell exploded in a sphere of energy, instantly rising to his maximum power. "You will soon see why everyone on earth feared me."

The entire leaf ninja team gulped after sensing this incredible power.

"You just had to open your mouth, huh Kiba?" Shikamaru said.

Back in the Leaf, the girls had once again met up and were looking at Videl for support. Only she looked like she was a minute away from passing out at the sight of Cell.

"Can they do it?" Ino asked.

"I don't know..." Videl said in fear.

"What do you mean you don't know? What's so bad about this Cell guy anyway?" Temari asked.

"Cell nearly brought upon the extinction of our world 7 years ago...back then, Gohan was so much stronger than he is now. If Cell were to come here, he could easily destroy us all..."

The girls were about to protest, but the sight of Videl shaking with fear was all they needed to know that this guy was no joke.

"Now then..." Cell said. "Who's first?"

He flashed in front of Naruto and kicked him in the ribs, sending the blond boy hurling off the stage.

"Oh I'm sorry, I got impatient." Cell shrugged.

Naruto sat up and spat out blood from his mouth. "Guys! He hits like a Biju! Be careful!"

The boys all charged at Cell at once. Who backhanded Neji into twirling around to the floor and fall off the platform. Kiba slashed at Cell with his claws, but they shattered upon contact with his face. Kiba cried out in pain but was immediately silenced by Cell drop kicking him out of the ring too.

Choji took the opportunity to leap into the air and focused all his Chakra into expanding his fist until it was the size of a house then punched straight down at Cell like some great meteor.

Cell caught the massive fist with one hand and pushed Choji away. Before he could hit the ground though, Cell blasted him with a Ki blast, making Choji skip like a stone in the air.

"Hahahaha!" Cell laughed, having not had this much fun in ages. He tried to turn around to see where the rest of his prey had gone but found it difficult to move.

"Shadow Possession complete." Shikamaru said with a haggard breath.

Cell looked over at the pineapple haired youth.

"What's all this then?"

"Shadow Possession. I've taken control of your shadow and now I control your movements like a puppeteer." Shikamaru explained, the chakra strain was so enormous that every breath felt like he was wearing lead armor. He twisted his neck and Cell mirrored him. "Now I'll just have us both walk out of the ring. And when Lee is the only fighter left standing, we'll win by default!"

"Wow. That's a good plan." Cell admitted as he raised his arm up effortlessly and shot Shikamaru with a Ki beam, piercing the Nara heir's heart. The jutsu was undone and Shikamaru fell backwards out of the ring like a sack of potatoes.

"SHIKAMARU!" Temari and Ino cried out.

Back in Hell, Bluebell leapt into action. The Descry Sphere focused on her running over to Shikamaru's pockets and rummaged for something with her snout. She quickly pulled out a senzu bean and bit it in half with her mouth, dropping it into Shikamaru's open mouth.

She then massaged Shika's chest to force him to swallow the bean. A moment passed until Shikamaru made a huge gasp for air.

"Fuck me that hurt..."

"I'll say. You're lucky that he missed your heart." Bluebell said.

"This guy is way out of our league. Gohan wasn't lying about this guy."

"No he wasn't." Cell smirked from above Shikamaru before turning back to the center of the ring.

"And then there were one..." He smirked as all eyes turned on Lee.

"Typical...no one ever believes me until they find out the hard way." Gohan muttered

"To be fair, you kinda came out of nowhere and declared yourself the most powerful man on the planet. Excuse us if that doesn't tick off a few guys who've been training their whole lives." Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

"COME ON LEE! YOU CAN DO IT! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE MOST BRIGHT IN YOU!" Guy shouted in encouragement.

"Guy-sensei?" Came a new voice. The men looked over to see Tenten leap up to the rooftop, followed by the rest of the young Kunoichi.

"Hey guys." Gohan greeted emotionlessly.

"You're worried about them too?" Videl asked.

Gohan nodded. "It's just down to Lee now."

"Lee can beat him right? You've trained with Lee, Gohan. You'd know." Tenten pleaded.

Gohan just looked at her with doubtful eyes. "It would be better if he just surrendered."

"So, little man. I do hope you have something up your sleeves to entertain me because I'm starting to get bored." Cell goaded.

The green clad boy merely tightened the bindings around his arms. "Nothing of the sort. I'm just going to beat you senseless and win for my team." Lee declared.

Cell just laughed. "You? Listen here caterpillar brows, I've defeated Super Saiyans with ease. A human like you is no match for me."

Gohan tightened his fist. Only in his Ascended Super Saiyan form and with the help of his friends was he able to defeat Cell. Lee had absolutely no chance. He looked up expecting to see despair in Lee's eyes, but instead he saw...confidence?

"In that case..." Lee said as he dropped his stance. "I'll just have to become a Super Human."

"Super human? Surely you jest." Cell snickered.

"We shall see..." Lee said as he spread his legs, he filled his lungs with air, remembering all those long hours training with Neji, Guy-sensei, and... Tenten...all to achieve this form...he'd have to exceed his limits now. He exhaled, and the ground began to quake.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Lee hummed as the pressure built up around him.

"What is he doing?" Videl asked.

"Ha HA! My most youthful pupil is going to defeat the dastardly grasshopper man with his Flames of Youth!" Guy declared.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Lee screamed as the air began to swirl around him and his skin began to turned pink from overheating.

"Wait...it's too soon for that! He's supposed to do them slowly! One at a time!" Tenten recognized what technique Lee was trying to use.

That was when Guy noticed it as well and his heart froze.

The air around Lee began to appear green, as if his aura became visible. Exactly how it was with a Super Saiyan's golden aura.

 _'The Seventh Gate; Gate of Shock and Wonder. OPEN!'_ Lee thought as his power level exploded.

Cell just smirked. "Impressive trick, but you still don't hold a candle to me."

"I'm not done." Lee stated, sending all his genin teammates hearts sinking into their stomachs.

"No Lee! Not that gate!" Guy yelled out.

"What's the next gate?" Videl asked.

"What is he talking about?" Gohan asked, completely out of the loop.

"The Eight Inner Gates..." Kakashi began explaining. "Are the 8 passageways through which all Chakra must pass through as they circulate through the body. They act as limiters that regulate the amount of Chakra a person can use at any one time. Opening these gates remove these limits, allowing for users to call upon strength that they normally would never be able to tap into."

"And what happens when you open these gates?" Gohan tentatively asked.

"Up to the 7th Gate, you'd be granted strength greater than that of a Kage, but your muscles would deteriorate to the point that even the slightest touch would cause you unimaginable pain. But if Lee means to open the 8th and final gate..."

"He will die..." Guy said grimly.

"No..." Videl gasped out.

"Lee..." Tenten said.

"Lee don't do it!" Neji begged. As per the rules, he physically could not re-enter the ring until the fight was over. Neji uselessly poured his fists against the barrier, but Lee would not face him. Instead, Lee gave his team a thumbs up with his back turned. Naruto recognized it as the same pose Lee had given him three years ago when he let Naruto get away from the Sound guy who used bones as weapons. Lee wasn't even on the Sasuke retrieval squad, yet only a day after his spinal surgery he ran 100 miles to the boarder to help out his comrades who were tasked with saving Sasuke from Orochimaru. They weren't even friends yet and still he was ready to throw his life away.

Now it seems he would do so again.

"Mark my words, Cell. On my honor as a shinobi, I shall win this match for my teammates..." Lee proclaimed. Using his outstretched arm, he slammed his right thumb into chest, puncturing the pressure point over his heart. His power level exploded.

"The Eighth Gate; Gate of Death! OPEN!" Lee shouted as his aura exploded into a blazing red haze. His skin turned dark red, his veins began to pop, and his blood boiled. The very stadium began to shake.

"You're going to win with that? You're dumber than Vegeta if you think that." Cell chuckled.

Lee then flashed in front of Cell so fast that his after image punched Cell in the back of head twice before Lee finally punched him square in the nose. Shattering it while staggering the bio-android backwards.

"I don't know who this Vegeta is, but he sounds like a pleasant guy." Lee said.

"You wretch..." Cell growled and with his speed sent a swift kick to Lee sending him skidding across the ring.

Lee was about to be knocked out of the ring when he kicked backwards. The force of the kick actually turning the air into a solid wall for Lee to jump off of.

Cell smirked as Lee came closer to him. Waiting until the last moment, Cell sent a hard left hook that instantly connected with Lee's face.

Lee however was so fast that he could actually roll with the punch and delivered a roundhouse kick to Cell's face.

Sadly, Cell just smirked. He had prepared for a counter attack. Lee's kick did little more than scratch him.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Cell taunted.

"This is bad... Lee needs to step it up or he's lost this. Direct attacks don't work with him." Gohan said grimly.

Lee didn't respond and instead cocked back his leg and kicked Cell again and again and again. His kicks becoming like machine gun fire pounding away at the side of Cell's face. When he finally tried to block, Lee just changed his target to Cell's ribs and sides. Before Cell could retaliate any further Lee changed up his tactics and began sending rapid fire punches at Cell. Attacks so fast the android could only block a 1/3rd of them.

"Holy shit..." Gohan and Videl gasped out.

"Where was he during the Cell Games?" Gohan wondered aloud.

"Still in the academy like the rest of us." Sakura replied.

"He was being bullied because he couldn't use any jutsu." Guy spat at the memory.

"What?!" Gohan and Videl exclaimed.

"Lee never told you? He's incapable of utilizing any jutsu except for taijutsu. Everything he does is purely physical. No tricks, no kekki genki, just the result of pure backbreaking work." Kakashi praised in the place of Guy, who would not turn away from this fight.

"I heard about how he couldn't use any jutsu but...wow..." Videl breathed out.

"Amazing." Gohan said simply.

Finally, one kick from Lee cut Cell's left arm off.

"You'll pay for that, brat..." Cell growled.

Lee responded by landing a kick directly into Cell's open wound.

"AAAHHHH!" Cell cried out in pain as he stumbled back.

"He got him!" Sakura cheered.

"No he didn't." Gohan said.

"Huh? Cell just had his arm cut off. What more could he-"

To answer her question, Cell instantly regrew his lost arm.

Sakura's jaw hit the floor. "H-how is that possible...?"

"Cell has the regenerative cells from the Namekians who can regenerate lost limbs." Gohan explained.

"Who are the Namekians?" Hinata asked.

"An alien race from our universe." Gohan replied.

"It's always aliens isn't it?" Ino stated.

"What's that supposed to mean..." Videl grumbled.

"N-nothing..." Ino said sheepishly.

"So how is Lee supposed to beat Cell? If he can regenerate whole limbs so instantly?" Hinata asked.

"The only way he can now is by technicality." Gohan said.

It's seems that Lee was aware of this for he kept up his assault on Cell. His punches might not have been as devastating as Cell's, but he was too damn fast. Punch, kick, dodge, Cell couldn't keep up. He had to keep stepping backwards one step at a time.

Soon he found himself at the edge of the ring and froze. That was when Lee took that to his advantage.

He raised up his arms but felt a massive pain spike reverberate through his limbs, making him hesitate.

Cell took Lee's hesitation to his advantage and backhanded him away. Lee was thrown across the ring, his head rattling from Cell's slap, yet he reoriented himself and kicked backwards. Halting his momentum and saving him from a ring out.

"I must say, you have given me a run for my money." Cell stated. "But I'm afraid this is where your time in this game ends." Cell took up an all too familiar stance to charge his attack.

Lee recognized that stance after seeing Gohan use it several times during training. He could feel his muscles screaming and his bones cracking, his head felt so clouded and everything felt so hot.

But he would not yield, he couldn't. It was all or nothing and he had made a promise.

"KAAA...MEEE...HAAA...MEEE..." Cell chanted.

Lee grit his teeth and ignored the pain. It wouldn't matter in a few minutes.

 _'Pain is temporary, pride is forever.'_ That was what his master always taught him.

Lee assumed his final stance.

"Lee..." Tenten sobbed.

"HAAA!" Cell shouted as he unleashed the massive energy blast on the shinobi.

Lee charged straight at the blast, twisting to the right to avoid the blunt of the assault. He ran straight up to Cell and held his fingertips against Cell's chest.

"No Rhythm Punch!" Lee shouted as he put every last ounce of strength he had into his fist. Directly into Cell's chest plate. The entire shockwave was sent directly through Cell' perfect body, making his head rattle. The bio mutant stood back to withstand the assault and coughed up blood for his effort.

"You son of a bitch! I'm going to-

"Ring out!" The announcer cried.

All eyes turned on Cell, who just now noticed that he was standing with one foot outside the ring, his eyes looking up at Rock Lee, whose red aura burned like a grand fire.

"He did it..." Gohan gasped out.

"I don't believe it...he actually won..." Videl breathed out.

"ALRIGHT LEEEEEE!" Naruto shouted back in Hell.

"YEEEESS! HE BEAT HIM!" Tenten cheered.

All throughout the village there were similar cheers.

"That little son of a bitch did it!" One disbelieving villager said.

"He did it!"

"Alright Rock Lee!"

"YES HE DID IT!" Gohan cheered while lifted Videl up and twirled her around.

"We're celebrating too early." Kakashi said seriously.

Gohan stopped twirling Videl around and set her down.

"What do you mean?" Videl asked.

Kakashi looked at her with the most serious expression on his face she had ever seen. "Lee isn't out of the woods yet." His eyes gazed back up at the Descry Sphere where the skin on Lee's body seemed to be crumbling.

"Lee!" Neji cried out, his eyes on the verge of tears. How could he not cry? He knew what was coming. His best friend and teammate was about to die.

"Neji..." Lee said, his voice sounding like it was choked with ash.

"Lee! Just hang in there, we'll give you a senzu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, no..." Shikamaru grabbed his shoulder. "If what my father told me was true...no senzu or healing jutsu can save him now. His body is cooking itself from the inside out. He's literally turning to ash."

"It's better than doing nothing! If he dies...then..." Naruto started to choke up. One of his comrades and friends was dying in front of him. He brought him here. He wouldn't be dying if…if…

"Damn it... I didn't want this... I never wanted any of you to die..." He choked up, this was all his fault.

"Naruto." Lee said to gain his attention.

Naruto looked over at his friend, as his face grew deeper and deeper cracks.

"I do not want you to fret. I made this decision so the rest of you can save Sasuke. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made to help our friends." Lee said.

"God damn it..." Naruto sobbed. Lee turned back towards Neji.

"Neji, could you tell Guy-sensei and Tenten that I'm sorry... Sorry that I broke Guy-sensei's rule. And Tenten...could you tell her...?"

"Of course I will..." Neji firmly stated as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Now Lee's body was crumbling apart.

"Goodbye my friends..." Lee said finally before turning into a pile of ash.

"No! LEEEEEE!" Tenten cried out as she fell to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes.

Ino, Sakura and Videl were immediately there to comfort her.

"Lee...Lee..." Tenten moaned out in agony.

Sakura rubbed Tenten's shoulders while Videl hugged her.

"It's okay... just let it out..." Videl said softly like she had done for her best friend, Erasa.

Meanwhile in Hell, the rest of Team Sasuke were in the same emotional boat as Tenten. Lee was dead, literally scattered like dust in the wind.

"I think you lot are forgetting something." Beerus said behind them.

"God damn it cat, what?" Kiba exclaimed. "Can't you see that our friend just died?"

"Impudent brat, yes he is dead but where is he supposed to go?" Beerus spat.

That's when it donned on Shikamaru. "Guys! We're already in other world so he would be here when he died!" He exclaimed.

"Well I'll be damned." Spoke a familiar voice standing behind all of them.

They all turned around to see Lee standing where his pile of ash once was, only difference was he now had a halo above his head.

"Huh...so this is what being dead feels like." Lee mused. "I feel great. I can't even feel the muscle strain anymore. Plus, my hang nail is gone."

Shikamaru just laughed. "Leave it to you to discover the benefits of being dead."

He was interrupted by a long haired man brushing past him, all to hug Lee for all he was worth.

"N-Neji?" Lee said in surprise.

Neji didn't answer, instead he just sobbed into the shoulder of the closest person he would ever have to a brother.

"Wow...didn't see that coming..." Gohan mused

As soon as he realized what he was doing, Neji pushed Lee away and looked over at all his teammates. "If any of you ever tell anyone about this. So help me god I will kill you all."

"Tell who about what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Kiba said.

"Actually, being dead isn't that bad. It feels pretty good honestly." Lee said.

Then Kiba had an evil idea and stood beside Naruto.

"Hey Lee. Since you're dead, wouldn't you be technically considered a ghost?"

"Actually I think I would be considered an angel." Lee said as Naruto remained oblivious.

"What was that Kiba? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Kiba just gave a look to Lee that said to play along and he nodded.

"I was asking Lee now that he's dead if he would be considered a ghost."

"Huh? Why would he? He's got a halo, doesn't he?"

 _'Damn, he catches on quick.'_ Kiba thought.

"Would you idiots pipe down? I need to announce the damn finalists." Beerus grumbled.

"S-sorry, sir." Kiba stuttered.

Beerus cleared his throat. "Attention everyone. I will now announce the finalist for the tournament."

Kiba and the others gathered near as the other winning teams did the same. The roar cheered all around them.

"Alright, alright, shut up! The final four teams will be Team Sasuke, Team Zabuza, Team Orochimaru, and Team Freeza." Beerus announced.

"In addition, these 4 teams will fight it out tomorrow. The semifinals will start tomorrow with the finals taking place the next day. The winning team will be allowed to choose who they want to ascend to heaven from Hell, so long as said person is not one of the contestants."

Whis then leaned over to whisper in his Lord's ear.

"And apparently I am to tell you that from now on rules of the matches will change. Instead of battle royals they will consist on one on one matches until one side has defeated all the contestants on the other. So have the computer randomize which teams will be fighting which already." Beerus waved dismissively.

All eyes turned on the massive monitors attached to the audience seating. As the names of the four teams flashed along like a slot machine.

 **Semi Finals Matches:**

 **Team Zabuza vs. Team Sasuke.**

 **Team Orochimaru vs. Team Freeza.**

"So, looks like we'll get that rematch after all, kid." Zabuza grinned through his bandages.

Naruto looked over at the lone Demon of the Bloody Mist and smirked. "Hell yeah we will."

"Holy-is that Zabuza from our first real mission, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"The very same." Kakashi replied.

"Can Naruto even handle that guy?" Videl asked.

Sakura gave her a look that said "you're joking, right?"

"Well I don't know anything about this Zabuza guy and if my fights against Orochimaru and those immortal guys taught me anything it's that you should never underestimate ninjas."

"Very true, I'm glad you realize that now." Kakashi said. "But in reality, Naruto has grown so much stronger and skillful since then. I'm more than certain he's more than a match for Zabuza now."

"Provided that he hasn't been training the whole time he's been in hell." Gohan said.

"There is such a thing as 'not' training every waking second." Sakura scoffed.

"Anyway. Zabuza was on my level when he was alive. So no doubt when Naruto fights him one on one it'll be a good test to see how far he has come." Kakashi stated.

"Should be interesting." Videl said eagerly.

"Alright, you all know who you'll be fighting tomorrow. Rest up and get out of my sight. Then meet back here in the morning for the semifinals." Beerus said with disinterest.

The boys all cheered, they had done it. They had made it to the semifinals. They had beaten Cell! There was no stopping them now.

* * *

Back in the Leaf everyone was cheering too.

"I still can't believe Lee pulled it off! Now I wish our world's Ninja were on your level." Gohan said.

"Yea, seriously. What was that anyway?" Sakura asked.

"I feel kind of insulted for being associated with that man." Ino added.

Videl sighed. "Ninjas in our world used to be feared, but after certain events in our history, they became nothing more than annoying."

"That's a shame, what happened to them?" Hinata asked.

"I think it was after the Red Ribbon Army appeared that they all but vanished. Either that, or they were wiped out by King Piccolo." Videl said.

"Huh, so I guess they avenged them?" Ino shrugged.

"Huh? No. The Red Ribbon Army was taken down by Goku when he was a child. You might see one or two ninjas here and there, but they don't hold a candle to their ancestors."

"Well I meant that our ninjas beat the Red Ribbon Army. So isn't it poetic justice or something?" Ino clarified.

"Oh, yea I guess you can call it that."

"Oh, Videl. I got you something." Gohan said as he handed her the candy apple he got for her.

"For me? Oh you shouldn't have." Videl lit up like a light bulb. Food for Saiyans was like jewelry.

"Mr. Saito made a new recipe. It's awesome." Gohan beamed.

The girls all looked on fondly at their cute little display. Damn it, they wanted to be pampered by their boyfriends too! Not that most of them had even made things official yet, but come on!

Videl took a little bite that Gohan found absolutely cute. To add to it, she wore a bright smile afterwards.

Even Kakashi had too look away, he found it so cute. 'I need to see Shizune again.' He thought.

"Wow! He really outdid himself this time!" Videl beamed as she joyfully ate the rest of the apple.

"Really?" Sakura asked as her interested peaked. "How much?"

"50 Ryo." Gohan informed.

"That's actually sounds delicious." Ino said.

"I think he's open for another hour or so." Gohan mused.

 **"Aren't you forgetting someone?"** Said a voice up in the Descry Sphere.

* * *

" **Aren't you forgetting someone, brat?"** A booming voice asked. Naruto turned to look up at the giant and looming cage towering above them all. Inside it housed the Kyuubi, the demon fox that was once housed inside Naruto.

"No I don't think so." Naruto responded before turning to leave.

" **Hilarious, now reabsorb me into yourself already. I detest living inside you, but ironically I have more space to move around inside you than in this accursed cage."** The Kyuubi growled.

"I don't think so. I kind of like not having you sealed inside me anymore and I think I'll keep it that way. You can just stay in down here and rot in that cell like the demon you are." Naruto replied.

" **What the Hell are you doing brat? You can't just leave me here!"**

"Watch me." Naruto spat as he turned his heel to leave the damned fox in his cage.

" **YOU OWE ME, BRAT! I'VE SAVED YOUR LIFE MORE TIMES THAN YOU REALIZE!"** The Kyuubi shouted, his voice making the very ground of Hell quake. Which made Naruto stop to hear what the demon was blathering on about.

" **WHO HEALED YOU AFTER EVERY LYNCH MOB THAT CAME AFTER YOU SO THAT YOU COULD CRAWL AWAY? I DID!"**

" **WHO GAVE YOU THE POWER TO DEFEAT MIZUKI TO SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS IRUKA? I DID!"**

" **If it wasn't for my power, you would never have defeated Haku and would have died back in Wave! It was my power that allowed you to face Orochimaru, summon the Chief Toad, and defeat Neji! It was my power that allowed you to defeat Gaara and save your precious Sakura! And it was my power that saved your life when your 'brother' Sasuke tried to kill you!"** The entirety of the Leaf gasped at the Kyuubi's accusation. Sakura especially, for she never learned the exact details of Naruto's battle against Sasuke. She had only seen him bandaged from head to toe in what she thought was a massive beating. She never saw the ruined jacket with the hole through the front and back where Naruto's right lung should have been. Kakashi however, had.

The boys all stared at Naruto with concerned and curious eyes. The Kyuubi's eyes lit up when he realized that he struck a nerve.

" **Oh that's right. You never told them did you? No, you told them that Sasuke had only beaten the crap out of you to try and escape, but we both know that's not the truth. The boy, the 'comrade' you all risked your lives to save, just like you are doing now, tried to kill Naruto, his best friend. He was going to stab him right in the heart with a Chidori, but thanks to my power you were able to deflect his attack. I was even able to heal your shoulder and your pierced lung quick enough to continue fighting! Had you given me control from the beginning I could have defeated that Uchiha brat from the outset and he would have never stepped foot on Orochimaru's doorstep!"** The Kyuubi declared for the entire stadium and unknowingly, the entire Leaf to hear.

"Naruto…is this true?" Shikamaru asked. The rest of the boys all waited patiently for Naruto's answer.

"…Yes." He replied simply. What else need be said?

"You could have told us…"

Naruto nodded. "You're right, I could have…"

A silence fell over Team Sasuke and of the Leaf. What words could be said?

Naruto took this opportunity to approach the Kyuubi.

"As for you…" He said as he grabbed one of the Kyuubi's massive whiskers and pulled the demon's head down to the ground so that the two of them could see each other eye to eye.

"I don't owe you a damn thing. Every single one of those times, save for Neji, you were saving your own skin just as much as mine. So I'll thank you for the Chunin Exams and nothing else. You've caused me misery all my life and you can be damn sure that I'll jump at the chance to be rid of you for good."

" **You need me brat. You may not want to admit it, but you need me."** The Kyuubi snarled, the same snarl that would have sent a veteran jounin scampering in the opposite direction with crap in his pants.

"I'll learn to live without you." Naruto said with finality. He then headed back towards his team's hotel room where they were staying as the Kyuubi continued to scream bloody murder at him from within his new cage.

* * *

Back in the Hokage's office on Element, Tsunade was having a surprise meeting with the elder council.

"This is unacceptable, Tsunade. One of our greatest state secrets of the last 20 years is being broadcasted to the general public and you have not done a single thing to contain it." Kohura ranted at her. She was joined by his companion Homura and the war hawk Danzo, the later of whom was keeping fairly quiet throughout the meeting so far.

"I don't understand what you expect me to do about it. As I've told you days ago, we have neither the time nor the resources to maintain a genjutsu big enough to cover the entire sphere. Ordering the people to ignore it is pointless. And it hardly matters anyway. I had plans to reveal Naruto's jinchuriki status to the public by the time he was 18. In fact, I was going to reveal it even sooner to his peers." Tsunade countered in the most professional tone she could muster with her patience being stretched so thin.

"Ah yes, we all know about your decision to inform your youngest pupil Mrs. Haruno about her teammate's secret when she became a chunin. And it was because of that, that the secret was later leaked to Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, and Ten of the Ten clan." Homura scoffed.

"I'll remind you that they had all reached the rank of chunin by then. And as was clearly demonstrated by their male teammates, none of them revealed Naruto's secret in that time. Meaning that I was right to trust the kunoichi before the ninjas with the secret." Tsunade countered. The elders paused in thought and Tsunade smirked. It was always a good day when she could shut them down with her words. How her granduncle could ever raise up a generation of such self-righteous assholes was beyond her. Oh wait, it was because he was one.

Tsunade smirked as she poured herself a glass of sake, completely ignoring the foul looks she was getting from the elders she was still in the middle of a meeting with.

"Look it hardly matters now. The secret is out, the village isn't burning itself down, and Naruto is in no more danger than he ever was when his jinchuriki status was still a secret. So why give me this lecture? None of you would have called this meeting if you didn't have a point, so spill it." Tsunade finished her little speech by downing her victory shot of sake. The alcohol giving her that familiar burning sensation that always felt so satisfying to her.

"Our point is, that you have failed to uphold the policies set down by your master and predecessor Hiruzen. It was his life's work to keep Naruto's legacy a secret to protect him, and you tarnish that by your lack of initiative to uphold it." Kohura stated. Earning a laugh from the 5th Hokage.

"That's what's got you in a tizzy? Because I refuse to play ball like you all used to back in the good old days? Give me a break." Tsunade scoffed.

"Watch your tone, Princess Tsunade." Danzo stated. "You would do well to respect your elders."

"Or what? What possible dangerous secret could the Descry Sphere reveal now?"

"NARU-CHAN!" A woman shouted in joy from the Descry Sphere.

Tsunade and the elders looked up to see none other than the deceased Kushina Uzumaki hugging the blond Uzumaki boy outside of his hotel room, while standing behind her was a taller and more mature blond man. Who looked familiar to anyone who ever looked over at the 4th face on the Hokage mountain.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, Panda here, and have I got an update for you.**

 **Alright, first thing's first, the Hell arc is DONE. And by done I mean that the meat of all its writing is done. The big chunks all need to be edited and then stitched together. So not done done, but pretty done. Which means that the chapters may start coming out faster so that we can finally, truly, and for reals get out of Hell.**

 **That being said, me and Cmartin have reached a dilemma that we were hoping that you readers could help us with.**

 **See, the next mini arc (which for that sake of spoilers we shall refer to as) the Festival is done. We got this three-to-four-chapter arc written a few months ago. The problem is that we included some scenes that are starting to seem out of place. What I mean is that we had our four heroes plus the Konoha 11 start a swinger's party. To save you the google search, couples splitting off and having sex with other partners for the night. So just a big old lemon, plus some implied lemons.**

 **Our problem is that it seems out of character for so many of our characters who were virgins up to that point to just dive into having threesomes like that. But this also led to some character moments that we both liked that we wouldn't be able to recreate if we cut the lemons out. We reached an impasse on what to do and decided to ask you our readers what your opinions are…**

 **Should we keep the lemons in the story -OR- cut them out and replace them with our heroes hanging out together at the Festival?**

 **Granted, the plan for if we do cut the lemons would probably be to post them on my story Naruto and Sakura at Ichiraku's.**

 **Tell us what you think. Leave a review or send us a PM telling us which idea you would rather see in the upcoming chapters. Explain to us why you think one idea is better than the other or just tell us to KEEP or CUT.**

 **Voting ends with the conclusion of the Hell arc or when one side has sufficiently convinced us.**

 **That being said, we also have two other stories we wish to announce that are COMPLETED.**

 **Legacy of Heroes Origins**

 **Which ties into the Hell arc and unveils the truth behind Sasuke's death.**

 **-and-**

 **Legacy of Heroes: The Next Generation**

 **Which tells the story of the Son's children and the Uzumaki's children becoming Genin. As a sort of sequel/spin off of the original Legacy of Heroes.**

 **Don't miss out.**


	22. Chapter 22: Family Matters Part 3

_And I was like,_

 _Baby, baby, baby, baby OOOOOHHH!_

 _Just like,_

 _Baby, baby, baby OOOOOHHH!_

 _Just like,_

 _Baby, baby, baby OOOOOHHH!_

 _Thought you'd always be mine,_

 _Mine..._

Ding

The elevator doors slid open to Team Sasuke's hotel floor. The boys all slumped over towards their room. While not physically exhausted, the day had left them mentally exhausted.

The six of them plus two canine companions entered their hotel room and beheld their accommodations.

The door opened up to a plain looking hotel room with six rectangle beds arranged for them, three on each side, with one nightstand and a lamp to share. The beds themselves looked solid, with wool sheets that barely covered each bed. Lee and Choji decided to test them out. The both of them collapsed on their beds to find that the covers were all just long enough to cover their bodies except for their feet. A feature that annoyed them all more than anything.

"Well it is Hell, remember." Bluebell pointed out as Naruto tried jumping onto one of the beds and figured out the hard way about how it was, in fact, as hard as it looked.

"Well this sucks." Naruto grumbled as the group all took a seat at each of their respective twin beds.

The second-in-command Shikamaru was the first to speak up.

"So Naruto, you want to tell us what that was all about?"

Naruto was about to open his mouth when he was cut off by Shikamaru again. "And before you try to play dumb: I meant what was with the Kyuubi saying that Sasuke tried to kill you? You always told us that he beat you unconscious and then ran away. But now he meant to kill you?"

As he said this, the entire Leaf village waited on baited breath through the Descry Sphere. Ever since it had appeared over their village, the Sphere had been a near constant source of eye-opening reveals. To the uninitiated, it seemed there was always more to the story.

"I really don't want to talk about this right now, alright." Naruto responded.

"Naruto...we are far beyond bailing on you now. So just be upfront with us, because I'm pretty damn sure we had this exact same conversation a few days ago." Shikamaru said.

"Sigh, fine, back when I caught up with Sasuke he tried to kill me. Not just beat me unconscious like I told you." Naruto confirmed.

"And so did he have a reason for wanting to kill you or is he actually that big of a prick?" Shikamaru pressed.

"He said he had to kill me because I was his closest friend."

"The hell does that even mean?" Choji asked.

"Pervy Sage told me it was because of a certain legend among the Uchiha bloodline." Naruto replied.

"I think I know about that legend." Neji commented.

"Is it the one about how if an Uchiha kills their closest friend, they unlock some kind of special Sharingan?" Naruto said.

"Yes. Supposedly, when a Sharingan user kills the ones closest to him or her, they will unlock a special type of Sharingan known as the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Mangekyou Sharingan, that's what it's called." Naruto said pounding his fist into his other palm.

"Yes, it is said that the Mangekyou Sharingan is more powerful than that of the Byakugan. However, the strongest of the optical Kekkei Genkai's is the Rinnegan. But, there hasn't been a recorded user of the Rinnegan in over a century."

* * *

Back in the Leaf, Jirayia sneezed, which gave away his hiding spot in the women's bath house.

"Dammit, Jiraiya! I knew I sensed your ass! Get the fuck out of here!" Videl screamed.

* * *

"Yeah, well Sasuke was planning on killing me to unlock that special Sharingan." Naruto said as he looked the hotel window at the miles and miles of flaming brimstone.

The boys and the Leaf watched as Naruto suddenly chuckled to himself.

"You know it's funny. When he said that I was his closest friend. I don't know, but it made me happy. To know that despite everything, he still considered me his best friend. I don't think anyone had ever called themselves my friend before in my entire life."

 _'What the hell am I? leftover ramen?'_ Sakura huffed to herself.

"I don't remember you cueing up to declare yourself Naruto's friend back in the day, Forehead." Ino said over her plate of dango outside the dango shop.

"I really hate having a mind reader as a best friend." Sakura grumbled loud enough for Ino to hear her.

"Bitch you love me." Ino smirked back.

"I wonder sometimes... But, anyway, I have on more than one occasion."

"Not that I recall." Hinata pointed out.

"Well it wasn't while we were all together, you know..."

"So enlighten us, Forehead."

"It was during the chunin exams after we arrived at the tower."

"You proclaimed yourself his friend? Honest and for true?" Ino said, clearly mocking Sakura.

"Well she did seem friendlier with Naruto-kun back then. Especially compared to when we were all in the academy together." Hinata said.

"Thank you." Sakura said.

"And you were pretty enthusiastic for Naruto while he was in the tournament." Ino recalled.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, I was. Honestly, at that point, I was on the fence about who my feelings were stronger for, Naruto or Sasuke."

"Maybe, I definitely think the turning point was when you told me that Sasuke told you that Naruto saved you from that Gaara creep." Ino said.

"I wouldn't call him a creep now. He's done a complete 180 since that day. But, you're right."

"Hey, get the fuck off me!" Naruto shrieked. The girls all looked up to see that Naruto was being viciously hugged by the rest of the guys while they weren't looking.

"Don't fight it Naruto. We all know what you need is a big friendly bro hug!" Kiba teased.

"What the hell...?" Sakura said in confusion.

"Yosh! Exactly Naruto! Accept our Youthful friendship!" Lee shouted as he and the rest of the guys all squeezed Naruto like a stuffed teddy bear.

"Nooooo!" Naruto shouted dramatically to the heavens.

Ino smiled and Hinata blushed at the sight of so much male bonding. Somewhere off in the distance Gai too felt the urge to find his rival and share in the camaraderie.

"Why is it that every time we turn our backs on them they end up doing something gay?" Ino thought aloud.

"Now tell us why you think of Sasuke as more of a friend then any of us?" Kiba asked while Neji held Naruto's arms back and Choji gave him a noogie.

"AAH! It's because he still let me go!" Naruto shouted.

"Come again?" Shikamaru asked.

"What...?" Sakura breathed out.

Neji loosened up his grip so that Naruto could catch his breath.

"Back when I was fighting Sasuke. We had both gone berserk. Me with the Kyuubi and him with his curse mark. We had one final clash and I passed out. Kakashi-sensei found me and took me back to the Leaf. He said Sasuke was already gone by the time he arrived. So for god knows how long, he was standing over me, completely at his mercy. And yet he let me live. That proves to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is good in him. Something that wouldn't let him kill me that day. That's what I'm fighting to save."

"So it all makes sense now..." Gohan commented.

"Yeah, who knew the Boss could be so deep?" Konohamaru wondered aloud.

"That's not it, Konohamaru. Naruto is going down the path of a true hero, one that many I know have traveled before."

"Well duh, I could've told you that." Konohamaru said as he performed a leaping spin kick right at Gohan's head.

Gohan didn't even block as the kick landed on his head, though it didn't faze the Saiyan.

"Oh come on, at least PRETEND to try to dodge it!" Konohamaru whined.

"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Gohan said in slight confusion.

Konohamaru growled as he charged up the jutsu Naruto taught him.

"RASENGAN!" He shouted.

Gohan grabbed Konohamaru's wrist and spun him around and sent him flying a few feet away. "Not bad, but announcing your attack's just alerts your opponent about your intentions." Gohan instructed.

As Konohamaru flew through the air, he aimed three shuriken towards Gohan before the young genin landed on his feet.

Gohan simply deflected the shuriken with his index finger away from his body. He knew they wouldn't hurt if they did hit, but what would that teach his young student?

Everyone's thoughts were soon interrupted by a loud knock coming from Team Sasuke's hotel door.

"And who's this now?" Naruto wondered as he wrestled himself out of all his friends' grasp. He then walked over to answer the door and who should be behind it, but a familiar beautiful red haired woman.

 _'I wonder...'_ Gohan thought to himself.

"Can I help..." Naruto started as opened the door to find two of the least likely people he'd meet down here.

"NARU-CHAN!" The red haired woman squealed as she glomped the poor boy like a long lost puppy.

"Who is that?" Ino asked.

"She has a halo above her head, yet she seems to know Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"I don't fucking believe it..." Sakura gasped out.

"Mom?" Naruto cried out as he was being tackled.

"MOM?!" Everyone in the sphere and in the village exclaimed at the same time.

"That's Naruto's mother?" Ino breathed out and Sakura nodded.

"I met her once before." She stated.

"She's so beautiful..." Hinata said in awe.

"Wait, how the fuck did you meet her? She's dead!" Ino exclaimed.

Several blocks away, in the Haruno residence, Kizashi made a B-line to his wife. "Dear, You're gonna want to see this." He said, trying to usher his wife outside. Mebuki looked up from her magazine and followed her husband.

She looked up at the sky as she had done so many time the past few days to observe her godson. She looked up and saw the reddest shade of hair she had ever seen. Something she never believed she would ever see again.

"Oh my god…" She cried.

"Mom?" Naruto said again, his voice about to crack. His friends behind him didn't mind him though, they were all preoccupied by extremely beautiful woman who stood there hugging Naruto.

"N-naruto, who is that?" Kiba asked, pointing a shaky finger at Kushina.

"M-my mom..." Naruto choked out as he returned the hug deeply.

"Your mom? That complete babe, is your mom?" Kiba stated.

Kushina chuckled. "Thank you, but I'm afraid I'm already taken." Kushina stated.

"Never stopped me before." Neji stepped forward, in full swag mode.

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "Neji Hyuga? Is that you? I remember you, I was friends with your mother. It was a shame when she died, but I'm certain she would be ashamed of the way you are behaving."

"What?" Neji gasped out as he stopped dead in his tracks. "W-who are you?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea..." Shikamaru commented.

"I'm Kushina Uzumaki, the Red Hot Blooded Habanero. And just looking around here I recognize a lot of you." Kushina informed them.

"Yoshino was your mother right? Little Shikamaru?" She said while looking at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru nodded. "She's still around."

"Good to hear. I bet she gives you an earful like she does with Shikaku, am I right?" Kushina smirked.

"You got that right. She can be troublesome at times, but you only get one mother and I'm glad to have her."

"Good to hear." Kushina smiled.

She then turned to Kiba.

"Tsume, right?"

Kiba nodded in shock.

"Is your mother still a raging bitch?"

"What the fuck did she just say?!" Tsume growled back on the roof of the Inuzuka compound.

"Um, from time to time..." Kiba nervously admitted. Once again Kushina's face lit up with a smile.

"That's great. It takes a real firm woman to keep the Inuzuka clan in line. She's still leading it, right?"

"Yes she is." Kiba said simply.

"Well you be sure to mind your manners around her, that's what drove your father off I'd imagine." Kushina then moved on to Choji.

"I don't know your mother, but I'm willing to bet that you're the son of Choza, is that right?"

"Yes I am..." Choji said.

"I knew I recognized those chubby cheeks." Kushina said as she poked Choji in the cheek like he was some adorable baby.

"Tell me, did he ever figure out if he was a descendent of the Uzumaki clan?" Kushina asked, ignoring everyone's awkward stares at her.

"Wait, what?" Choji asked in shock.

"Yeah, my clan is famous for their red hair. It's said to be unique to us so I had a bet going with Choza that he was one of my long lost cousin or something."

"Um, not that I know of..." Choji stammered as he looked over at Naruto whom he might be distantly related too.

"Hmmm, oh well." Kushina shrugged her shoulders as she looked over at Rock Lee.

"Don't tell me that you're the son of Might Gai. He was way too young to be having children when I last saw him pick a fight with Kakashi-kun."

"Kakashi-kun?" Naruto muttered to himself.

"No he's not." Neji stated. "Although, sometimes I often wonder."

"No Ma'am, Gai-sensei is my sensei though!" Lee proudly declared.

 _'Oh Sweet Sage, another one.'_ Kushina thought while keeping her warm motherly smile on her face.

"Mom, why are you here? I thought you were in Heaven?" Naruto asked.

* * *

Back in the Leaf, everyone who didn't already know Kushina in life was reveling at the audacity of his woman's cheek. She spoke her mind without any kind of filter and yet she seemed so friendly as she did it.

 _'That is Naruto's mother?'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Apparently. I like her.'_ Videl thought.

"I should ask you the same thing, Naruto. Why the hell are you and your friends down here? Are you TRYING to die?" Kushina said in such a sickly sweet voice while keeping a death grip on Naruto's shoulders. It was clear to everyone watching that Naruto had just entered the shit.

"Ah, I asked first." Naruto sputtered. All the guys took a step back when their naive friend made the fatal mistake of talking back to his mother.

"Well we told you. We're here to watch the Get Out of Hell tournament. We told you that when we last spoke a few days ago." Kushina reminded him.

"Wait, you spoke to Naruto a few days ago? And who's 'we?'" Shikamaru asked.

"Also, back up a bit. Did you say Kakashi-kun?" Naruto asked, his hyperactive attention span getting the better of him.

"Yes I did. Kakashi-kun was your father's student as a genin. We used to have him over for lunch and dinner and sometimes breakfast since his own family had passed away." Kushina reminisced sadly.

"And his father was...?" Shikamaru pressed.

"That would be me." Said the tall blond haired man finally stepping into the room. "Hi, I'm Minato Namikaze, Naruto's father." Minato said as he gave a polite bow to the entire group.

The boys were flabbergasted, but politely bowed back.

All across the Leaf village a fury of whispered conversations was breaking out.

"Is that...?"

"It can't be..."

"But if it is..."

"Who's that? He seems so familiar." Ino pointed out. Hinata nodded in agreement. Whoever this man was he certainly bore a striking resemblance to Naruto. Especially with his spiky blond hair.

Sakura was dumbfounded that her friends could be so oblivious. "Are you two kidding me? That's obviously-

"Ah, pardon me Mr. Namikaze, but you look awfully familiar." Lee pointed out. The rest of the boys could only nod in agreement.

"Come on, guys. His face is plastered on the monument." Naruto deadpanned.

"What monument?" Neji asked, hating the fact that he was so out of the loop.

"Maybe you would all know me better as the Fourth Hokage?" Minato suggested.

Ino shot up from her chair in shock. "NARUTO IS THE SON OF THE FOURTH FUCKING HOKAGE?!" Ino yelled in shock. All across the Leaf, similar cries echoed along the streets.

"Really, Pig... How could you not notice?" Sakura deadpanned.

Ino and Hinata all shot looks at their pink haired friend. "Oh don't tell me that you knew all along!" Ino spat.

"I've known for a few days that he was Naruto's father for certain, but I have always seen some strong resemblances between the two of them." Sakura commented nonchalantly.

"Bullshit, no one has watched Naruto-kun more closely than me and even I didn't know." Hinata spat. The two girls were taken back by the normally shy kunoichi's vulgar language.

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "Well, apparently you weren't looking close enough. But I knew for certain that I was right a few days ago, When Naruto and I were asked to talk to King Kai." Sakura stated.

"Never mind that. You had better be sure to stake your claim now, Forehead." Ino warned her.

"How so?"

"Are you kidding me? Up until 5 minutes ago, your boyfriend already had brownie points racked up by being the selfless heroic ninja so completely loyal to his friends. And now he's all of that, plus he's a freaking prince." Ino waved towards Minato Namikaze. "Every piece of tail from here to the Fire country boarder is gonna want to get their hands on his whiskered butt."

"ACK! Are you suggesting that I-"?

"DUH!" Ino responded.

Sakura blushed heavily as the thought of them doing such a deed so early into their relationship. "Ino... It's too early for that..."

"It might be out of your hands." Ino then pointed towards a pack of teenaged girls all swooning at the sight of Naruto up on the Descry Sphere, chatting with his dad. Whom they found equally hot.

"Oh man..." Sakura groaned.

"Now Sakura, I don't think you have to do...that...with Naruto-kun. But you probably should expect for him to gain a sizable fan club. So you need to watch out for them." Hinata counseled.

"Well, they'd have to go through me either way. Not a second goes by that I don't thank Videl for training me in 250x gravity." Sakura mused.

"Oh yea. I forgot about that. You're the 3rd strongest in the village now, aren't you?" Ino commented, to which Sakura nodded.

"You're damn right, Shannaro." Sakura smirked.

"And you'll have our help keeping the other girls off of Naruto-kun." Hinata stated firmly.

"And I gladly accept it." Sakura smiled happily.

"Ugh... Sorry I'm late." Videl said as she sat down with the other girls. "Caught Jiraiya peeping in on the girls' bath again."

"And in other news, the sun rose this morning." Ino replied sarcastically. "Our top scientists predict that this phenomenon will happen again." She said in a fake reporter voice like she always heard over the radio.

"Yea, but you didn't make him hobble to the hospital with his own foot up his ass." Videl added.

"You did what?" Sakura asked in shock.

"He'll be fine. It's not like I made him a paraplegic."

"Oh Lady Tsunade is gonna love that one." Sakura sighed.

"Actually, the first thing she did was laugh at his expense." Videl laughed.

"Typical Lady Tsunade. I swear, she and Jirayia were made for each other." Sakura mused.

* * *

The girls all shared a laugh while moments ago, the boys regained their voices after learning the identity of Naruto's father.

"You're the Fourth Hokage?" Shikamaru said in awe.

"Really, guys... You couldn't tell by looking at him?" Naruto deadpanned.

"No!" Kiba exclaimed, dragging out the o. This was a man all of them had grown up learning about in their history textbooks. A man they had all idolized at one time or another. He was a hero to the Leaf and it's youngest Hokage ever. And he was Naruto's freaking father!

The boys didn't know what they should do, so as one they did what they had been trained to do from a young age, they bowed as deep as they could towards their fallen Hokage.

"Now, now... None of that." Minato said. "You don't need to bow to a dead man. Now come on."

"With all due respect, lord Fourth. You aren't just some dead man." Shikamaru said. "You saved us all from the Kyuubi and have done so much for all of us."

"Please. Naruto is the real hero. All I did was seal the Kyuubi in him." Minato clarified.

Naruto looked bashful to be called a hero, especially by the famous Yellow Flash, hero of the Third Shinobi World War.

"So it's true then, you really did seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto all those years ago. We were always told that you killed the Kyuubi." Shikamaru stated.

"Like all Biju, the Kyuubi can't really be killed as he is made entirely of Chakra. The most I could do is make his Chakra fade away for 3 years at most. Knowing that he would more than likely come back after 3 years, I sealed him inside Naruto, but I had to sacrifice my own life to do so." Minato explained.

"Please, you had to use the Death God Seal to seal yourself and half of the Kyuubi's chakra into the Death God's belly. You're lucky that he let you out after 10 years." Kushina berated her husband.

"You always have to bring that part up, don't you..." Minato sighed in defeat.

"Because you could have been sealed inside him FOREVER!" Kushina shouted, tears began running down her eyes. "Never mind the 10 years you left me alone. If it wasn't for the Death God having mercy on you, I would have been separated from you for eternity!"

"Alright, I'm sorry..." Minato said as he pulled Kushina into a warm embrace. "But hey, you had that old man Gohan to keep you company for a while."

"That's not the point! You could have let me reseal the Kyuubi inside me and die with it. At least then you would have lived and our son wouldn't have been ostracized like a leper." She wailed into Minato's jacket. "At least then we could of all met up again one day..."

"My little tomato...you know I couldn't do that. I had to have faith in our son that he would harness the Kyuubi's power and one day be a hero to the village." Minato said as he rubbed Kushina's back.

"Wait, hold up. Gohan? He isn't an old man." Naruto countered.

"Different Gohan, son. His adopted great grandfather." Minato explained.

"No way, seriously?" Naruto exclaimed.

Minato nodded. "You know about Goku, Gohan's father, right?" He asked, to which Naruto nodded. "Old man Gohan found Goku in his Saiyan space pod when he was an infant and took him in as his own grandchild of sorts. But sadly, one night, Goku looked up at the full moon and transformed into a great ape and killed him. When Goku grew up and got married, he named his son after his adopted grandfather."

"And then how did he meet up with you, Mom?" Naruto asked.

"When I died, I went to Heaven and found myself alone and scared. Gohan helped me out a great deal to cope with my new life in the afterlife and how I could watch you from otherworld. He also told me a great deal about the world he was from and how it had progressed. 9 years later, I met Goku after he died trying to save his world from Cell." Kushina explained, her face stained with tears.

"Eventually, he traveled to Grand Kai's planet to train and we were both offered to accompany him. Needless to say, we agreed and learned a great deal from martial artists from all of the other universes in the multiverse." Minato added.

"We also discovered that Ki and Chakra are not all that different from one another. It's like using Chakra, but you have to cut out the mental energy and focus more on the physical and spiritual energies to create Ki." Kushina finished.

"Awesome..." Kiba said in amazement.

"No. What was awesome was witnessing Goku's amazing power at the Otherworld tournament, hosted by Grand Kai. Those Saiyan's really are something." Minato said.

"Kind of wish we thought to bring one with us. I don't know if you noticed, but Freeza is entered in this tournament. You know who Freeza is right?" Naruto asked.

"All too well... Son, listen to me when I say that none of you have a chance against him. His strength is equal if not greater than all of the Biju." Minato warned.

"Shit, so then what can we do?" Naruto asked.

"Drop out of this tournament while you still can." Minato advised.

"That's the one thing we can't do." Naruto said firmly.

"Naruto... Don't be a fool. I know why you're here, you're here to save Sasuke. The Get Out of Hell tournament reoccurs every ten years. Return home, train hard, then come back. Then, and only then, will you be able to beat any opponent you may face here." Minato advised.

"Naruto, maybe he's right. Sasuke isn't going anywhere and we're getting in over our heads." Choji agreed.

"No, I don't go back on my word. I came here to save his soul and I'm not going to back out now because the outcome seems grim." Naruto stated.

"You wouldn't be going back on your word; this would merely be a delay in upholding your promise." Minato pointed out.

"Don't try to talk me out of it Dad. I've already made up my mind."

Minato sighed in defeat. "You're just as stubborn as your mother..." He said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"But that's what makes you my son, and father's always have unquestionable faith in their children." Minato smiled. He looked around at all the other young ninjas standing around him.

"That goes for all of you. I saw each of you fight today and I can tell you all have the Will of Fire inside you. You are all true sons of the Leaf and I am proud to know that the village has such promising ninjas to lead it into the next generation." He stated. The boys were left staring at the deceased Hokage in awe. To be praised like that, that was an honor.

"Thank you, sir, that means a lot coming from you." Shikamaru responded for the entire group.

* * *

Back in the Leaf, everyone stood in awe at the 4th's words.

"This is Naruto's father? He's cute." Videl said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gohan asked with a hint of jealousy.

"Oh relax. It was just a joke. I mean, he's dead anyway." Videl waved off.

"I think the word you're looking for is drop dead hot." Ino said as she gazed up at the terribly handsome man on the Descry Sphere. Damn, if only Naruto had his father's looks he would have given Sasuke a run for his money back in the day.

"Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly did he do in life?" Gohan asked.

"Well depending on who you ask, the Fourth Hokage, otherwise known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, singlehandedly won the Third Shinobi War for the Leaf." Kakashi said.

"Sounds like an awesome guy." Videl commented.

"Yellow Flash? What does that mean?" Gohan asked

"It's his nickname earned on the field of battle by his signature technique, the Flying Thunder God Jutsu." Kakashi explained. "It's a kind of teleportation jutsu that allows the user to move anywhere at the speed of light. Leaving behind only a yellow flash. He because so prolific with the technique that our enemies spread rumors that if they ever saw a yellow flash of light they were to flee and pray."

"What's more is he sealed the 9 Tails inside Naruto on the night it attacked. Ironically enough, that was also the same night Naruto was born. Minato and Kushina both sacrificed their lives to ensure the safety of the Leaf by sealing away the 9 Tails in Naruto. Sadly, said act was done in hopes Naruto would be seen as a hero, but as fate would have it, the villagers shunned him and treated him like he was the demon reincarnated. Thus leaving poor Naruto to constantly cower in fear of when the villagers would beat him again and never knowing why." Tsunade added.

Both Gohan and Videl went wide eyed. They had heard of Naruto's rough childhood due to being the 9 Tails jinchuriki, but they never imagined anything to this extent.

"That's horrible. How could they do that to a child?" Videl asked, her voice shaking.

"People do rash things when they are scared of something they don't understand. They we're terrorized by the 9 tails and some hundreds were killed that night, leaving the villagers forever scarred because of it. It was also believed that since Naruto was born the night the Kyuubi appeared that he was the demon reincarnated, but those who knew the family knew otherwise." Tsunade said.

"And they didn't do anything about it? None of them bothered to adopt Naruto or keep him safe from the villagers?" Videl growled.

"The Third Hokage ordered those who knew to never speak about who Naruto's parents were, so no one really knew who's kid he was." Tsunade said sadly.

"Save for my mother." Sakura said bitterly.

"Don't blame your mother, Sakura. Not until you've faced the same amount of tragedy she did." Tsunade reminded her.

Sakura sighed. "I don't really blame her; I understand her reasoning. Plus, it would've made mine and Naruto's relationship a bit awkward."

"What are you talking about Forehead?" Ino asked.

"My mom is Naruto's godmother."

"Wait, so does that mean he could have been like your step brother?" Ino exclaimed.

"In a way, yes he could have, but since my mom didn't adopt him, it's not like that now." Sakura replied.

"So I was one woman's choice away from having no rivals for Naruto-kun's heart?" Hinata asked in annoyed disbelief.

"Who said you wouldn't have a rival? If the villagers knew who he really was and who his father was sooner, the girls would be all over him worse than they were with Sasuke." Ino said.

"Well the Third's Law would still be in effect. You might have just developed a brother complex is all." Tsunade teased her pupil.

Ino and Sakura just sighed.

"I would've been all over him as well if Gohan wasn't here." Videl commented.

"Videl, what the hell?" Gohan exclaimed in jealousy.

"I said if you weren't here. Lighten up, will ya? God, stop taking everything so seriously."

"Well excuse me. How'd you like it if I said that I'd be all over Sakura if you weren't around?" He said.

"Uh..." Sakura blushed.

That's when Gohan blushed. "Oh wait, I mean I wouldn't. I mean I would, not that you aren't attractive, but you have Naruto...so..." He stammered.

Videl scoffed. "As nervous as you were around Angela, I have a hard time buying that and don't think for a second that I don't know what I'm talking about."

"Don't remind me." Gohan sweat dropped.

"Uh...ahem...that's flattering and all, but I like guys who have some self-confidence and you lack that." Sakura pointed out.

"To be fair, he's getting there." Videl said.

"Anyway..." Tsunade said to change the subject.

"Yeah, what about me Gohan?" Ino whined. "What am I? Chop liver?"

"Maybe to Choji." Hinata muttered without realizing it.

"You wanna repeat that you bitch..." Ino growled as she glared daggers at the Hyuuga heiress.

"Oops, did I say that? I meant like he would eat you up." Hinata quickly clarified.

"Damn right he would." Ino smirked.

Then Videl thought about something. "Let's go out for a while, just us girls. Maybe hit up the hot springs before they close." Videl offered.

Sakura shrugged. "I'm game."

"M-me too." Hinata stuttered.

"Hell yeah." Ino said.

"..." Tenten just kept quiet, looking up at Lee and the halo over his head.

"Tenten, you coming?" Sakura asked.

"Huh? No... I think I'm gonna be by myself tonight..." She said in a sad tone.

"No, Tenten, you shouldn't be alone. You should be with your friends." Ino pleaded.

"I just... don't feel like it."

Now the girls were all concerned for her and they knew why. They had all witnessed Lee dying over the Sphere and it tore Tenten apart the most.

That's when Guy stood up and placed a comforting hand on Tenten's shoulder.

Tenten looked over her shoulder at her sensei, tears threatening to spill over.

"Do not despair, my youthful pupil. Lee went out with a blaze of glory and look, he still lives." He said pointing up at Lee. "He died, yet his youthful spirit lives on. Even if we don't meet him again in this life, we will meet him the next. Until then, do not squander your flames of youth. For Lee would never forgive you." Guy said with a sad smile.

That did it.

Tenten's damn broke and she hugged her sensei for all she was worth and sobbed into his chest.

Guy hugged her back and cried tears of his own. Their sobs echoing out into the streets. A memorial to the Noble Blue Beast of the Leaf.

After a few minutes, Tenten pulled herself away from her master's chest, her tears having stained his green unitard.

"Thanks Guy-sensei. I needed that." Tenten said as she wiped the last remaining tears away.

Guy nodded and wiped away his own tears. "Now, you go have some fun with the girls. That's an order." Guy smiled.

Tenten smiled. "Yes, sensei!" She chirped.

The other girls smiled and left for the hot springs with Tenten.

Kakashi just stood next to his unofficial rival as the Green Beast of the Leaf smiled at his young pupil off to have fun with her friends.

"Nice job, Guy." Kakashi said as he turned the page in Make Out Tactics, right to the chapter with the master and student relationship.

* * *

Meanwhile, the girls had walked down the street and right in front of the hot springs entrance.

"Man I love coming here." Videl grinned.

 _'Man I love coming here.'_ Jiraiya thought as he hid high up in the trees over the hot springs. From here he could see everything and no one could see him. Finally, his ninja skills were paying off.

But Videl picked up on his energy signature. "I can sense you Jiraiya. Get lost before you get hurt." Videl called out.

"Whoops." Jiraiya squeaked as he quietly disappeared into the night.

"Nice one Videl." Ino chirped.

"Only one man can see me nude and he ain't him." Videl responded simply.

"Well said." Tsunade spoke as she and Shizune came up behind them out of nowhere.

"L-Lady Tsunade? I didn't know you were joining us." Sakura said

"You don't mind do you?" She playfully asked.

"Not at all, the more the merrier." Videl said happily.

"Great, I just had a really annoying meeting with the elders today and it's still pissing me off. I need to relax." Tsunade said as they made their way inside.

They all paid their way in and made their way into the changing room.

"Oh man... been needing this for a while." Videl said enthusiastically as she started shedding her clothes.

"Tell me about it. Who knew watching all our potential boyfriends fighting in Hell would be so damn stressful?" Ino stated.

"That's men for you. Never sparing a thought for what it puts us girls through." Tsunade teased as she removed her robes, revealing her massive E cup breasts.

Videl's eyes went wide. "Holy...how do you deal with those?"

"Call it experience. You just grow into them really." Tsunade said as Shizune groaned at her more moderately sized C cups.

"I don't think I could get used to that." Videl said as she removed her wrap and revealed her D cups

As all the girls revealed their assets, Sakura was the one who was the odd one out with barely a B cup. God she hated her chest and sulked.

Videl noticed this and felt bad. So, she whispered to the other girls to play along to help lift Sakura's spirits.

"Hey, Sakura. I think they've gotten bigger." Videl said.

That made Sakura surprised and frazzled. "S-shut up, no they're not..."

"They really are, seriously." Videl insisted.

"Yea, forehead. You might reach my size before too much longer." Ino agreed.

"Did you change your diet? That could be why." Shizune added.

Sakura was so stunned that she had to look up at her master. "Have they really...gotten bigger?" She asked with pleading eyes.

"Totally." Hinata said.

Tsunade smiled. "Yes they have. I wouldn't be surprised if you are a completely new size in a few months' time."

"Must be from all the times that Naruto played with them." Ino teased as she poked Sakura in the boob.

"H-he has not!" Sakura blushed.

"Yet." Videl smirked.

"Maybe we should play with them now. Get them nice and plump for Naruto's return." Ino said as she groped Sakura from behind.

"S-stop that!" Sakura protested as she tried to pull away.

"Cut it out Ino. Maybe you'd like a taste of your own medicine." Videl said as she grabbed Ino's perfectly proportioned C cups. Big mistake.

"Mmmm..." Ino moaned, causing Videl to back up.

"Uhh...okay then..." Videl blushed.

"Hey, who said you could stop?" Ino protested.

"I... uh..."

That was when she felt someone grab hers. "H-hey!"

"I remember when I was this small." Tsunade grinned as she squeezed Videl's tits.

"C-cut it out!" Videl protested.

"Not so funny, is it?" Sakura smirked.

All the while Tenten, Hinata, and Shizune all watched in awkward silence.

"Um...maybe we should stop this." Shizune said meekly.

"Yes, please." Sakura pleaded.

Tsunade just sighed. "Alright, fine." She said as she released Videl and made her way into the springs.

"Aaaaaaahhh...oh my god this feels great." Tsunade sighed.

Ino was about to go next, but someone stopped her.

"Ino?" A woman said behind her.

"Aunt Inova?" Ino said as she turned around to see her father's sister standing before her fully clothed.

"Your father has summoned you. The 3 are having a meeting and you're needed." Inova said.

Ino groaned. "Aw maaaan... alright..." Ino sighed as she returned to get dressed.

"Where are you going? Sakura asked when she noticed Ino heading back to the changing room.

"Clan meeting..." Ino sighed.

Ino got redressed and followed her aunt back to the Yamanaka compound.

The others looked on as Ino left and felt bummed that she couldn't join, but even they knew when duty called.

Ino and Aunt Inova made their way back to their clan compound, but Ino was surprised when her aunt kept walking towards the Akimichi compound and Ino then realized what this meeting was actually about.

* * *

Minutes later, inside the main meeting room at the Head House of the Akimichi.

"So, we're in agreement on this then?" Choza asked as he sat at a table with Inoichi and Shikaku.

"An interesting proposition." Shikaku commented.

"But will Ino go along with it? And Choji for that matter." Inoichi asked.

"If they want to be together than they have to. It's the only way it can be done." Choza stated, to which Inoichi nodded sadly.

"This isn't how I wanted it, but if it's the only way for our clans to continue to coexist, then so be it." Inoichi said. "Ino? Can you come here for a minute!" He called to his only offspring.

Ino walked into the room with hope in her eyes. "Yes dad?"

"We have come to a consensus that would allow our clans to remain allied while you pursue a relationship with Choji. But, it requires some sacrifice on your part." Inoichi stated.

Ino raised an eyebrow, that the heads of the clan would go so far as to even consider letting her and Choji date.

"And what might that be?"

"You have two options." Choza stated. "Option one; You sever your ties with your own clan, which you would have to do anyway, and your parents would attempt to have another child to carry on your clan. Option two; you will provide an heir to your clan via artificial insemination. Once you have given birth, your child will be the Yamanaka clan heir in your place."

"...And I have to choose this now if I even want the chance of dating Choji?" Ino asked, annoyed at the stupid clan politics of it all.

"No, dear. This is just our initial proposal." Inoichi stated. "However..." He paused to rub his hand over his face and up over his head. "These are the only options that we can seem to agree on..."

"You make it sound like this is a marriage proposal. Choji only indirectly confessed that he likes me. Who's to say that if we do end up dating we'll realize we just don't click and then politely break up?"

"We're doing this as a precaution, Ino." Shikaku clarified.

"You have my permission to date Choji if he wishes it, that's not the problem. This is for if it gets serious and judging by the fact of how much Choji cares for you, it might." Choza stated.

Ino paused for a moment in deep thought.

"Why can't I just have two children should the time ever come? One Yamanaka and one Akimichi?"

"We thought about that. However, if it came to that, both of your children would be half Akamichi and half Yamanaka." Choza stated.

"The problem with that is that we wouldn't know which of your children would carry which clans Kekkei Genkai until they became of age." Shikaku added.

"...So then who would I be artificially inseminated with?" Ino asked with spite in her voice.

"Ino... Is that really the route you want to go?" Inoichi asked.

"However I may feel about Choji now or later on in my life, I still love my clan and I don't want to have to disavow that part of my life. If that means I have to mother one bastard child to marry who I wish to then so be it."

"If that is what you wish..." Inoichi said with a heavy heart. "You would be inseminated with sperm from a civilian donor that has no ninja background or family history. At the time of marriage proposal from Choji, should it happen, we will compile a list of suitable donors for you to choose and then the insemination process will begin at the moment of choice, under the care of Lady Shizune."

"Would I ever get to see my child or would he be raised as my mother's child?" Ino asked.

"That is up to you. If you want to raise this child with Choji then you are allowed to." Shikaku said.

"It would be more appropriate for your mother and I to raise your child so he or she wouldn't be confused of which clan he or she would be heir to." Inoichi stated.

It took a good chunk of Ino's willpower not to shed a tear in front of the clan council. In truth the thought of her never getting to raise her own child disturbed her. Even if the father was a nameless stranger.

"Very well..."

"But know this, Ino." Inoichi said. "We will raise him or her as our grandchild and we will make that known to your child of that. This will not mean you can't help raise her as you will need to for the first few years. As with any creature that draws breath and walks this world, the child is solely dependent on the mother."

"So just after I'll have spent years bonding with my child as a baby you'll rip him from me as soon as I'm done breastfeeding him." She spat.

"No, no. Absolutely not, Ino. I don't want you to think that." Inoichi said. "I would want you to be a part of your child's life as long as you live. Let me rephrase what I said... While we will raise our grandchild to be the Yamanaka heir, you will be the sole care giver to your child, unless you want your mother and I to raise he or she after childbirth."

"I will raise my own child, thank you very much."

Although not shown, Inoichi was very pleased to hear that Ino would be raising her child. "I was hoping you'd say that, Ino."

Ino smirked. As if she'd let anyone else mother her children. Except for maybe Forehead, but only because she would let her kids know what a kickass mom she was.

"So then its agreed." Choza spoke up. "Upon proposal from my son, you will be artificially inseminated with sperm from a civilian donor. Upon birth, you and my son with raise the child as your own. At the age of 7, you will inform your child that he or she is the Yamanaka heir and will receive training in order to lead the clan when your child becomes of age. After marriage, you will give up your role as clan heir and your Kekkei Genkai will be sealed from carrying it onto your future children, as is the general inner clan law."

"Should Choji not propose and the relationship doesn't go as planned, this agreement will be null and void." Shikaku added.

"Agreed." Inoichi stated.

"Agreed." Ino stated as well.

"Meeting dismissed." Choza stated.

Once Shikaku and Choza bid their farewells and left, Inoichi sunk in his chair and placed his head down on the table in depression.

"I'm so sorry I put you through that Ino... I hate these damn politics as much as you do."

"I know Daddy, it's fine."

"No its not..." Inoichi choked. "This isn't the life I wanted you to have... Having to raise a bastard child just to keep the status quo between our clans..."

Inoichi sat up and rubbed the tears from his face. "I'm not blaming you or Choji for the feelings you two have... I blame all these damn politics involved. Things were so much simpler back when we were Chunin."

Ino stepped forward to comfort her father. "It's ok. It's not your fault. You told me to always be true to my heart and that's what I'm going to do." She smiled that dazzling smile of her's.

Inoichi let out a long, drawn out sigh. "I know you are, honey. And I'm proud of you for that."

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Sup, all you beloved readers.**

 **So obviously that was a filler chapter to give us all a break from the constant fighting. Next chapter will be Team Sasuke vs Zabuza. Or more accurately, Naruto vs. Zabuza. Should be an exciting fight.**

 **Also, to reiterate, we now have a facebook page where you can be kept up to date on our stories. Like how far along are we on writing the next chapters. WhatPlus, you can post your ideas, suggestions, and comments there as well.**

 **Please look for Cmartin Panda Productions on Facebook.**

 **And now for some more story announcements. The first chapter of Legacy of Heroes Origins is up and the second one will be posted within the day.**

 **That being said, at the time of writing this, Legacy of Heroes has 99 reviews. Meaning the next one will be our 100** **th** **review, and that calls for celebration. So Cmartin and I have written a little Special One Shot for you all that I hope you enjoy.**

 **Summer is kicking off and we've got plenty of chapters lined up, so it's off to the races with updates.**

 **To all our loyal and casual readers, we love you. To all our fellow fanfic writers, keep on fanficing.**


	23. Chapter 23: Naruto vs Zabuza

**Author's Note from Panda: Excuses, excuses about why this chapter is so late. I apologize, summer classes, you know.**

 **Which leads us to a nice little recap of the story.**

 **After getting to meet his deceased parents through King Kai, Naruto learns about his late comrade Sasuke being sentenced to Hell for betraying the Leaf and his comrades. Outraged at the injustice he believed had been inflicted on his surrogate brother, Naruto set out to participate in the Get Out of Hell Tournament. The fighting tournament held in the first circle of Hell where the grand prize is right to ascend one damned soul to a higher plane of the Afterlife.**

 **Naruto set out to compete in this tournament alone after his Hokage and his girlfriend Sakura argued with him not to go. He was stopped at the gate by Gohan and Naruto's comrades from the Leaf, but Naruto convinced them to believe in his cause. Naruto and the rest of the boys who once worked together to save Sasuke from being taken to Orochimaru then set out to compete in the tournament together as a team while Gohan and Shino stayed behind to cover their tracks.**

 **This failed immediately, for the caretaker of Universe 7's Lord of Destruction Whis created a Descry Sphere to hover over the Leaf village and broadcast the six boys and their entire adventure in Hell.**

 **They ran for three days straight before collapsing outside of Princess Snake's castle which was located directly above the Tournament.**

 **Meanwhile, Gohan, Videl, Ino, and Asuma were sent out to capture or kill two Akatsuki members known as the Immortal Duo. Gohan was nearly killed, but his near death allowed Videl to unlock her Super Saiyan abilities and defeat the last of the Immortal Duo, Hidan.**

 **The boys meanwhile fought their way through the preliminaries, facing a few old foes and several new ones, such as Cell and the Red Ribbon Army. Sadly, Rock Lee had to sacrifice his life to defeat Cell and allow the group to qualify for the Semi-final match that would have the team face off against the deceased Demon of the Bloody Mists, Zabuza.**

 **Can our heroes work together to defeat this formidable foe? Will they save Sasuke's soul and return home to their village safely?**

 **Find out the answer to these questions and more…right now.**

* * *

"You sure you want to do this alone?" Choji asked as Naruto was completing his warm up stretches for the start of the match.

"Yes, Choji. I already know how he fights so I'm the better choice." Naruto stated

"We're just saying, Naruto. That Neji or Kiba might be a better choice. Both of them can navigate through mist and physically they are both as strong as you." Shikamaru pointed, despite knowing for a fact that it was pointless.

"There's more to it than that guys." Naruto said. "We both have a mutual respect for one another and we have both been itching to see how the other has improved. I know you're concerned, but I'll be fine."

The guys all looked at Naruto like he was crazy, but deep down they all knew where he was coming from. It was the unspoken bond between ninjas and their enemies. The first time was always special.

"I'll be fine." Naruto reassured.

"Fighters, report to the center of the ring!" Came the announcer.

"Well... Let's do this." Naruto said as he made his way to the ring, where Zabuza the Demon of the Mist was awaiting him with his massive sword drawn. Kubikiribocho (Decapitating Carving Knife), known as the Seversword and Executioner's Blade. Brought down to Hell at Zabuza's request. If he was to fight his last ever opponent in life, he would not hold back in death.

* * *

Back in the Leaf, the entire population had once again woken up early to get the best possible seats on their rooftops. What was normally a stepping stone for leaping ninjas was now crammed full of beach chairs and portable barbecue grills. Ninjas and civilians with their families were awaiting what was shaping up to be a battle no one believed they would ever get to see.

The son of the 4th Hokage vs. Zabuza of the Demon Mist.

Gohan and Videl found themselves on top of Sakura's apartment with her parents and Kakashi.

"Thanks again for inviting us over, Sakura." Videl said as she took off her capsule corp jacket and dug out her sunglasses.

"No problem. My parents wanted to meet the famous Saiyans that everyone was talking about anyway." Sakura said as she lounged back in her sunbathing chair, granting her the most optimal view to watch her boyfriend fight their first real enemy.

"Well, I don't know about famous..." Gohan said sheepishly.

"Are you kidding?" Sakura's father Kizashi said while carrying a tray of drinks. "After Videl here took down that bastard Orochimaru you guys became all anyone wanted to talk about."

"Yea..." Videl said sadly. "I'd rather not talk about that..."

"Whoops, sorry about that. Raspberry lemonade?" He offered, trying to change the subject.

"Yes, please." Videl said with a soft smile as she took a glass of said beverage.

"Kizashi, stop bring up bad memories." Sakura's mom Mibuki scolded.

"Oh no, its fine. He didn't really know." Videl countered. "It's just that... Orochimaru's genjutsu left a scar on me that I don't think I'll get over."

"No need to get into the gory details." Kakashi interjected, taking a glass of Raspberry lemonade. "You aren't the first one to be traumatized by Orochimaru but thanks to you, Videl, you will be the last."

"Well, at least we can confirm his death. He's right there fighting Freeza's team in the next arena." Sakura pointed out.

"Did you really doubt that I had killed him?" Videl asked.

"Lesson 19 of being a ninja. Never assume anyone is really dead, ever." Kakashi stated, Gohan and Videl both turned to face him just as he returned his face mask to its original position after taking a sip. "That's how Zabuza here almost tricked us on our first C ranked mission."

"Yea don't remind me..." Sakura stated.

"Fair point." Videl nodded as she laid on a beach chair.

"I kind of actually want to thank Zabuza. Fighting him helped my cute little genin turn into the ninjas they are today." Kakashi added.

"Really? How so?" Gohan asked.

"He made the three of them realize early on about the realities of the lives of ninjas. That we are naught but tools to be used and thrown away by our country for the sake of its people or more often for the sake of its interests. Zabuza was a man who rebelled against that notion and it led Naruto here to decide he wasn't going to be that kind of ninja. Instead he would be a man that never goes back on his word. Someone who follows his beliefs."

"And that's where it led him to be where he is now, I'd imagine." Gohan deduced.

"That's pretty much it. Although I think it had more to do with his childhood if anything." Kakashi mentioned. To which Mebuki could be seen acting noticeably downtrodden for a bit.

"Sandwiches." She said, brandishing a tray filled with a variety of mini sandwiches.

"None for me or Gohan." Videl said, waving her hand.

That got Sakura to raise an eyebrow. "Really? The pair that ate Asuma sensei into restaurant ownership refusing a free snack?" She teased.

"Yes, because I don't want to eat you all out of house and home." Videl stated.

Mebuki and Kizashi both looked at Videl like she was crazy.

"A young woman with your figure eat that much? I may look like I was born yesterday, but I'm not stupid." Mebuki scoffed.

"No mom. You don't understand. They really can eat a crap ton of food." Sakura said.

"It's true. It's quite a sight." Kakashi confirmed.

Mebuki and Kizachi looked at one another like this might be some joke the shinobi were trying to pull over the civilians on the rooftop but decided to roll with it anyway. "How very considerate of you. The sandwiches will be on the table if you change your mind though." Mibuki informed before joining her husband and her daughter on lawn chairs.

"But we did bring a little snack for us." Gohan said as he took out a capsule and tossed it. after the smoke cleared, a spread fit for an army appeared.

"HOLY SMOKES!" Kizashi yelled in shock.

"That's a snack?!" Mebuki asked in bewilderment.

"Wait for it..." Sakura said and before long, both Saiyan's were eating faster than either of the elder Haruno's had ever seen.

"My Log, they're like the Akimichi's on steroids." Kizashi said in awe.

"I told you." Sakura stated.

"It's a Saiyan thing I guess. Part of their alien genes that give them a massive metabolism and have to consume vast amounts of food to maintain their energy or something." Kakashi explained.

"Seems like an evolutionary back step." Mibuki thought aloud. "I mean what possible reason could there be for any species to need to consume so much sustenance on a regular basis?"

It was then that Gohan cleared his mouth to speak. "Saiyan's require a lot of food because are metabolism is so high. This enables us to fight longer. Saiyan's are first and foremost, warriors. Our home planet has gravity ten times that of this one so the stronger we get, the higher our metabolism is. I'm sure you've noticed an appetite increase in Sakura since she started training with us." Gohan explained.

"Well, I try to limit myself when I'm home, but I can eat almost as much as Naruto now." Sakura said with a blush.

"The fact that our metabolism is so high is why we don't seem to gain any weight. Because as soon as we eat it, all the fat and calories are almost instantly burned off." Videl added.

"Fascinating." Mebuki commented.

"So that's why I haven't looked like a tub of lard?" Sakura asked.

"Well, humans are a little different. Your metabolism will increase, but not to our level." Gohan said.

"Ah."

"On another note. Sakura, you do look a lot more muscular now than you did a few days ago." Kakashi stated.

"That's my fault. We trained in 250x gravity yesterday." Videl admitted.

"Wow. So, you're probably stronger than Naruto now, huh?" Gohan grinned.

It was then that it dawned on Sakura that Naruto had only trained in 150x gravity before he left and now Sakura can stand 250x.

"I... guess it does... Wow. I didn't even think of that..." Sakura said in amazement.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Videl spoke up. "You remember what happened a few days ago, right Gohan? How those assholes almost killed you even with your higher power level."

"Videl, I'll be 100% honest with you... That I did mostly to get you to Super Saiyan. I let my guard down on purpose, but it almost cost me my life." Gohan admitted.

That really pissed Videl off.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU DID ALL OF THAT JUST SO I COULD TRANSFORM?! Are you out of your damn MIND?!" Videl screamed as her aura flared up.

"I-it worked didn't it?" Gohan asked timidly.

"And what if Ino hadn't been there to save your ass?! Huh?! What then?!" Videl shot back. "I would have had to live with two children who had no father all because you got some reckless idea to get me to transform!"

"That was really reckless Gohan. If I had been your squad leader I wouldn't have allowed you back on the team." Kakashi stated.

It was then that Videl started to sob hard. "Why would you do that to me, Gohan... Why...? I would have found a way to transform on my own... You didn't need to do that and risk your life like that..."

Gohan looked down in shame. He had really screwed up bad and he only just now realized that.

"I'm sorry... Really... It was a mistake-"

"A mistake that could have cost you your life, idiot." Sakura scolded.

"Yes... I wasn't thinking and I'm very sorry I did that, Videl..." Gohan said sadly.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it right now, Gohan... This is something that I may not be able to forgive you for..." Videl sobbed.

Gohan felt like his heart shattered into a million pieces. He had unintentionally hurt Videl in his effort to get her to transform and it backfired on him, badly. Granted that the attack that Kakuzu dealt him was while he was using his Ki as a defensive barrier and still got him injured, he just didn't have the heart to tell Videl that as she would just accept it as an excuse and not the truth.

"I can still read your mind, idiot..." Videl said as she calmed down a bit. "If what you say is true, then why didn't you end them both when you had the chance?" Videl asked.

"What? What did he say?" Sakura asked.

"He said in his mind that the attack Kakuzu dealt him was when his Ki barrier was up and it still injured him. Kakuzu used a wind based jutsu when Gohan was powering up. Lightning based Ki was around him-"

"Resulting in the wind to turn the lighting against Gohan and hurt him." Kakashi finished. "So, it wasn't completely planned then."

"No, not all of it." Gohan confirmed.

"But, then how did Hidan get your blood?" Videl asked.

"Probably some from the ground after I was hit." Gohan deduced.

Videl gasped as she recalled the events that took place. It was too fast for her to see then, but as she recalled, she did remember seeing a blur coming from Hidan towards Gohan the moment he was attacked.

"He used a shadow clone to collect the blood..." Videl deduced.

"That makes sense. So, where does the part about you letting your guard down on purpose come into play?" Kakashi asked.

"When Hidan started using me as a voodoo doll. I could have ended him when he was close, but didn't. Part of it was because I had my hands full with Kakuzu, but the other part was that I wanted to give the others a chance to fight those guys." Gohan explained. "When Videl was part way through her transformation, I had just eaten a senzu bean, but didn't say anything."

"And why didn't you?" Videl asked heatedly.

"If I had interrupted the transformation, you wouldn't have been able to finish it for a long time to come." Gohan admitted.

"Can you just cut the bullshit and admit that those two had you by the balls?" Kakashi stated. He normally didn't bother with bragging idiots. They were usually just trying to hide their own weakness and experience in actually fights made them humble very quickly. It was the powerful bragger that bugged him. Warriors and soldiers that should know better but believe themselves to be invincible.

Cockiness kills and Gohan was the last person who deserved to die against a punk who got lucky, but if he didn't pull his head out of his ass soon that's exactly where he'd end up. And Kakashi would not stand by and let that happen.

Gohan chuckled nervously. "Yea, they kinda did... As much as my pride refuses to admit it, it's true."

"Well, it's not great, but it's a lot better than saying you did it on purpose." Sakura commented.

Videl slapped Gohan upside the head hard enough to leave a lump. "The next time you do that I'll kick your ass all the way home and leave you in the gravity room at 1000x gravity, mister!" Videl scolded angrily.

"N-noted..." Gohan gulped.

"With that all sorted, it looks like Naruto and the mummy got through with their opening dialogue you ninjas love so much and have started their actual match." Kizashi reported.

The others looked up to see Naruto putting the moves on Zabuza. The demon of the mist couldn't even keep up with the maverick ninja as he laid down jab after jab at the swordsman.

"You've definitely gotten quicker, brat!" Zabuza said as he blocked the odd punch.

"Training in 150x gravity will do that." Naruto said with a smirk.

Zabuza then leaned forward to press his own attack, aiming a punch at Naruto's face which the blond blocked, but now without taking a second punch to the gut from Zabuza's free hand. Which had enough force behind it to stagger Naruto.

"And experience will get you that." Zabuza smirked from under his bandages.

This gave Zabuza the space he needed to activate his signature jutsu. Silently he flashed through the signs and a thick mist began spreading throughout the stadium, seemingly out of nowhere.

By the time Naruto looked up, Zabuza was gone and his vision was significantly impaired by the mist. Coupled with the loud road of the hell spawn crowd that surrounded him and Naruto was effectively blinded.

"Come on, Naruto. You have done this before." Sakura said quietly.

"Crap... how did Kakashi deal with this guy? Think Naruto, what would Kaka-sensei do in this situation?" Naruto said aloud.

Naruto looked around as he thought about that self-imposed question.

"Damn it, I don't have any copies of Make Out Tactics to read!"

Kakashi face palmed.

The Descry Sphere had since zoomed in to Naruto's face to make out his features in the thick mist. From that angle, everyone who was watching could see the outline of a figure creeping up behind Naruto.

"Naruto! Look out!" Sakura shouted as she shot up from her chair.

Alas, Naruto still couldn't hear his girlfriend from the world of the living. The figure leapt right at Naruto and thrusted a massive buster sword right through Naruto's midsection. Giving all who were watch a full frontal view of the look of shock upon Naruto's face.

"NOO!" Sakura screamed for all of the village to hear. Videl dropped to her knees and Gohan looked away with clenched fists.

"Aren't you guys ever going to get tired of overreacting?" Kakashi asked in a bored tone.

Naruto then burst into a cloud like the Shadow Clone he was and the real Naruto came down from above and slammed a Rasengan into Zabuza's right shoulder.

"Ohh... Thank the Kais..." Sakura gasped out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Thank Shadow Clones, more like it." Kakashi commented.

Back in Hell, Zabuza was staggering backwards as the mist began to dissipate.

"For the record, he would have made his opponent think he had an opening and set up a counter attack against him." Naruto stated smugly.

"Shadow clones... Right..." Videl and Gohan said as they recomposed themselves.

"Nice work brat. But I'm not out of tricks yet." Zabuza said as he undid the wrappings around his mouth, revealing his jagged teeth.

"Good. I would have been disappointed if you were." Naruto smirked.

The two charged at one another and clashed with their massive blade and tiny kunai respectively. Zabuza brought down his blade to try and slice Naruto in two. The blond boy held up his kunai, seemingly to cross block, but in actuality was angled slightly downward. The executioner's blade skidded off the tiny kunai and landed away from Naruto's body. Exactly how Jiraiya had taught him to deal with weapons too massive to block and too quick to dodge. This gave Naruto the opening he needed to step inside Zabuza's reach and slash at him while his guard was down. Zabuza was a master with his blade though, in close-quarters combat as well. He simple blocked Naruto's nimbler kunai with the sword's handle as a kind of staff, then backhanded Naruto to put distance between the two.

Naruto was knocked aside but quickly regained his footing, only to be met with two Zabuza's baring down upon him.

' _Water clones.'_ Naruto thought as he remembered his first encounter with Zabuza right outside the Land of Waves.

He ducked underneath the first clone's swipe aiming for his chest and then leapt over the second clone's swipe at his legs. The first clone then swiped at where Naruto would fall to. A brilliant set up that would have killed any other shinobi had Naruto not summoned up his Ki and stopped himself from falling in midair, causing the first clone to swing at thin air. The two water clones were so surprised that Naruto was able to nail them both with a scatter shot of shuriken, leaving two puddles of water on the arena floor.

Naruto landed on the ground, almost feeling cocky, until he looked over and saw the full power of Zabuza.

The Demon of Mist had been earning his name. He had managed to unleash an impressive array of water based jutsus. And in such a massive amount you would think he had a tailed beast sealed inside him as well.

Naruto stood on the opposite side of the arena, facing done the Demon of the Mist, two of his water clones, and a water dragon jutsu that Zabuza had created by hurling the required amount of water.

"Impressive." Minato spoke to his wife in the stands. "The only person I've ever heard of producing this much water on dry land was the 2nd Hokage."

"Well, he is called the Demon of the Mist for a reason." Kushina stated.

"Yes. And I think that Naruto mentioned that Kakashi once beat Zabuza nearly 4 years ago. But a lot can happen in that time."

"True. I mean just look at our boy! He has improved so much!"

"True, he's gotten much faster and stronger physically, but mentally. I worry that having such a huge increase to his physical strength so quick hasn't given him enough time to adapt to utilizing his powers to their full potential."

It was then that Naruto shot up into the air and used what little Ki he had control of to fire a white beam at Zabuza, which hit directly at the man.

"Well... That's new." Kushina commented.

"But not very effective." Minato stated.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Zabuza asked, the blast having felt like a light shove more than anything else.

"It was just an experiment. First time trying that." Naruto admitted.

"So I've been dead for four years and in that time you only managed to master the late Fourth Hokage's jutsu? Honestly I expected more from you, brat."

"Actually, I have been getting lessons in Ki control. And as you just saw, I'm getting better. I didn't even know if that would work." Naruto grinned.

"Well it didn't work, so what else have you got besides floating around and shooting puffs of air?" Zabuza mocked.

"Hmm... Well, if I do this right, I could put a hole through you. Now, how did that go..." Naruto thought as he thought about the technique Gohan used several times. "AH! I remember!" Naruto exclaimed. "Bear with me, this will be the first time I used this."

At that moment a Zabuza clone jumped up at Naruto from outside his peripheral vision. Naruto leapt back to avoid the massive sword attack but them jumped right into the path of the runaway water dragon, which hit him exactly like a freight train.

"GAH!" Naruto cried out in pain.

"Ninja-ing 101, brat! Never ask your opponent if they wouldn't mind waiting for you to charge up an attack!" Zabuza shouted at the boy who landed on the hard concrete with a thud.

Righting himself up, he glared at Zabuza. "Okay, that was a cheap shot. But then again, so is this." Naruto smirked.

The real Zabuza looked on at Naruto in confusion, but he noticed a bright blue glow from his peripherals that was something he had never seen before.

"HAAA!" A Naruto clone shouted as a blue beam shot forward quickly and enveloped the Sword master. The man howled in pain as the beam continued on, but just as soon as it came, it vanished.

"Ugh... The FUCK was that?!" Zabuza exclaimed, half of his bandages disintegrated.

"Just a move I borrowed from a friend." The real Naruto said as he performed a diving strike at the bandaged man.

The second water clone tried to intercept Naruto with his big fuck off sword, but Naruto quickly summoned a shadow clone to grab the original out of the path of the sword in midair.

Naruto then tangled with his clone midair, kicking the Shadow Clone towards the water clone to have a clone to clone showdown while Naruto was propelled forward towards Zabuza.

"He didn't!" Gohan exclaimed in awe.

"What was that?" Kizashi asked.

"It's a signature move among Gohan's family." Videl said.

"The Kamehameha. It's a Ki based attack that my father learned from an early age." Gohan said.

"Incredible..." Sakura said in awe. Since when was Naruto so good at using Ki?

Naruto collided with Zabuza and the two of them tumbled end over end.

They each exchanged jabs, grapples, and knees to the gut. Each trying to get a leg up on the other. Until finally the two hit the concrete tiles and tumbled away from one another. Naruto flip upright first and launched a volley of kunai and shuriken at Zabuza to score some free hits, but the Demon Mist blocked them using the broadside of his sword.

"Naruto has improved more than I thought." Kakashi commented.

"And yet, he is still holding back." Gohan stated.

"What makes you say that?" Kizashi asked. That boyfriend of Sakura's looked to be extremely powerful.

"Think about it. After all of that training in 150x gravity and he is perfectly matched with Zabuza? He's toying with him. Before Videl became a Super Saiyan, they were matched in speed and strength." Gohan explained.

"He's not toying with him." Sakura stated, not taking her eyes off of Naruto. "He pities Zabuza."

"Why do you say that?" Videl asked.

Sakura didn't answer Videl, and instead directed her voice towards her squad captain. "Kakashi sensei, you must have noticed it too right? Why is Zabuza fighting alone?"

There was a twinkle in Kakashi's eye and he nodded in confirmation while keeping his silence.

Back in Hell, Naruto and Zabuza hopped back from one another after their latest clash.

"Come on brat, quit holding back! It's insulting!" Zabuza jeered through haggard breath.

Naruto wasn't fairing any better and was down on one knee.

"Well?! What are you waiting for?" Zabuza called out again as he took up his traditional stance.

"One question." Naruto began. "Why aren't you fighting with Haku?" The whole crowd dropped their guard, where was Naruto going with this?

"The rules state that fighters can't ascend themselves. So why-"

"Because that idiot decided to follow me into Hell." Zabuza hissed like the words were poison in his throat.

"... What...?" Naruto breathed out. "But, why?"

The members of the old Team 7 grew silent. Memories of their first real mission came flooding back and of the boy with a heart as pure as fresh fallen snow.

"I was not worthy to spend eternity in paradise. Hell is a more suitable home for a demon like me. But that brat... Haku wasn't so tainted. He had stolen and killed for me, because of me. Yet he was still granted to spend his eternal rest with the other innocent souls of Heaven. I was content. After a lifetime of dragging him through the darker parts of the world and beating him into a usable weapon... Haku deserved happiness." Zabuza stated.

"So imagine my horror when 2 years into my death and I run into who else but Haku. Standing right in front of me as if to receive his next orders for our mission..." Zabuza rattled on, the hurt evident in his voice. "I thought it was another illusion I was made to suffer. But when he spoke to me it became all too real."

Naruto's fist tightened on its own. He remembered the kind boy raised to be a killer. A boy he called his friend.

"So I came to this tournament to do one thing, brat. To save my best friend from a fate worse than death. Is your resolve so strong?" He asked Naruto. "Because if it were, you wouldn't have wasted a second in striking me down!"

Naruto looked down in shame. Knowing this, his own motivation to rescue Sasuke had wavered.

"No Naruto... Don't you dare give up... That isn't like you at all." Sakura pleased to herself.

"I think you're jumping the gun a bit there, Sakura." Videl said.

"Jumping the gun?" Kakashi asked.

"Old saying from our world, used when someone is possibly jumping to conclusions." Gohan explained.

"Ah. Carry on."

"Naruto seems to be just reforming his strategy. I doubt after all he has gone through; he'd give up that easily." Videl said plainly.

Back in Hell, Naruto gripped his kunai with all his might. How could he waver now? After everything he and the others had been through. But it was Zabuza and his own lonely quest to save his brother that got to Naruto. For a brief instant, he dropped his guard, which was exactly what Zabuza was waiting for.

Silently, the third water clone sprinted towards Naruto from behind, his sword held at the ready. He came within feet of Naruto who finally snapped out of his daze to react. Naruto spun around and redirected the massive blade with his forearms. Then with his right hand, made a perfect Rasengan to slam into the clone's face. Before he could connect the attack, the water clone exploded into a violent blast of boiling hot water. Naruto was stunned, and it was the perfect opening for Zabuza who was already on a dead sprint towards Naruto's backside, his blade raised like a joust.

The deafening slice of metal through bone and flesh silenced the crowd.

"Oh shit... no..." Videl gasped out as she watched Naruto convulse and vomit blood.

Naruto's teammates looked on in relative indifference. Waiting for a shadow clone to disappear like it always did, but as the seconds rolled by it dawned on them that this was no jutsu or illusion. It was the real deal.

"N-no..." Sakura breathed out shakily. She may have just seen her boyfriend die before her eyes.

"Oh no..." Gohan said quietly.

"NARUTO!" Kushina screamed from the stands. Minato only looked on in horror.

"Naruto!" The boys of Team Sasuke yelled at their gravely wounded comrade.

"Oh, this isn't good..." King Kai said in shock.

"This is why you should have gone all out in the first place, brat." Zabuza spat, his words bitter with regret.

Naruto tried to speak, but his words were too choked full of blood. Pathetically he tried to grab the blade protruding out of his chest as if to remove it, but his strength had long since left him.

Zabuza raised his boot up high and stepped directly on Naruto's back. In one great jerk, he pulled his sword free from Naruto's torso like he would from a thick tree stump. Naruto collapsed on the ground like a ragdoll. Clutching his chest in a pointless attempt to stop the bleeding.

"NOOO! NARUTOOOO!" Sakura screamed in horror as she watched the blood pour out of Naruto like a broken water main.

All across the Leaf and in the stadiums of the tournament could be heard similar cries. The crowd favorite had been beaten, but the judge had still yet to call the match.

Sakura fell to her knees, screaming in pain as if a blade was shot through her heart as her boyfriend lay motionless on the ground. Videl had tears streaming down her face and Gohan was fighting back tears of his own as he clenched his fists till they bled.

"Proctor! We're done here!" Zabuza called out to Beerus, who sat in his throne gazing disinterested at the spectacle before him.

Beerus looked down at Naruto's twitching form and then back at Zabuza. The purple cat smirked.

"The match isn't over yet."

The crowd gasped at the proctor's call.

"He is unable to fight. It's over." Zabuza replied grimly.

"I see differently." Beerus smirked, like he was in on a sick joke that the rest of the stadium hadn't caught on to yet.

"The match will continue until one fighter is out of the ring or knocked unconscious. Or in the case of that living mortal, dead."

"WHAT?! Don't you have any shred of decency?! That's my son you arrogant, mutant house cat!" Kushina spat angrily.

Her outburst went ignored by Beerus, who was finally starting to have some fun with this tournament. The look of loathing Zabuza was giving him was just delightful.

"You can either kill him or surrender yourself, I don't care which. Just be quick about it before all the suspense wears off."

Zabuza looked like he wanted to skin Beerus alive, but his thoughts inevitably turned to Haku.

He walked over to Naruto's side, where the failing boy's neck was clearly visible. The boy was pathetically twitching in pain, clutching at his chest.

"He wouldn't..." Kiba thought out loud.

Zabuza raised his buster sword above his head executioner style.

As Zabuza was about to deliver the final bow, Naruto turned around to face his executioner. His eyes were heavy with bags, like he hadn't slept in months. Blood was dripping down his chin. He mouthed something Zabuza couldn't understand.

"..."

"What was that?" Zabuza asked.

"...ka..."

"Ka? What's that supposed to mean? Zabuza asked

"...boom..."

 **KA-BOOM!**

An explosion engulfed the two Shinobi, startling the entire audience from the edge of their seats. Those that could keep their eyes open noticed that the explosion came from the center of Zabuza's sword. An explosion that had turned his sword into a blast of heavy metal shrapnel aimed directly at Zabuza's head.

"GAAAH!" The Demon of the Mist cried. The explosion had lodged shards of metal into his cranium. To a living body this would have killed him instantly. To a deceased soul, it deafened and blinded him on his right side.

Wasting no time, Naruto summoned the last of his strength to trip up Zabuza's legs and get him on his back. The former S-ranked criminal offered no resistance as he tumbled to the ground, still clutching his head wounds.

Pathetically, Naruto threw himself on top of Zabuza and rained down punch after punch to his opponent's head. Until finally bringing both his fists down for one final blow to the cranium. Knocking Zabuza's head into the concrete with a sickening crack.

Zabuza's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and Naruto was left leaning over his opponent's unconscious body.

With a flick of his wrist, Beerus gave his approval.

"Zabuza is knocked out! The winner is, Naruto Uzumaki of Team Sasuke!" The announcer said.

"Someone get him medical aid!" Shikamaru cried out, knowing that Naruto had no time to spare, but no one budged.

"This is the land of the dead. We have no need for medical facilities." The announcer stated.

Kiba probably said it best for everyone. "What the fuck just happened?"

Beerus looked on and smirked. He had seen it all right from the start. The loudmouth brat had desperately stuck one of his ninja exploding tags on the side of Zabuza's blade. After it had impaled him and he knew there was no chance for him to win. Probably to destroy his opponent's weapon so that his friends wouldn't have to face it. But it seemed that the one called Naruto had more spunk than even he realized and was able to pull victory from the jaws of death. It was just a shame he wouldn't live to see the next match.

"Isn't that cute folks? The fleshy thinks we dearly departed need doctors! How quaint!" The announcer called out to the audience, enticing some viewers to laugh.

Shikamaru and the rest all ran out to the middle of the arena to their friend.

"Hold him down flat!" Shikamaru ordered to the rest of the guys.

"What are you going to do?" Lee asked.

"JUST DO IT!"

The guys complied even though none of them had any idea what Shikamaru was trying to do. The way he had positioned himself over Naruto, was he planning on healing him with medical jutsu?

Shikamaru flashed through a familiar set of hand signs, at least to Choji. But what would that jutsu do in this situation?

"Shadow Strangulation Jutsu!" Shikamaru cried. His Shadow instantly morphed into 5 or 6 tentacles with hands that wrapped themselves around Naruto's bleeding torso. Shikimaru tightened his fist, and the shadows constricted around Naruto's chest where his gaping wound was located. Quickly, the wound was forced shut.

"You used your shadows to force his wounds closed? Brilliant." Neji commented.

"As expected of Shikamaru." Choji proudly stated.

"Don't praise me yet, I'm not yet sure how this will hold…" Shikamaru stated as summoned his willpower to hold Naruto's body together while flashing through the signs necessary to perform his next jutsu.

"Shadow Stitching Jutsu!" He cried. The black shadows began to twist into piercing tentacles, although rather than have them stab into Naruto like Shikamaru would do with any other opponent, Shikamaru began carefully weaving the tendrils through Naruto's wounds, sewing them back together. Precious seconds passed and Naruto was starting to look more stable. There was just too much blood.

"Let's give a big hand to our contestants! Team Sasuke, who will advance onto the final match, and to Team Zabuza, who fought impeccably until the end!" The announcer shouted, ignoring Team Sasuke's predicament. The crowd roared with approval, as if a young man bleeding to death before their very eyes was of no concern to anyone.

"Find some Senzu beans!" Shikamaru barked.

"There are none!" Lee reported back as soon as he finished tearing through his pockets. Seems like Naruto would be joining him very soon.

"Perhaps I can help." A feminine voice spoke. The boys all looked up desperately and had to do a double take. Standing before them had to be one of the cutest looking girls any of them had ever seen. Her skin was snow white with a black choker wrapped around her neck. She wore a combat kimono fit for a modest kunoichi with high heel sandals that she balanced on perfectly. Her eyes were gentle and her lips were pink. But above all this she had long flowing black hair that she tied up in a single bun like Tenten did with her hair. Yup, she could definitely give the girls from their village a run for their money.

"Woah...uh, sure, please." Shikamaru stammered.

The girl looked determined as she nodded at Shikamaru before kneeling next to Naruto and examining him closely.

While she was doing that, the boys all examined her closely. From the way she tucked her hair back behind her ear, to the way her bottom wiggled when she shifted around, to how close she was getting when she looked closely at Naruto.

"Yes, I believe I can help him." The girl said.

Naruto opened one eyes and saw who it was. "H-Haku...?" Naruto wheezed out.

"Just try to rest, Naruto. I'll see what I can do." Haku replied.

"Naruto? You know this girl?" Kiba asked.

"I'm a boy." Haku replied.

At that moment, the boys in Hell and the men of the Leaf tripped while standing up.

"YOU'RE A GUY?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yes, now please let me focus." Haku said as he turned his attention back to Naruto. He created a super cooled ice scalpel that he hoped would seal and cauterize the wound. "Someone hold him down. This is really going to hurt."

"Oh my god, I wanted to date her..." Kiba gagged.

"Hold him down." Haku repeated. Lee and Neji obliged.

As soon as Haku started to seal the wound, Naruto screamed in pain and tried to flail about.

The ice scalpel acted like a welder, fusing Naruto's flesh together as he slowly made his way up Naruto's chest.

Minato had to hold back Kushina from running out to the stadium and holding their son. He was hurt, but they needed to let others handle it.

"Almost finished." Haku announced as he only had a little bit more to go.

One inch more and Haku was done. It was a cob job, but it sealed off the wound for now, leaving Naruto in no immediate danger.

"He's safe to move now, but he needs medical attention." Haku informed.

"None of us are medics. Maybe if we take him back to the room we can knock on some doors until we find a doctor." Shikamaru suggested.

"Whatever works. Just make sure he rests." Haku said.

"Sure, now how do we transport him." Neji said. Haku made a quick few hand signs and created an ice mirror with handles on either side, an ice stretcher.

"Use this. Zabuza and I have a lot to thank Naruto for, so I hope he pulls through. This was the least I could do." Haku bowed.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Kiba said in a rare act of sincerity.

"You're very welcome." Haku smiled.

Choji and Neji took either side of the stretcher while the rest of the boys hoisted Naruto up by his blue robes onto said ice stretcher. Haku just watched as they took away Naruto. Haku's last opponent and his first ever friend.

"Are you alright, Zabuza-sensei?" Haku asked the defeated figure slumped on the ground.

"My pride has been damaged that I fell for such a classic playing possum strategy." Zabuza groaned as his sat back up and cracked his neck. Earning a giggle from Haku.

"It's your own fault. You should have learned the first time that it's foolish to underestimate Naruto Uzumaki." Haku stated as he watched the group carry Naruto towards the exit.

"Yeah, whatever…" Zabuza stated as he stood back up. One good thing about being dead was that all wounds were healed fast as lightning. Although that seemed to be more random than anything.

Zabuza looked on at Naruto, the kid who shouted at everyone that he would be Hokage, who would sacrifice it all for a single comrade or stupid little headband. The Demon the Mist smiled. That Naruto was a tenacious bastard, but his were the kind that changed history time and again.

If he could pull through.

Zabuza sighed.

Haku just smiled. "Come on sensei, let's go check out the snack bar before they send us back into the 2nd circle." Haku said as he led his master by the arm to the opposite end of the stadium. Zabuza was surprised by his pupil's insistence to keep his spirits up when they faced such inevitable tortures such as Hell.

"Haku…why the fuck are you here?" Zabuza asked bluntly. Making the young man stop in his tracks.

"Sir?" Haku asked.

"We both know damn well that you qualified for heaven. Your soul was too pure to be anything but worthy. So why did you stick with me? Who has only dragged you down into pits of Hell?" Zabuza inquired. Haku thought about it for a moment before smiling softly.

"Because master. If I were to be separated from you for all eternity, even Heaven would be like Hell." Haku stated.

Zabuza stared at his former tool in awe. To be so dedicated to any one person.

But when they are all you have in the world…

Zabuza smiled.

"Alright brat, fine. Let's go to the damn snack bar." He said before slinging his sword Kubikiribocho over his shoulder. "They'd better have some salted pretzels with cheese or Kubikiribocho will taste more blood this evening."

"No more attacking food vendors for not having what you want. You promised." Haku reminded him. Earning a chuckle from Zabuza.

"Yeah I did…" He said as the two rogue ninjas from the Mist disappeared down the stadium hallway.

* * *

Meanwhile with Team Sasuke…

The team made it all the way to the gate exiting the arena when they were stopped by a shimmering barrier.

"Hold it, you need to see who you'll be fighting tomorrow!" Whis called out to them. The crowd of ninjas stopped in their tracks and looked back at the blue skinned god.

"Are you serious right now?!" Kiba bellowed.

"Very." Whis said before turning back to address the crowd.

"What a fight! Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and ghouls!" The crowd roared in approval. This was turning out to be one of the most exciting Get Out of Hell Tournaments in ages.

Whis put the microphone to his lips again.

"Alright, so Team Sasuke will be moving on to the final round tomorrow morning. For those of you who weren't watching the other match. Let's see some highlights from Team Orochimaru vs. Team Freeza!"

The overhead screens began to show the previous match.

It was a massacre.

One by one the Sound Five stepped into the ring and one by one they were slaughtered by members of the Ginyu Force.

"Oooohhh...such a shame. Team Orochimaru didn't even stand a chance." Whis commented.

The crowd all booed the losing team.

"Oh well, maybe they'll have better luck in the next tournament." Whis said.

The screen then showed Orochimaru in his snake form being smack around like a bar of soap in a sock by Freeza who was looking only slightly amused.

"Ouch...Orochimaru is going to feel that in the morning. You'd think he'd learn about underestimating his opponent after being killed by a Saiyan." Whis joked.

"Alright, that means that the finals will consist of Team Sasuke vs. Team Freeza. To take place tomorrow morning at 10 o clock. Once again the rules will change. The entire match will consist of one on one fights. With the barriers in place so that victory through ring out will not be possible. In order to win, your opponent must admit defeat or be unable to continue fighting. We wish both teams the best of luck in what is sure to be the fight of their afterlives." Whis announced.

The crowd roared in approval as the barrier was lowered. The team looked at one another in horror of what they had just witnessed, what they had to fight tomorrow. What one of their village's most infamous ninjas could not do, they had to. It was a sobering thought.

They carefully made their way back to their room and gently set Naruto down on the bed. There, Minato and Kushina were right by his side praying that he would pull through.

Lee returned looking exhausted for a dead man.

"I banged on every door. There is no doctor that can help us." He reported gloomly.

"We need someone. Try and find King Kai." Shikamaru ordered.

"Where? I don't know where he lives!" Lee exclaimed.

"He's at the end of Snake Way, right?" Choji pointed out.

"It took us three days to reach the halfway point. Even at my top speed I could only make the journey in 2 days." Lee hopelessly reported.

"Fuck…" Shikamaru cursed as he looked down at Naruto. Who lay unconscious in his bed while being comforted as best she could by his mother. He looked around and saw the entire team feeling defeated. It was bad enough that Naruto, the glue that held their team together, was dying a slow death, but they would have to face Freeza and his men tomorrow. None of them could possible match against him with their current level. Even Lee could only beat Cell by knocking him out of the ring, and Whis said that ring knockouts would be impossible in the final match.

' _Maybe if Lee and Naruto fought Freeza one after another…'_ Shikamaru thought. _'But Naruto is out cold. We could kill him and then he'd be fit to fight like Lee is…'_ He thought desperately.

"I'm going to get some ice for Naruto's fever." Minato announced before getting up.

Kushina just nodded as she sat next to her son and ran her fingers through his hair.

Once Minato left, a silent and somber mood befell the room. While death would be better for Naruto at this point, it was the last thing anyone wanted. They needed a miracle at this point. They needed...

"I just found someone!" Minato exclaimed as he rushed back into the room.

"Who?" Shikamaru asked as he looked up and couldn't believe his eyes.

Everyone looked at who had just arrived. It was like God took pity on Naruto and sent a guardian angel.

There in the doorway stood a girl in their age group with pink hair and a red vest with black leggings and pink skirt. Her eyes were green and full of a mix of worry and determination as she looked down at the wary blond Uzumaki.

"Sakura..." Shikamaru breathed out.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: God do I love me some cliffhangers.**

 **Some updates on our other stories.**

 **Legacy of Heroes: The Next Generation has been fully written, but will be delayed until we get to a certain point in this story to try and avoid the two stories spoiling each other.**

 **Legacy of Heroes Origins will of course be updated with the chapters of Legacy of Heroes to again avoid spoilers.**

 **Naruto and Sakura's Five Year Mission is running smoothly. The latest is that the Enterprise D has been destroyed and the crew is stationed on Earth for the time being.**

 **Sakura's Trip with Q is a one-shot, so there is nothing to update.**

 **Transfer Students (rewrite) is also running smoothly. Some files got lost and my old laptop broke, but we recovered the Skype files and got things running smoothly again. So look forward to those.**

 **And finally…**

 **We've got another new story started. The short of it is that Naruto and Sakura are the bearers of the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom and must save the Kingdom of Hyrule in the Ocarina of Time universe. Check out chapters one and two of Naruto: Legend of the Triforce 3D for more details.**


	24. Chapter 24: A new Plan

"Shadow Strangulation Jutsu!" Shikamaru cried. His Shadow instantly morphed into 5 or 6 tentacles with hands that wrapped themselves around Naruto's bleeding torso. Shikamaru tightened his fist, and the shadows constricted around Naruto's chest where his gaping wound was located. Quickly, the wound was forced shut.

"He stopped the bleeding using the strangulation jutsu? Genius..." Gohan commented back at the Leaf on the rooftop of the Haruno apartment.

"...It won't be enough..." Sakura choked out. "He needs immediate stabilization because now he is bleeding internally."

"But they have no medical facilities in hell. Unless they have senzu beans, there isn't a way to…"

"WHIIIS!" Sakura yelled out with Chakra enhanced vocals.

"What is it?" Whis answered from the door leading downstairs, as if he had been with them the whole time and had only just gone to tinkle.

"I need you to take me to Hell so I can heal Naruto." Sakura said sternly, doing her best to keep herself grounded as best she could.

"To heal- Oh right, because of the sword thing." He said, pointing up towards Naruto who was in the process of having his would sewed up by Shikamaru's Shadow Stitch Jutsu.

"Yes damn it! Now send me over to Hell right now or I'll rip your stupid beehive hairdo off, then shove it AND your clown shoes UP YOUR ASS!" Sakura shrieked. No more miss weepy bitch. She was gonna heal that Baka if she had to curb stomp every God and Demon she could summon forth.

Whis backed up like he was actually intimidated by this mortal. She had guts if nothing else, threatening a god.

"What's all this racket?" Came a new voice. The occupants of the roof turned to observe Lord Beerus himself had graced them with his presence.

"Lord Beerus, I thought you would still be judging the matches." Whis said.

"The matches are over for the day. But that's beside the point. Just what exactly do you think you were doing?" Beerus inquired.

Sakura stepped forward, her tempter starting to get the best of her. "Look mister! I'm going to heal my boyfriend before he dies. You can either take me there willingly, or I'll rip of your tail and use it as a lasso while I ride your ass to Hell..." Sakura growled as her eyes flashed from green to blue. Beerus noticed this and started to sweat.

"I wouldn't take that tone with me, little mortal. I could destroy your planet with a backwards glance." Beerus said, regaining his confidence when he realized this wasn't his Ex threatening him.

That did it.

Sakura exploded with rage as she took on the same form she did weeks ago in the gravity chamber. Her skin and clothes turned blue as well as her eyes while her hair turned purple.

 **"You will take me there now! Or suffer my wrath!"** Came a thundering voice that sounded like two enraged women talking.

Beerus went wide eyed at this new development. He hasn't seen a transformation like this since...

"Hey Whis." Beerus said quietly. "Doesn't that transformation look familiar to you?"

"Indeed. I believe it is the same one used by, her." Whis responded, emphasizing the 'Her' part.

"So, this girl is her reincarnation, then." Beerus said to himself. "Very interesting..."

"Sakura...?" Mabuki said in shock as she looked upon her Daughters new form.

 _'Her power has increased dramatically since the first time she did this...'_ Videl thought.

Sakura's power then surged violently as her color started to shift from blue to red.

 **"I'm tired of you stalling, Beerus!"** Sakura bellowed, her power fluctuating rapidly.

"Sakura, please try to calm down!" Videl said desperately.

 **"No Videl. Naruto is in dire straits and I will not let him die if I can save him."**

"Sakura... Are you in control of this power?" Gohan asked.

 **"Partially. This is all I can tap into right now. I still don't know where it comes from."** Sakura answered.

"But, how?" Videl asked and Sakura smirked.

 **"Did you think learning my Ki was the only thing I was doing when I was meditating?"**

"Alright, enough dilly dallying. I'm opening the portal now, whether you are ready or not." Beerus stated.

 **"About time."** Sakura said smugly, not dropping her transformation.

Beerus waved his hand and an evil looking door covered in grey flames appeared on the Haruno rooftop.

"Step inside, if you dare." Whis offered.

Sakura looked at the evil looking door and steadied her resolve.

"Wait!" Videl shouted, stopping Sakura in her tracks.

"Videl?" Gohan asked.

 _'Gohan, this could be our chance to return home.'_ Videl said into Gohan's mind.

 _'What do you mean?'_ Gohan responded.

 _'Your dad can pick us up via instant transmission and take us home!'_

"No I'm afraid you two are mistaken." Beerus stated, shocking both half Saiyan's. "I can read minds. But no. You two are bound to this universe now and the only way for you to return is via scientific intervention."

"But that's how we got here in the first place!" Videl countered.

"And it's the only way you can get back." Whis stated. "Laws of the gods and what not."

"Dammit!" Videl cried as she sunk back into her chair. Gohan quickly was at her side, trying to comfort her.

Not wasting any time, Sakura boldly stepped through the portal, which sank back into the ground as soon as she disappeared behind its doors.

* * *

On the other side, Sakura found herself falling from the air, but thanks to her recent increase in Ki control, she was able to right herself upright and land gently on the top of a wooden desk. She dropped her transformation and looked around.

"Where am I? This isn't Hell." Sakura said to herself.

"Not another one." Came a booming voice above her. Sakura looked up to see a giant red man with horns and a business suit.

"Don't tell me you're here for the GOH tournament too. Well I'm sorry to say, but it's too late, little girl."

"Um... Yea I know it's already going on. Beerus sent me here to heal my boyfriend and it is kind of an emergency." Sakura said nervously.

Your boyfriend? Was he the leader of the last group that barged in here?"

"Yea, he was the blond one." Sakura said, feeling less nervous. She remembered what Gohan told her about King Yemma and that he only looked scary and was actually a nice guy.

"Blond one? No, their leader had white fur. Are you sure we're talking about the same group?"

"White fur? That was Akamaru! He's not the leader, he's Kiba's team mate and companion." Sakura corrected.

"Really? He said he was their leader..." Yemma said to himself. "Anyway, the beginning of Snake Way is that-a-way. Unless you want to take the scenic route, in which case the entrance to Hell I'd over there." Yemma pointed out. In that direction, Sakura hear the agonizing screams of the eternally damned.

"I need to be there 5 minutes ago! Naruto's life hangs by a thread and I don't get to him he's going to die!" Sakura pleaded. "I heard a lot about you from my friend Gohan. You do have a kind heart and I hope you can find it in your heart to help me there faster." Sakura pleaded, her hands clasped together in prayer. But the judge of the deceased was not moved.

"What does this look like? Anything other than a bureaucracy? I can't spare..." King Yemma began, but saw the equal combination of sadness and fire.

"You know what? I think I can help you. I'll have one of my drivers take you down Snake Way by car. They can take you to my wife's palace in less than 4 days."

"4 days?! He'll be dead by then!" Sakura said as she tried to keep her composure.

"In that case, just wait here. He should come here on his own soon enough. What was his name again?"

"No! Dammit!" Sakura sobbed as her rage built back up and released her transformation. "The idea is to save him before he dies! Gohan said you could help me! But all you are doing is adding time for him to die!"

"What else do you want me to do? It's not within my power to open portals or teleport things. I just judge souls." King Yemma defended.

 _'Sakura, how's it going over there?'_ Gohan spoke to her via telepathy.

"Gohan! Hey listen. King Yemma can't help me out here. Do you have any other suggestions? Maybe you could talk to him." Sakura replied out loud.

 _'King Yemma? What are you doing at the entrance to the afterlife? I thought Beerus was supposed to send you to the arena or something.'_

"That's were Beerus sent me! Wait a minute, didn't you say your dad knows some teleportation technique?" Sakura asked in realization.

 _'I did, but he's among the living now.'_ Gohan said.

"That doesn't matter. You said he makes frequent visits to King Kai, right?"

"Hold on a minute. Are you talking about Goku by chance?" King Yemma asked.

"Yea, who else would I be talking about? His son is a good friend of mine."

"Oh, well tell him I said hi. His father is always a pleasant visit."

 _'Look Sakura, just start running. Me and Videl will think of something.'_ Gohan stated.

"Here's an idea. Get a hold of your dad and tell him to come pick me up and take me to Hell." Sakura countered.

"You don't need Goku to go to Hell. You can just jump off the edge." Yemma suggested.

"You stay quiet." Sakura spat. Yemma just shut up. Not even his Ex-wife was this much of firecracker.

 _'Alright. Give me a few minutes.'_ Gohan responded.

"Thank you." Sakura said as she relaxed her transformation. After what seemed like no time at all, a tall figure appeared wearing an orange gi with a blue undershirt, blue boots, blue belt and blue wrist bands. His hair was more wild than Gohan's.

Said man looked over at the pink haired girl and smiled his trademark grin. "Hi! You must be Sakura, right?"

 _'Woah. Gohan's dad has got it going on!'_ Inner commented.

 _'EW! Inner!'_ Sakura shrieked in disgust.

"Yes, you're Goku right?" Sakura asked, already knowing the answer. Judging on appearances alone, if this guy wasn't Gohan's father, then Sakura was the daughter of King Yemma.

"Sure am!" Goku said happily. "So what's up? Wow you sure are strong! I would need to be Super Saiyan just to match you." Goku said as he started to get excited. He sure did love to fight.

"Never mind that now, I NEED to get to the Get Out of Hell tournament right now. My boyfriend's life depends on it." Sakura insisted.

"Oh of course! Just grab my hand and I'll take you there." Goku said without hesitation. Sakura did as she was told and searched out for someone he knew. He tried looking for King Kai, but couldn't find him. Then he found another familiar man's energy and smiled. "Haven't seen him in a while. Hold on!" Goku said before he and Sakura disappeared in a blink of an eye.

King Yemma breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever that girl's boyfriend was. She'd be the death of him. No doubt about that.

* * *

Sakura found herself teleported to what was unmistakably a hotel hallway. Where a familiar blond man was in the middle of getting ice.

"Hey Minato!" Goku greeted loudly, scaring the shit out of the former Hokage, causing him to stumble and drop the bucket of ice.

"Sage's Sake, Goku. You scared the crap out of me." Minato stated.

"Minato?" Sakura asked. He was the last person she thought she'd see again.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?!" Minato said in shock. "Wait, never mind that. Tsunade trained you as a medic right?" Minato asked, to which Sakura nodded. "Then follow me! We don't have any time to waste!"

"Wait a minute." Goku said as he pulled out a large bag. "These are for you and everyone else. Korin harvested a thousand senzu beans as we didn't know if Gohan could make any more or not." Goku said as he handed the large bag to Sakura.

Sakura quickly grabbed the bag and followed Minato. Her entire mindset was focused on getting to where Naruto was.

"Bye Goku! Talk with you later! and thank you!" Sakura called back as she ran down the hall with Minato.

"Which room is he in?" Sakura said.

"Room 605." Minato stated before being lifted up fireman's style

"I can get there faster, Hold on!" Sakura said as she used all of her gravity training to take off faster than a bullet train down the hall.

"Holy shit!" Minato exclaimed in shock. "How did you get so fast?!"

"Videl trained me in 250x gravity. I'm technically stronger than Naruto now." Sakura said plainly as they quickly approached Naruto's room.

"Stop! This is it!" Minato yelled as Sakura came to a screeching halt, Minato almost falling off Sakura. "Jesus... And people used to think I was fast. I wouldn't be surprised if they called you the Pink Flash."

"Thanks, who's Jesus?" Sakura replied. To be called fast by the Yellow Flash was a huge honor.

"A god from Universe one." Minato explained.

"Huh. So this is the room, right?" Sakura shrugged off the unimportant factoid and focused on her main objective.

"Yes, it is... But let me go in first." Minato asked and Sakura nodded, setting down the former Hokage.

Minato opened the door and walked inside ad quickly joined his wife. After she saw Minato nod, Sakura walked in as well, stunning all who were there.

"Sakura?" Shikamaru was the first to find his voice.

"I need to check on Naruto." Sakura said sternly.

"Um..." Shikamaru sputtered out, but Sakura push past him without waiting for him to announce her arrival. She made a beeline for the bedside everyone was huddled around like the bed of a dying man. Each of them taking it in turns to whisper Sakura's name as they noticed her presence, like she was an answered prayer come to life.

Finally, she reached the bed said where a tall blond man and a beautiful blood red haired woman had their back turned to Sakura as they dotted over the prone form of a figure Sakura knew but could not yet see.

It was so quiet...

And yet the pressure in Naruto's head would not subside, it was like there was a constant ringing in his ears preventing him from concentrating or even summoning the energy necessary to wake up. It had been like this for what seemed like days. Naruto had never known such exhaustion. He just wanted the pain to go away so he could finally get some rest, that's all he wanted, a good long nap...

* * *

After several hours had past, it was then when Naruto felt some kind of calming sensation, a kind of pulse or a cloud wash over him. Within seconds his mind began to clear, the pain from earlier that had muddled his thoughts was dissipating, replaced with a cooling sensation throughout his head like a chilling but relaxing mist was covering his head and penetrating his skull to relax his brain. The effect was immediate and Naruto released a content sigh.

"...Naruto...?" A voice called out to him from the bottom of a well.

"Naruto?" The voice asked again. It wasn't a familiar voice, not to Naruto anyway, but it was certainly a soothing voice. Something he had only heard once before in his life, a voice that could hush his cries and protect him from the harms of the world...

The voice of a mother...

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, still weighing a hundred pounds. It took him awhile, but he finally adjusted to the light and saw the long red hair cascading across his bedside that led to one of the most beautiful faces Naruto had ever seen, all scrunched up in worry.

"Hey Mom..." He whispered, his voice sounding like he had been eating gravel.

"My baby is alive!" Kushina sobbed as she gently hugged Naruto for all the was worth, Minato doing the same.

Naruto smiled at feeling the sensation of a parental hug for made the second time in his life. Weakly he tried to return it.

"I'm alive..." He confirmed. He tried to lean his head forward into the hug, but something was holding him back, a set of small but firm sets of fingers holding him down by his temples.

"Mom... Since when do you know medical jutsu?" He asked, assuming his Mother also knew the Shadow Clone technique. It made sense in his head. She was his mother after all and would take after him, right?

"It wasn't me who saved you, honey. Sakura-chan did." Kushina said softly as she pulled away from her son you reveal a very tired looking Sakura.

Naruto shifted his gaze up to see none other than the girl of his dreams, Sakura-chan, standing over his bedside, her hair was a mess of pink locks cascading down her head like a waterfall.

"...Sakura-chan?" He asked in disbelief.

"Hi, Naruto..." Sakura said nervously. His eyes went wide once he saw her. Those beautiful green eyes. Those pink locks all in a mess. Her cute face. It was all there.

"She came all the way here just to save you, son." Minato said happily. "If that's not dedication, I don't know what is."

"Sakura?" He said again, still not believing she was here. Unless he was back in the Leaf. But then what we're his parents doing in the Leaf? We're they alive or were they just ghosts?

"Yes, you Baka. I'm really here." Sakura said with a slight smile.

"Sakura..." He whispered. A smile came across his face, at that moment he had forgotten that he was still mad at Sakura, or even what he was still mad at her about. Who cared about that anyway? His medic girlfriend was here with him and she was making him feel better.

"You had an aortic dissection from Zabuza's blade and I work almost all night to heal you." Sakura said in a tired tone.

"A what? Sorry, I don't know what that is..." Naruto whispered, sad that he caused that tired look upon Sakura's face.

"The very large artery in your chest that supplies blood to the rest of your body was cut. If I didn't treat you as soon as I did, you would have bled out and died." Sakura said sadly.

"Oh..." Naruto said softly, still not fully understanding how close of a brush he came from his own mortality. All he knew was that he had made Sakura worry based on the tone of her voice.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan..." He whispered.

"Naruto, if anyone needs to apologize... it's me..." Sakura said softly.

"Why? Why do you-" Naruto cut himself off when he remembered the massive argument they both had and why he had come her. Soon his smile shifted into a look of disgust as he looked upon Sakura. "Now I remember..." Naruto said as he looked away from Sakura.

"Naruto... You have every right to be mad at me... I truly didn't know how much Sasuke meant to you." Sakura said softly.

Naruto just stated up at her with a look of disappointment.

Sakura looked up to meet his eyes, tears threatening to spill over. "I, along with everyone in the village, heard what you and the guys talked about on the machine that was on snake way. Whis set up a Descry Sphere above the village and we've been watching you all from the very beginning." Sakura explained, which earned a collective 'What' from the group present. Sakura's flood gate opened as she mustered her greatest apology yet.

"I can never forgive myself for the way I acted! I'm so sorry, Naruto! I didn't go for my own selfish reasons and betrayed you! When I learned the real reason you came here I was locked in my room for days, begging and pleading for your forgiveness and cursing my selfish attitude!" Sakura cried loudly.

Sakura then dropped her head at Naruto's bedside. "I'm so sorry I did that, Naruto... Had I known the real reason I would have gone with you without a second thought... But I stayed because I was too fucking afraid of old feelings for Sasuke to re-emerge... I'm sorry, Naruto! I'm very, deeply sorry for what I did to you! I never wanted to hurt you and it breaks my heart that I did such a thing to you of all people..." Sakura cried in Naruto's bedsheets.

"Wait, I'm sorry, can you back up a bit?" Kiba said, interrupting Sakura's confession.

"Shut up, Kiba." Shikamaru ordered. "This is between Sakura and Naruto right now."

"No Shikamaru, she said she overheard him talking and I must have misheard her." Kiba said, refusing to drop it.

"W-Whis put up a large sphere that sits above the village. It has been showing you guys the whole time from the moment you arrived in otherworld. because it has audio as well, it caught everything everyone said..." Sakura sobbed.

It was at that moment that it dawned on Shikamaru what that meant.

"Wait... you said everyone... over the entire village?" He whispered, the implications beginning to dawn on the rest of Team Sasuke.

"Yes, Dammit!" Sakura shouted.

"So that means they saw us running all along Snake Way?" Lee said.

"And heard us talking about all those...things..." Choji continued.

"And all of our families were watching us..." Neji finished.

"When I said everyone in the village, that means everyone! They saw and heard everything! Why is that so hard for you to comprehend?! They saw you all running on snake way, you fighting Princess Snake, your confessions for the girls you like, everything!

The air in the room dropped 100 degrees for the boys.

"Hinata heard my..." Kiba whispered. "HOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouted, grabbing his head and holding it tight for fear that it would explode from sheer embarrassment at what he had done.

Choji fell back flat on his butt. "My whole family saw that... the Yamanaka clan saw that... Ino saw that..."

Lee was fighting his impulses to run around and punch something.

Neji just stood there for a moment. "My reputation..." He took a strand of his hair and ripped it out.

Shikamaru just sat on his bedside. Convinced that...actually he didn't know what he was convinced of anymore.

Akamaru and Bluebell just shook their heads at their friend's antics.

Sakura sighed. "You all need to relax." Sakura said softly. "It's not nearly as bad as you think. Since the sphere is still watching us right now, I can't say too much. Oh, except one thing. Tsunade ordered you all to keep your lips shut about any ninja related subjects."

"THEY'RE STILL WATCHING US RIGHT NOW!?" Kiba shrieked as Neji proceeded to pull out another lock of his hair. Lee and Choji who had stripped down to their boxers immediately covered themselves as best they could while looking frantically for some kind of camera following them around.

"Ugh..." Sakura groaned. "People of the village, I ask that you turn away from the sphere now." Sakura said to no one in particular.

In the village, Tsunade had made that request a demand and everyone turned away from the sphere so no one could see or hear what was going to happen next.

"Shikamaru." Sakura said, gaining said man's attention. "Temari was present at the moment of your confession. She wholeheartedly returns your feelings for her." Sakura said with a soft smile.

"Temari saw that... What the Hell was she doing in the Leaf? Oh my God, was this shown to every village?" He said in horror. Dreading what would happen if Gaara of the Sand ever found out he had the hots for his sister.

"Yes. Temari has been serving as ambassador of the Sand. Don't worry, she was alone. The fact of the matter is that she feels the same way for you. Also, Videl heard your part as well. She's flattered and says thanks, but she's happy with Gohan."

All Shikamaru could do was smile lightly. He was glad for that part at least, but he was still upset about the rest of everything that went on.

"I was kidding about the Videl part." He smiled.

"Choji." Sakura said.

"Let me guess... Ino says she never wants to see me again and her father is working on getting me reassigned to a different team?" Choji said glumly. How could he screw this up?

"No. In fact, Ino is coming around to the idea of giving it a try. The clan heads are in agreement and are working on ways to make it work." Sakura explained.

"What?" Choji said in disbelief.

"That's right, Choji. Ino said she wants to give it a shot and that you shouldn't beat yourself up over what could be."

"Huh, but that's...I thought..." Choji tried to speak but could not find the words. Ino wanted to give it a shot. Ino...

"Don't over think it and just let things run their course." Sakura advised. She then turned her attention to Lee. "Lee." Sakura said softly.

Lee stopped his frantic run around and looked up at Sakura and held his breath.

"Tenten heard your confession and has acknowledged your feelings." Sakura explained.

Lee started shaking for a bit, at first everyone thought he was going to start crying.

"YOSH!" He cried in joy as he did a perfect triple back flip.

Sakura giggled at Lee's reaction. Seeing him happy like that always made her smile. Most people would be devastated that his crush had acknowledged him and he would never get the chance to see her again in life, but not Lee. That's just not who he was.

"Kiba..." Sakura started as her smile faded. "Hinata says you're a dead man."

Kiba's face fell as his hope was extinguished. Maybe he could just stay here in Hell for the rest of his life and never get to be graced by Hinata's presence again.

"She also said that she wants to talk to you when you get back." Sakura added, not know what fate had in store for the dog lover.

Kiba gulped but nodded.

Sakura then turned her attention to Neji. "Neji... Um... Let's just say, you're in a different light now and Hinata wants to kick your ass." Sakura said hesitantly.

Neji just placed his face down into his bed sheet covers, praying that he would turn into a sea urchin.

Sakura felt sad at the news she had to reveal to Neji, but she felt that they all had an idea what to expect when they get home. She then turned back to Naruto, who had looked upon her with a blank expression.

"Naruto. My parents are very happy with you for sticking to your guns and staying loyal to me. However, there is something you don't know. Princess Snake used some kind of mirror to access your dreams and we all saw them. You have a... pretty wild imagination about me, mister..." Sakura scolded.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto said cutting Sakura off.

"What?"

"Does the whole village know?" He asked in monotone.

Sakura blushed and shifted around nervously. "...Yes... and my parents saw it too... Let's just say, my father wants to have a word with you."

"No, not that." He said in a bored tone, almost if he didn't know what to feel at the moment.

Sakura gulped, afraid of what he might be referring to. "W-what...?"

Naruto closed his eyes to gain the courage needed to ask this. "Does the whole village know that I contained the Kyuubi?"

Sakura's face fell, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Naruto, they knew long before he was extracted. A lot of them did, anyway."

"Not all of them Sakura... My childhood was proof of that. And now even the guys my age know what I am." He said in defeat.

"There's something else." Sakura said. "They saw your parents when they met up with you after the first day of the tournament. That alone has washed away any ill feelings about you among the villagers. You are the son of the 4th Hokage and the entire village knows now. They don't care that you are a Jinchuriki, they see you under a completely new light, one in which you have earned and gained the respect of everyone in the village." Sakura said warmly.

Naruto teared up, there was nothing else to do. His entire world seemed to be crumbling all around him. The idea that all his friends would hate him if they learned of his greatest secret was being swept away. Everything was being swept away. He had parents who loved him, a family, he wasn't hated for it, he was loved...

"There there, son. It's ok. You're ok..." Kushina cooed into her son's ear as she stroked his hair to in a soothing manner. Minato took his son's hand and held it in a firm grasp to let him know he was there for him. And Sakura was still working her healing jutsu through Naruto's system, relaxing his body.

"Naruto?" Sakura said as she continued to heal Naruto some more."Are you okay...?" Sakura asked softly.

"I...I..." He choked out. The tears were streaming down his face. This should have been the happiest moment of his life and he couldn't stop crying. A childhood of denying himself to shed tears and in the early days of adulthood he couldn't control himself.

Sakura stopped healing him for a brief moment to envelope him on a comforting hug, to which he returned with gusto. Then Sakura's world brightened up again when she heard the words she had longed to hear since Naruto left for hell.

"I-I Forgive you... Sakura-chan..." Naruto sobbed, which released Sakura's own dam as she hugged him tighter.

"Thank you... Naruto-kun..." Sakura sobbed lightly.

"T-thANK YOU..." His voice cracked.

Minato fought back tears of his own as he motioned for his wife and Naruto's friends to leave the room. A few tried to protest, but this is something the two of them needed and Minato didn't want to make it awkward. One by one, they all filed out of the room to leave Naruto and Sakura alone.

Naruto tightened the grip he had around Sakura's waist as they both tried to comfort each other. their crying faces nuzzled one another as they continued to pour out their emotions for each other.

"I-I promise... Never will I do what I did again... I will forever be by your side no matter what..." Sakura sobbed softly.

"A-and I'm sorry for being so reckless..." He said. "I made you and everyone else worry and I dragged all these guys down with me..." He sobbed. "And now we're gonna be stuck in Hell for 100 years when we lose to Freeza and his men." Naruto continued.

"No you're not." Sakura sobbed. "You have never given up before and you sure as hell aren't giving up now. Even if you do stay for 100 years, I'll be right here with you."

That did it. Naruto let loose his famous smile. That ear to ear shit eating foxy grin Sakura loved so much.

"I don't deserve you." Naruto stated.

"That's all well and good, but I am not going to be waiting for my son and daughter in law to be stuck in Hell for 100 years." Kushina spoke up. "There has got to be a way for you to beat that walking dildo, son."

At the sound of his mother's description of Freeza, both Naruto and Sakura hysterically laughed.

"Ow! OW! Hurts to laugh..." Naruto said in between fits of laughter. Sakura then began healing him more.

"No, sadly there isn't." Sakura reported. "According to Gohan, his father only beat Freeza after achieving Super Saiyan form. And even at full strength Naruto is nowhere near Goku's level. Unless one of you passed on Saiyan blood to Naruto we are S.O.L."

"Sadly no. The Saiyan's were wiped out long before we even knew they existed." Minato said. "However, there may be away to merge the Kyuubi's Chakra with your own to win against Freeza."

"But he can't. He's been separated from the Kyuubi since the tournament started." Sakura replied.

"...actually Sakura. That's not entirely true..." Naruto admitted.

"... What...?" Sakura asked in shock as she knelled on the bed to get better access to Naruto's chest to heal him.

"Son... The chakra I'm talking about is not the Kyuubi cloak that you have used in the past. It is something far more potent." Minato clarified.

"I know Dad...Kurama has been yapping in my mind about it all night..." Naruto hesitatingly admitted.

"Kurama?" Sakura questioned.

"The 9 Tailed Fox...that's his name. He said that he wanted to work together to save both our butts. He would give me his chakra without his hatred attached to it... And I refused him, I didn't believe him. I thought it was another trick..."

"It's not, Naruto." Kushina said. "What he says is true. I know, because I was his Jinchuriki before you, and my great grandmother before me."

Naruto's face then lit up.

"So there IS a sea of ramen deep within my psychosis?"

"No sweetie, that's only in your dreams..." Kushina replied sadly, she too was disappointed.

"Oh god..." Sakura groaned as she slapped her hand against her forehead.

Minato then cupped his hand over Sakura's ear. "I really hope my grandchildren inherit your brains." He whispered.

Sakura blushed but then whispered back to him. "You and me both..."

While Kushina comforted her son on the lack of ramen to be found in his body, Naruto felt a familiar demonic presence enter his mindscape.

' _ **Well, Kit, are you ready to accept my offer?'**_ He spoke in a smug tone.

' _Just one thing...'_ Naruto growled. _'Don't hurt Sakura-chan...'_

It wasn't a request and it wasn't a threat, Kurama could sense that much. It was an understanding.

' _ **Deal. Now give me control.'**_

Sakura held her breath as the seconds seemed to turn into minutes. Finally, Naruto opened his eyes, only it wasn't his eyes, it was the Kyuubi's, well, kind of. It had fox like slits and a demonic look to them, but they were still the same shade of blue as Naruto's. When he spoke though, it became clear that it was the Fox who was in control.

"Kyuubi…" Minato spat.

 **"Call in all those teammates of Kit's, we need to strategize the plan. Every second counts."**

Minato nodded and left the room to call back the rest of Naruto's team. Meanwhile, Sakura was scared shitless. The Kyuubi now has full control of Naruto and she was so scared that he felt like she may wet herself in fear. She then felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.

"It's going to be okay." Kushina said to a shuddering Sakura.

 **"Fear not little vixen. I mean you no harm and I won't harm the Kit."** Kurama assured.

Sakura's fear turned into defiance.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe that after the pain you have caused both me and him?" Sakura spat.

"Sakura, watch your mouth." Kushina motherly scolded. She may be dead, but she was still Sakura's godmother. "If the Kyuubi says that he won't harm you or Naruto, he means it."

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe." Sakura replied.

Just then, the other men walked in the room and surrounded Naruto's bed.

"So, what's up?" Shikamaru asked.

 **"I have the only plan that will help us defeat that bastard Freeza."** Kurama spoke aloud through Naruto's mouth.

"Okay, this is new." Shikamaru said in shock.

"It's Kurama." Kushina said.

"Who?" Kiba asked.

"Kyuubi." Sakura said in a disgusted tone. A collective "oh" was heard.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Shikamaru asked.

"That's it? You're just going to trust him out of the blue like that?" Sakura berated.

"Do we really have any options at this point? We have all sensed Freeza's strength and nothing we have here can so much as put a dent in him." Shikamaru shot back.

"I'm starting to think we should have brought along Gohan, or at least Videl." Kiba said.

Back in the living world, Gohan grumbled to himself, annoyed.

 **"Right, and since we only have 12 hours until the match begins I will need all of your help from each of you if we are going to pull off my plan."**

"We're listening." Shikamaru stated as he folded his arms.

 **"Simply put, I need all of you brats to delay fighting Freeza as long as possible. Me and Kit will handle the rest."**

"Do you want to elaborate on that some more?" Shikamaru asked.

 **"Ugh, fine. Absolutely none of you could defeat Freeza on your own. His minions, maybe, but our biggest obstacle is the big man himself. The only one who could possible beat him is Kit with my chakra helping him."**

Sakura scoffed when he mentioned helping.

"But Naruto doesn't have access to your chakra now that you've been removed from him." Choji pointed out.

 **"Incorrect. While he and I are cut off from any direct link, the little Kit's chakra network has been enveloped in my own chakra network since his conception thanks to Mother Kit."** Kurama Naruto then gestured to Kushina.

 **"So even before he became my host he was infused with my chakra. Add on nearly 16 years of my chakra and his being intertwined and the brat should have enough of my chakra left over to use what you all call the Kyuubi cloak for a good 5 minutes. 10 at the most."**

"So, essentially an on demand access to a power boost like Videl's Kaioken, right?" Shikamaru deduced.

"No, it would be more like excess remains of a drug stored in Naruto's fat cells." Sakura realized.

 **"Exactly. This is a limited amount and a one-time thing. He will be using the last remains of my chakra in his system."**

"It's not just your chakra he will be using though." Minato chimed in. "All your anger and fury, that comes with the chakra. Naruto will be bombarded by all your negative emotions."

 **"Also correct. And the amount of fury I have built up against you humans over the last 16 years alone may be too much for him. It might even kill him." Kurama leered.**

"And that is what I'm afraid of." Sakura said, to which the rest of their friends nodded.

"You attacked our village, slaughtered many and you want us to put our faith and trust in your plan that could end up killing Naruto?" Choji shot.

 **"Sigh... That day was regrettable. I was under someone else's control that day and my actions were not my own."** Kurama stated. **"Had I been in control I would have just fled the village. Only killing those who got in my way to freedom."**

"You expect us to believe that load of BS?!" Sakura shot back.

"SAKURA!" Kushina scolded. "He is telling the truth! I was there!"

 **"Never mind that now. We are wasting time and missing the point. In order to prevent that from happening and for Naruto to use my chakra to the fullest, I am going to train him on how to use my powers in our shared mindscape. Hopefully it will be enough time to have him ready to defeat Freeza just before his match against him."**

"Then it would mean you two have to go at it full force right from the get go. No wasting time or letting up. An all-out brutal attack on Freeza is the only way to beat him." Shikamaru concluded.

 **"Exactly, which is why I need all of you to buy us as much time as possible. I will need every minute you can get us."**

"So while you're training Naruto, what are the rest of us supposed to do? Twiddle our thumbs?" Kiba suggested.

"Not necessarily." Said a voice standing behind them all. Everyone turned to see a strange but somehow familiar looking spiky haired man in an orange Gi.

"Goku?" Sakura spoke. "I thought you went back to Earth?"

"I was going to, but then I figured that I'd stay here to watch the rest of the tournament. Things can get pretty dull back on Earth nowadays and this seemed like the most exciting place to be." Goku explained.

"I'm sorry, but what was that about you helping us? I think you were implying that you wanted to help us." Neji spoke up.

"Right. Sorry, I was going to offer to train you all for your match against Freeza and the Ginyu Force." Goku said with a smile.

"And you know how to beat them?" Kiba asked.

"I did before." Goku grinned. "Well...four of them anyway." Goku admitted.

"Actually, did I beat Ginyu?" Goku wondered to himself.

"Four of them?" Shikamaru asked.

"Guldo was dead already when I arrived on Namek. He's the weakest of the Ginyu Force. Burter is the fasted, Jeice is decent, but not very strong. Recoom is very strong and brutal, but stupid. But Captain Ginyu is the strongest of them. He had me on the ropes for a while. Be careful of his body switching technique."

"Body switching? Isn't that what Ino does?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know who she is." Goku admitted.

"Does Ginyu read minds and temporarily enter a person's mind to take control of their body?" Choji asked.

"No, he...uh...I'm not sure how that works. All I remember was seeing a bright flash of light before I was looking at myself from across the area we were fighting."

"You looked at yourself?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yea, but that was before I realized I was in Ginyu's body."

"So then it's nothing like Ino's jutsu. She doesn't switch bodies with her opponent." Shikamaru said.

"That could be an issue..." Neji mused.

"I'll deal with him then " Shikamaru stated.

"What about Freeza?" Neji asked.

"He's a genius fighter and extremely strong. If he finds a weak spot in your defences, he won't hesitate to exploit it. If backed into a corner, he's liable to anything to turn the tables on you."

"What did he do against you?" Sakura asked.

"Well, when I first transformed into a Super Saiyan, he quickly realized he was outclassed. In a desperate attempt to take me down, he shot a ki blast into Nameks core which caused the planet to be very unstable."

"He shot an energy blast into the planet's core?" Sakura asked worriedly.

Goku nodded. "In reality, he tried to blow up the planet in both our faces but he failed. But in the end, the planet did blow up."

"So didn't he succeed then?" Lee asked.

"Yes, but I defeated him and escaped before it blew."

"That's insane." Kiba said.

"Yet, he still survived."

"He survived a planet exploding?" Neji asked in horror.

"Yes, and my final blast. Turns out, his species can breathe in space." Goku said.

"How? Space is literally a vacuum!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I don't know. All I know is that he came to Earth a year later before I came back. That was when a young Super Saiyan from the future named Trunks killed both Freeza and his father effortlessly."

"And that just feels like a whole other can of worms." Shikamaru stated.

"Gohan told me about Trunks. That leads to the Androids and Cell." Sakura said.

"Like I said, another can of worms." Shikamaru repeated.

"Agreed. Times a wasting if I plan on training you five." Goku said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kiba asked skeptically.

"With an age old training method." Goku replied. "Sakura. Do you have that bag of senzu beans I gave you?"

"Huh? Oh, yea right here." Sakura replied as she held out the bag.

"Perfect. I'm going to need to borrow the whole bag." He politely requested.

"The whole bag? What for?"

"To revive your friends while we spar." Goku said simply, making the whole group (plus the Leaf) sweat drop.

"Uh...s-sure..." Sakura said nervously as she handed the bag over.

"Perfect. The six of us will be sparring until dawn." Goku said so casually.

"Wait a minute, 6? Sakura's not going to be in the tournament." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Yes, I meant including me." Goku said.

"Oh..."

"Don't get me wrong, Sakura. I'd love to spar with you one day, but your friends need my full attention." Goku said.

"That's fine. They need to catch up to me anyway." Sakura said.

"Ooooh, is that a challenge?" Kiba taunted.

"Sure, but you won't last 5 seconds now. I've training with Videl at 250x gravity for the last few days." Sakura smirked.

Goku whistled. "Impressive. Now I'm really disappointed that I won't be sparring with you soon. But nevermore that. We need to train and you need to focus on fully healing Naruto." Goku said. "If I'm sensing him right. He should play an important trump card in the fight tomorrow."

"Right. Oh, and for the record, you're going to be a grandfather." Sakura smiled warmly.

"Wait, seriously?!" Goku exclaimed with joy.

"Yup. Your son and Videl fell in love and in a few months' time they shall have twins." Sakura replied.

"Oh man that's so awesome! Shame I won't be able to see them though..."

"Yes...but I thought you should know beforehand." Sakura said.

"Well, thank you. So I'm gonna have quarter Saiyan grandchildren...that's so awesome!"

"Half, actually. Videl is half Saiyan." Sakura said.

"She is?!"

"Yea, she said her mother was named...Fasha I think."

"Woah...I know her. She used to be on the same squad as my dad...huh...who woulda thought..." Goku said in awe.

"Ahem." Shikamaru coughed.

"Oh, right. Sorry, it's just good to hear they're doing alright. My wife will be happy to know they're safe. So let's get going."

"Yosh!" Lee cried as he led the group out the hotel door to find a training ground.

 _'Just like Naruto.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Makes you wonder what Naruto will be like when he's all grown up.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Hopefully like Goku. All cheery and yet still commanding. The last thing I'd want is for Naruto to turn all serious and gloomy.'_ Sakura thought.

" **If you're all quite done screwing around."** Kurama spoke through Naruto's body. Sakura returned her attention back to her boyfriend with his slit fox like eyes and darkened whisker marks.

" **I'm going to be training with Kit inside his mind. The secret to unlocking the powers of my chakra is mostly mental, so he's going to be in a kind of meditative coma for as long as it takes."**

"Right. I'll be sure to have Naruto back to 110% by the time he wakes up." Sakura stated. Putting her pride as a medical kunoichi on the line. Kurama nodded.

 **"Good. He's gonna need it."** Kurama stated before Naruto rolled his eyes back into his head and fainted.

Sakura got right to work on healing her love.

Kushina meanwhile began giving Naruto tiny sips of water and Minato just stood watch.

"Is there anything I can do?" Minato asked.

That's when Sakura got an idea. "See if you can find me some medicinal herbs around here."

"I'm on it." Minato stated. "Anything specific?"

"White poppy, Nightshade, White Myrile, Celdalion, and Crow's Eye. And whatever else you can find." Sakura instructed.

"I'm on it." Minato said as he headed out the door.

"Will that stuff really help Naruto?" Kushina asked worriedly.

"I'm covering all the bases." Sakura replied. "We'll need every advantage for the fight tomorrow." She said as they both looked down upon Naruto's slumbering face and thought of the deadly battle they would face soon.

One way or another, it would all end tomorrow.

 **Author's Note from Panda: A short chapter today, but I hope one that was a good set up for the final fight chapter to come. One that I hope will be satisfying to everyone.**


	25. Chapter 25: Finals Naruto vs Freeza

**Author's Note from Panda: Ho-lee SHIT. How many chapters did it take us to get to this point? How many months of writing, delays, and everything else? I can only hope that it'll all be worth it and live up to the hype. That it'll be a chapter that all of you will enjoy. But at the end of the day, this chapter is our baby, mine and Cmartin's, so we will love it unconditionally and we hope you do too.**

* * *

Morning on the final day. Our heroes step on the fields of the arena like the Knights of yore.

Whis steps into the middle of the arena and taps his microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, souls and demons, are you ready TO GET OUT OF HELL?!"

The crowd roared in response.

"So this is it. The final battle." Tsunade said. She had invited the friends and family of those in hell to the top of the Hokage tower to watch the end of the tournament.

"Looks like it." Jiraiya said as he snacked on hors d'oeuvres. "So glad I cut my 'research trip' short."

"Perv..." Videl grumbled.

"I'm really worried about Sakura..." Mebuki said in a worried tone.

"She'll be fine. She's not fighting in this, although I'm sure she'd do well." Kakashi said.

Meanwhile, Gohan was having a conversation with Inoichi and Hirashi.

"As hard as I struggled with Cell, I was absolutely floored with the fact Lee was able to take him down." Gohan said.

"I know how hard of a time you had with that creature when I peered into your mind. I will say that you fought well despite your loss." Inoichi said.

"How goes training to be a shinobi?" Hiashi asked.

"So far, good. I'm having a hard time with the transformation jutsu though."

"It's not hard if you can the basics of chakra down." Inoichi said.

"Right." Then a thought occurred to him. "Is it possible to turn into animals?"

"Completely, so long as it is within your size range." Inoichi said. "You couldn't transform into a Tailed Beast or a mouse. But things like wolves and other humans are completely possible."

"I see... so I guess transforming into an eagle for recon isn't possible I assume."

"Well no not really. But with you training everyone here I'm sure you could add flying to that." Hiashi said.

"True, I can if that's something they want. Sakura is working on that right now, actually."

"Well then. After she is finished, I want you to train Hinata." Hiashi said seriously.

 _'You know I transformed into a cloud for my mission with team 7, right?'_ Videl thought.

 _'Right, hold on.'_ "Hinata? Well sure, if she wants to."

"She won't have a choice. She is going to train to fly." Hiashi said firmly.

Gohan frowned. "If she doesn't want to learn, I'm not going to force her."

"I will force her then. I'll not have my daughter fall behind her peers any further."

"You forget, Videl and I are the ones here who know how to fly. If we train her, it's going to be of her own free will. Not because someone is making her." Gohan said firmly.

"My will is her will. I am her father." Hiashi stated.

"And that's fine, but to force her to do something she doesn't want to do isn't right. I know, I went through it too. My mother made me study endlessly and I hated every minute of it. It made me miserable, but I did it because it made her happy and while my dad wanted me to train and do fun things with me, he supported my mother and me. But you know what? It's a right to have the freedom of choice, not a privilege."

"He's got a point, Hiashi." Inoichi said.

"Inoichi, I do not meddle in how you raise your daughter. I would expect the same kindness from you."

Inoichi bit his tounge and nodded.

"As for you, Son. If you are looking for compensation I will gladly pay. You need not insult my honor." Hiashi said.

"While we need the money, it's not about that. You say I'm insulting your honor, well, what about Hinata's? Or mine for that matter? Forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do and expecting me to train someone against their will is insulting to me. And then you insult me further by paying me to force Hinata to train." Gohan scowled.

Hinata then put her hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I want to train." She said before frowning at her father. "Not because someone wants me to."

"Are you sure? It won't be easy." Gohan informed, but Hinata smiled.

"I've already trained in 100 times gravity so I know what to expect. I'm looking forward to your training."

"There you have it." Hiashi said as he turned to rejoin his wife.

"Well, alright. If that's what you want. Since Sakura is in Hell, we can get started whenever you're ready." Gohan said.

"As soon as the tournament ends we can start." Hinata said.

"Sounds good."

Back in Hell, Whis had finished warming up the crowd as the two teams gathered before him on the stadium floor. Team Freeza, standing tall and proud; and Team Sasuke, standing like they had just spent all of last night fighting an Ascended Super Saiyan and being revived by senzu beans over and over again.

"From Universe 7, the tyrannical emperor once bent on galactic conquest Freeza and his elite group of warriors the Ginyu Force!" Whis listed off. Directing everyone's attention towards the six aliens standing on one side of the arena.

"Finally, we have the living wonders from Universe 24, the tried and true Ninjas who have ceaselessly wowed us, Team Sasuke!"

The crowd roared with approval. Both in Hell and in the Leaf village, these boys had become heroes. So no one questioned it when they were seen carrying an unconscious Naruto on their shoulders.

Whis raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Is he okay?"

"He will join the fight shortly but he's doing some last minute preparations." Sakura replied.

"Well fine, if he wants to sleep in, by all means..." Whis said dismissively.

"Will he even wake up in time?" Choji asked.

"I'm not certain. You guys take your matches and I'll work on getting him ready." Sakura instructed.

"So the plan amounts to us buying time for fox boy over here to finish his training and fight Freeza?" Kiba asked.

"Pretty much, yea."

"Yea that figures..." Shikamaru sighed.

"Well, we can take solace in the fact that death isn't really all that bad." Neji said as Lee nodded.

"Yeah, only if we lose then we'll never see our loved ones again and will spend 100 years in Hell." Shikamaru reminded them.

"Wait, what?!" Sakura exclaimed.

 _'That reminds me...'_ Gohan thought as he tried to reach out to his father mentally.

"That's the penalty we face if we lose the final match." Shikamaru said.

"Shit..." Sakura cursed before looking to Naruto. _'You better win...please...'_

Naruto on his part didn't respond. He was still deep in meditation with the Kyuubi.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan. My son will pull through." Kushina reassured her.

"I hope so...the last thing I want is for any of you to die, but Naruto...I couldn't live without him..."

Minato put a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. "You won't lose him. I promise you that much."

"I don't know. Maybe I want Naruto all for myself for a few years." Kushina said.

"W-what...? But... I..." Sakura stammered.

"Kushina..." Minato stated firmly.

"But nothing, Minato... We've missed almost 16 years of his life. I can't just let go of my baby after we get to see him after all this time..." Kushina cried.

"We knew that when we sacrificed ourselves for him. Don't take it out on Sakura. Especially since she's a part of the life we gave to Naruto." Minato reminded her.

"But...but he's our baby..."

"And Sakura is his first love. Do you really want to break them apart? As much as you want our family to live on through him? No teasing meant, Sakura."

"No I understand, I do." Sakura waved off.

"Ahem." Whis coughed. "If you don't mind, we'd like to get this underway."

"Right, my apologies." Minato said.

"Alright! The first match will now get underway! Teams, send forward your fighters!" Whis shouted into the microphone.

"Guldo, you're up first." Freeza ordered.

"Right, Lord Freeza." Guldo said as he stepped forward while the rest of his team descended back into their box. The barrier surrounding the platform then glowed green, indicating that one fighter had been chosen and no soul from his team could enter until he was the victor or the defeated.

"So, who wants to go first?" Neji asked.

"Why not you?" Kiba suggested.

Neji shrugged. "I suppose I could."

"Alright. Go get'em tiger." Kiba slapped him on the back.

"Alright folks! Let's get it started with the first match! Team Freeza and Team Sasuke have sent out their two fighters for the first round. Meaning this match will be Guldo of Team Freeza vs. Neji from Team Sasuke!" Whis cheered, sparking a roar among the crowd.

"Guldo is a member of the elite Frost Empire squad, the Ginyu Force. And Neji is a Jounin from the Hidden Leaf village. It's difficult to say which fighter has a clear advantage. One thing is for certain though, this promises to be a short match!"

"Very funny!" Guldo protested.

"Thank you. ARE THE FIGHTERS READY?!" Whis called.

"Let's do this." Neji said simply.

"I'm ready." Guldo said.

"Alright; GULDO VS. NEJI, BEGIN!"

"Byakugan!" Neji exclaimed as he activated his clans Kekkei Genkai.

He scanned Guldo's chakra network to see that he was indeed an alien. He didn't have Gohan and Videl's double chakra network, so he wouldn't be on the level of a Saiyan, but now Neji didn't have a real reference of his power or what his abilities were.

"And just what is that supposed to do?" Guldo taunted.

"Tell me what your abilities are and I'll tell you what mine are." Neji stated.

Guldo, being the weak idiot he is, decided to oblige. "Simply. I can stop time itself." Guldo smirked.

"Really?" Neji said raising his eyebrow. "And how do you do that?"

"Just watch and find out."

"You don't want to tell me?" Neji inquired.

"It would be too difficult for your puny mind to understand."

"True, but perhaps you could find a way to explain it simply using your brilliant mind." Neji said, laying on the flattery thick.

"Well... If you must know..." Guldo started. "All I do is form a certain thought in my head and-"

"GULDO! ZIP IT!" Ginyu scolded.

"What?! I was just telling him-"

"You're telling your enemy your secrets, you idiot! Now shut up!"

"Ump!" Guldo zipped it. Until he remembered something.

"Hey, you said that you'd tell me what your eyes did if I told you my abilities. Now spill!" He demanded.

"Alright fine! My Byakugan are used to see through illusions and copy ninjutsu. So if you use any chakra or jutsu, I'll know about it and can counter any techniques you use." Neji lied.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I don't know what those are." Guldo smirked.

"Damn, you foiled me, you clever bastard!" Neji cried.

"You might as well give up now!" Guldo laughed.

"What do you think, Shikamaru?" Choji asked.

"First impressions? He's an idiot and a cocky one at that." Shikamaru said.

"And how do to you Neji will fair against this guy?" Kiba asked.

"Honestly? Neji has already won." Shikamaru said. "He already has this idiot believing that his Byakugan acts like a Sharingan."

"Yes, but will that be enough?" Choji wondered skeptically.

In the arena, Neji was the first to charge at his opponent. Guldo sent out a Ki blast towards Neji who dodged it and the second volley Guldo blasted at him.

"Uh oh." Guldo said as Neji was almost on top of him. Then, "TIME FREEZE!" Guldo exclaimed as he shot his hands forward. Time froze in that instant and he quickly got out of the way and onto the other side of the ring. In that moment, he let out a huge breath and released his technique, returning the flow of time to normal.

Neji stumbled when he realized that his opponent had vanished into thin air and reappeared on the opposite side of the arena. No, not vanished, he had cast no hand signs and his energy did not gather into one location. He had been in one place and then another without Neji noticing. He truly had stopped time.

Neji turned around to face his opponent who had already lifted up two massive boulders using his telekinesis.

"Suck on this!" Guldo cried as he threw one of the boulders directly at Neji. The Hyuga prodigy stood his ground and aimed a palm thrust directly at the incoming projectile. Smashing it into pebbles and leaving Neji completely unharmed.

"WHAT?!" Guldo exclaimed.

Neji sprints through the waning dust cloud and makes a beeline for Guldo. His Byakugan ready to spot him wherever he runs off to.

"Oh crap. TIME FREEZE!" Guldo shouted as he used his time freezing ability again, this time stopping time just as a blow was mere inches away from him. Again, he ran away to the other end of the arena.

Again, Neji skidded to a halt as he saw through his Byakugan that Guldo's second boulder was coming right at him from behind. Neji sidestepped the boulder as gracefully as running water. Allowing it to hit the wall of the stadium where an invisible magic barrier shattered the boulder on impact.

"Impossible! How did you see that coming?!" Guldo cried.

"My eyes can see into the future." Neji lied. "They have shown me your defeat at my hands."

"You lie!" Guldo gulped.

"Prove to me that I'm wrong." Neji taunted.

"Grrrrr... I'll teach you not to make fun of me! GAAAAHHH!" Guldo shouted as he captured Neji in his paralysis technique.

 _'Shit!'_ Neji thought. He couldn't move.

"Hahaha! Now what will you do?!" Guldo laughed as he picked up another boulder and shaped it into a spike. "You best think of something quick before I skewer you."

Neji closed his eyes in concentration. He couldn't move his body, not an inch. Gai-sensei always told him that when you were out of moves, you had to invent your own. A fat lot of good advice that was. He had the entire Hyuga clan's arsenal of techniques but they were all physical and required movement. Besides, the closest technique he had to get him out of this would be the Rotation, and it too required him to spin his body for the chakra to...

Neji's mind flashed back to a memory of him watching Gohan's transformation and what effect that had on his chakra network. It was like he focused all his energy inside of him to build and build until finally it exploded outwards.

The Hyuga prodigy focused his chakra inside his body, not letting it get anywhere near the surface of his skin. Instead he had it circulate throughout him. Building up speed as it raced along his chakra network. Neji could feel himself becoming extremely warm as the chakra built up inside him with nowhere to go until.

"Static Rotation!" Neji shouted as his chakra burst out of his every pore in the same way it did with the Rotation. Except it was the chakra itself, not Neji's momentum, that turned it into a rotating sphere. The chakra exploded out and knocked Guldo flat on his back while destroying his sharpened boulder.

"W-what?! But, nobody has broken my paralysis! Not even that bald guy and that kid!" Guldo exclaimed.

"They're not... (gasp) me..." Neji wheezed. As it turns out, there was a reason you didn't allow so much chakra pressure to build up inside you for even brief periods of time. It felt like Neji's entire body had been filled with hot air and released all at once through his pores. Every inch of him hurt, but Neji would not let this opportunity go to waste.

He charged at the fat green alien, determined to shut down his chakra points and win the match. Guldo however wasn't in as bad of shape as Neji was and stood up to defend himself. The two of them exchanged blows for quick second. Guldo just barely keeping up enough to block Neji's onslaught. Neji on the other hand managed to land fire direct hits on Guldo's chakra nods before Guldo could leap away. Enough to take Guldo's right arm out of the match for good.

"GAH! What have you done to me?!"

"I struck the nerve clusters in your arm. You may use that arm again, but for the next week, no strength in Heaven will help you lift that arm." Neji said as he dropped into his 8 Trigram 64 Palms stance.

 _'I'm done for! I used up too much energy to stop time again! I'm Finished!'_ Guldo thought in fear.

"8 Trigrams; 64 Palms!" Neji shouted as he started his assault on Guldo.

"2 Palms!" Neji shouted as he struck two chakra points on Guldo's chest.

"4 Palms!" He cried as he struck 4 more along Guldo's arms.

"6 Palms!"

"8 Palms!"

"16 Palms!"

"32 Palms!" Guldo was a mess of internal injuries. Neji took the final stance in his clan's most infamous dance.

"64 PALMS!" Neji shouted as Guldo was knocked back a dozen yards by the accumulative force of the blows. The 4 eyed alien lay flat on his back, unable to move even a pink finger in retaliation.

"GULDO IS UNABLE TO FIGHT! NEJI WINS!" The announcer shouted, much to the Ginyu Force's shock.

"I didn't even see him move..." Jiece gasped out.

"What did he do to Guldo?" Burter wondered.

"Pathetic." Freeza stated bluntly.

"Yes... I agree, Lord Freeza... Perhaps I should have thought better on his application to join years ago..." Ginyu mused.

"Yes, and perhaps I should have long ago reconsidered you as Captain of my main guard." Freeza stated, his words cutting deep.

"L-Lord Freeza!"

"Oh spare me... Your men couldn't even stand up to a Human midget and a half monkey brat, let alone Vegeta and Goku."

"My Lord, I can offer no excuses! But we will succeed and grant you a spot in Heaven. This I swear!" Ginyu felt to his knees, begging for forgiveness.

"And if you don't, you can be sure that I'll see to it that you end up spending eternity in the Garden Chamber." Freeza threatened.

"Y-yes, my lord." Ginyu said nervously.

"Recoom! Get in there!" Ginyu ordered.

"Recoom will squash these puny bugs." Recoom smirked as he leaped up to the ring.

"Of course they would send out the biggest one." Sakura sighed.

"Guess that's my cue then." Choji said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Be careful, Choji. This guy looks tough." Sakura said with concern.

"Don't worry Sakura. I got Ino waiting for me at home. I'm not dying until I confess to her good and proper." Choji smirked as he stepped onto the platform, sealing him in.

In the Leaf, Ino felt her chest warm up.

The two fighters now stood before each other on the field of battle with Whis standing in between them.

"What kind of insult is this? Recoom has to fight a fat kid?" Recoom scoffed.

The others on Team Sasuke winced at that remark.

"He just pushed the fat button." Sakura said.

"He shouldn't of did that." Shikamaru added.

Choji had a tick mark on his forehead and his eyes went white with rage.

He cocked his fist back and expanded it to the size of a trailer.

"I'M NOT FAT!" He yelled as he punched at Recoom like a runaway train.

"GAAAH!" Recoom cried out as he skidded across the ring.

"Crikey! That kid has a power lever of 50,000!" Jeice exclaimed.

"I'M PLEASANTLY PLUMP!" Choji yelled as he slammed his enlarged heel down on Recoom, driving him right into the ground like a nail.

"That's impossible! Recoom is only at 45,000!" Ginyu exclaimed.

"Just like it was impossible for that Saiyan to do him in before?" Freeza scoffed.

Recoom staggered to his feet.

"I think Recoom may have chipped a tooth..." Recoom said.

He then glared at Choji. "Recoom is going to roll you like a ball, you morbidly obese doughnut."

"Roll me like a ball?" Choji raised his eyebrow.

Everyone in the Leaf gasped.

"Oooooo...hes gonna regret that one." Ino said.

Choji slapped his hands together into his clan's signature hand sign.

"Expansion jutsu!" He shouted as his entire torso inflated like a balloon, his limbs and head all disappearing inside his body until he was nothing more than a human pin ball. He spun faster and faster until he took off toward Recoom.

"Human Juggernaut technique!"

Choji slammed into Recoom, knocking him clear into the air.

Recoom just smirked. "Recoom Eraser Gun!" He shot out a large pink beam of energy at Choji from his mouth.

The beam just bounced off Choji's rapidly rotating body.

"What!?" Recoom yelled before feeling another impact.

Recoom crashed to the ground with a bone crushing impact.

Choji followed up by landing directly on the large man's back, causing Recoom to yell out in pain.

"Oooo... he's gonna feel that one..." Sakura winced.

"I think he's feeling it now." Kushina said.

Freeza growled. "Ginyu, your forces are embarrassing me again."

Ginyu gulped. "P-please forgive me, Lord Freeza!" He begged.

"Stop your sniveling, Ginyu. You can make this up to me by winning your match. At least then I'll know your team isn't completely worthless."

"Yes my Lord." Ginyu bowed. That's when Freeza stepped forward. "Recoom surrenders." Freeza announced.

Whis held up his hand to signal the fighters to stop. Choji and Recoom then literally froze in place, Choji in mid bounce. Recoom looked up from his latest round of beating at his master.

"My Lord?"

"Your fight is over." Freeza said firmly.

"But...my lord, I can beat-"

"No you can't. His power lever is over 50,000. He could beat you at any moment. Now, step down."

"Ugh...yes my Lord... I surrender." Recoom said with his head bowed in shame.

Whis released his power and the two fighters dropped down to the ground. They both looked at each other before returning to their respective boxes.

"Nice going Choji." Shikamaru said as he patted his best friend on the back.

"He called me fat." Choji said simply.

"Yeah well, did you see the way he turned tail when his master called for him?" Kiba said. "He looked like a whipped dog- **BOOM!**

Everyone's heads turned around to see the large hole in the side of Team Freeza's box. Where the three remaining members of the Ginyu force looked on in horror.

"This is the WORST insult to me since that miserable Saiyan bested me! How can you lot call yourself MY soldiers?!" Freeza yelled.

"He didn't..." Choji stuttered.

At Freeza's feet was a burnt Recoom laying on the ground.

"Do you lot have any idea how embarrassed you made me right now?!" Freeza yelled.

"M-my Lord...please..." Ginyu begged.

"Stow it!" Freeza barked. "You are going to un-fuck this situation now, or I will make certain that your eternity here will be as miserable as possible!"

"Yes my Lord!" Ginyu scampered off to the platform.

"Shit...Freeza sent out his best man..." Sakura said with concern.

"I'll go then." Shikamaru volunteered.

Sakura then handed him a senzu bean. "Take it only when you need it and be careful."

"Thanks." Shikamaru said as he pocketed the bean.

"Good luck." Choji said.

Shikamaru pounded Choji's fist before stepping up to the platform.

"Alright... Third match of the finals between the Captain of the Ginyu Force, Captain Ginyu, and the Chunin and strategist of Team Sasuke, Shikamaru Nara! Are both contestants ready?" Whis yelled.

Ginyu cracked his neck while Shikamaru stretched his legs.

"Ready." They both responded.

"Third match, BEGIN!"

Instantly, both fighters clashed into a fury of blows, sending shockwaves into the air with each connection.

"Damn...Shikamaru got good." Ino stated in awe.

"Has he?" Temari asked.

"Before Gohan's training, he was nowhere near this fast. I can't even keep up with him."

"Yeah, he's definitely gotten..." Temari got a glimpse of Shikamaru's flexing muscles mid punch. "...stronger."

Videl saw this and smirked. "Checking him out again?"

"Yea..." Temari replied absentmindedly.

That's when the fan mistress realized what she said.

"U-uh...I-I mean..."

Ino and Videl giggled.

"Relax, it's no secret you like him, plus he obviously wants to be with you." Ino said.

"Says who?" She sighed.

"Your actions for one, plus what Shikamaru said over the sphere." Videl said simply.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Temari said dismissively. Ino and Videl just rolled their eyes.

"Stop lying, Temari." A deep, yet soft voice sounded behind them. They turned around and Ino's jaw hit the ground.

"L-lord Kazekage?!" Ino exclaimed before bowing.

"Who?" Videl asked.

Ino grabbed Videl to make her bow. "Temari's brother and the Sand village's equivalent to the Hokage." Ino hastily whispered at Videl.

"Ah, Lord Kazekage, what a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you at all." Lady Tsunade greeted him courteously.

"I had gotten an invitation with your signature on it so I assumed you were the one who sent it." Gaara replied.

"I sent no such..." Tsunade was stopped when Shizune began whispering in her ear. "...mission cooperation...but I...and you didn't... My apologies Lord Kazekage. It seems with all this excitement going on I forgot about personally inviting you to the Leaf."

Gaara looked up at the Descry Sphere and saw Shikamaru and some weird looking guy fighting in a fierce match. "I can see this." Then Garra returned his gaze to Temari. "Your actions betray you, sister. Even I can see that you like this boy."

"Well you don't have to spell it out! His parents are RIGHT THERE!" She hissed.

Gaara just placed a hand on her shoulder. "All I want is to see you happy. If this boy is your source of happiness, then I approve." He said quietly.

Temari actually teared up at that statement. "What are you saying? You're my younger brother. What are you doing giving your blessings...?"

"Hey what about me? I'm her brother too, aren't I?" Kankuro jumped in.

"Our difference in age doesn't matter. What does matter is the difference between seeing you miserable and seeing you happy." Gaara wisely stated. "I saw you miserable once and I don't want to see that side of you again. You and Kankuro are my family first and foremost, making your health and happiness my top concern."

"Does this mean we get to decide on who gets to keep whom? Ooo I love these." Tsunade smirked. "Shizune, go fetch Shikaku Nara and his wife, they'll want a say in this."

"Wha-wait!" Temari exclaimed as her face flushed.

"A Nara? You didn't tell me he was of the Nara clan." Gaara said.

"You mean it's not obvious?" Tsunade asked as she pointed to the sphere.

"To be honest with you, it's hard to track his movements." Gaara replied.

Shikamaru then sent a powerful kick to Ginyu, sending him skidding across the ground. Then he formed the hand signs of one of his family's jutsus. "Shadow Stitching!"

Gaara smirked. "So he is. Who is he fighting and where?"

That is when Videl stepped in. "Would you believe that he is fighting down in Hell with Naruto to save the damned soul of Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Excuse me?" Gaara blinked.

"He's in the Afterlife and fighting deceased alien soldiers from an alternate dimension. The same one that I'm from." Videl said as she held out her hand. "Hi, Videl Satan. Genin and teammate to Naruto and Sakura."

"Ah, yes... I remember now. I met Gohan about starting his global peace keeping force. Gaara of the Desert." He introduced as he shook Videl's hand.

"Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine. As well as Sakura. Collectively the two of them saved mine and my brother's life. In more ways than one." Gaara said.

"I heard about that. That was actually shortly after we arrived that they went to save you." Videl said politely.

"Yes, but Naruto saved my life long before then. Back when we were all just Genin sent to destroy the Leaf village."

"Oh...right. I remember Sakura telling me about that." Videl said.

"Where is Sakura anyway?" Gaara asked.

"She's down in Hell with them. Naruto had fought Zabuza again and he was marked in critical condition after a near fatal blow." Videl explained.

"I see. Well I'm sure they'll be fine. And if not, well they're already in Hell." Gaara said in a rare demonstration of his humor. Just then, Shikamaru's parents arrived.

"Uh...yea..."

"Ah, Shikaku. Good to see you." Tsunade smiled.

"Likewise, thank you for inviting us, Lady Hokage. Lord Kazekage." Shikaku bowed respectively.

"Lord and Lady Nara." Garra greeted.

"Yes, what do we owe the pleasure?" Shikaku asked.

"I was also invited, but it seems that my sister and your son have formed an attachment of sorts." Gaara said.

"My little Shikamaru?" Yoshino asked, genuinely surprised that her son had grown attached to a girl without her knowing.

"Yes, it seems they are quite smitten with each other." Tsunade smiled.

"Ugh..." Temari groaned in embarrassment.

"I see. Well my son is the heir to our clan. One of the major ones of the Leaf. On top of that he is an expert strategist and as the Sphere shows a very powerful ninja." Shikaku opened negotiations.

"Yes, but Temari is also an expert strategist and a powerful shinobi of the Sand village. She is also my sister and one of the few family members I have left. On top of all that she has served as an excellent liaison between the Sand and the Leaf village. One I would not like to lose since I plan on keeping close ties with the Leaf in the foreseeable future." Gaara negotiated back.

"No one said that she still couldn't be." Tsunade said professionally. "If accepted, she can still remain as your liaison to the Leaf for the Sand."

"Yes, I'm afraid I would miss her if she were to move to the Leaf year-round though. Do you have any other children that might take up the mantle of clan leader should Shikamaru move to the Sand?" Gaara inquired.

"Afraid not. Shikamaru is our only child." Shikaku said.

"Well Temari is my only sister. We have neither cousins nor aunts and uncles to call our own. You do."

"I'm afraid we don't...not since the 9 tails attacked..." Shikaku said with a heavy heart.

"Also inaccurate. Our spies tell us that the Naras have many relatives closely related to the Head family." Gaara countered.

"Wait a minute, spies?" Tsunade questioned.

"Oh like you don't have spies in our village." Gaara said.

Tsunade shrugged. "Yes, it's true."

Shikaku sighed. "You are right...I have 5 potential heirs..."

"Well then negotiations fall back into our favor." Gaara said as he took a drink handed to him by one of the ANBU agents serving drinks.

"And I don't have a say in this?" Temari huffed.

All eyes turned to Temari. "For that matter, what about what Shikamaru wants? You all talk like we're already married! We haven't even gone on an official date yet and you're talking about living arrangements?!"

Gaara and the adults all looked at Temari, a bit ashamed of themselves. "Sorry sister, I was only looking out for you."

"For the record, I can look out for myself. We can discuss this when or IF that time comes!" Temari stated.

"Yes, I think that would be best." Yoshino agreed. "I'd rather watch my son fight now anyway."

"Agreed." Gaara said, in hopes of dropping the subject for now.

* * *

Back in Hell, the tides had turned against the Nara heir as he was now the punching bag for Ginyu.

"What happened to all of that spirit?! Fight me!" Ginyu barked as he continued to unleash ki blasts at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru dodged the onslaught, but could not avoid the Shockwave from the explosions that followed.

 _'I got something for ya.'_ Ginyu thought evilly.

His last Ki blast was close enough to knock Shikamaru off his feet and skidding across the ring.

"Ugh...that one hurt..." Shikamaru groaned. He opened his eyes to see a purple hand in front of him.

"Say goodnight. MILKY CANON!" Ginyu yelled out and a massive blast erupted from his hand, hitting Shikamaru point blank.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Shikamaru cried out as his body disintegrated from the blast.

Once the blast cleared, nothing was left but a smoldering crater, making Ginyu smirked.

"MY BABY!" Yoshino cried.

"Wait for it..." Shikaku said.

"So much for him." Ginyu laughed. He turned around to leave but was instantly frozen in place by some unknown force.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, complete." Shikamaru said from behind the alien, which made Ginyu's eyes go wide.

"H-how?!" Ginyu gasped out. "You were dead!"

"You only destroyed a Shadow clone I'm afraid." Shikamaru smirked.

"A clone?!" Ginyu asked.

"Took a page out of Naruto's book. I may not have the Chakra he does to create an army of Shadow Clones, but it seems one is enough to fool you." Shikamaru made a hand sign and a shadowy hand began snaking up Ginyu's body towards his throat.

"Tell me. I'm unfamiliar with your species. How long can you hold your breath?" He said as the shadow hand began to tighten around Ginyu's throat.

"I'm already dead! I don;t need to breath!" Ginyu yelled.

"That may be true, but I doubt your subconscious mind knows that."

Much to Shikamaru's word, Ginyu started to choke, gasping for air.

"I understand that you are loyal to your Lord over there, so you won't surrender. I'm loyal to my friend as well. Because I know he'll be Hokage one day." Shikamaru stated. "Were both knights in that sense. So I'll give you a quick death to honor you as a fellow knight."

That alone was all Ginyu needed to summon the remainder of his power to begin pushing back.

"I'm...not...losing...to you..." Ginyu growled.

"You don't have a choice." Shikamaru squeezed his fist and the shadowy hand twisted Ginyu's head up and around, snapping his neck. The Captain collapsed like a rag doll onto the stone tiles.

Shikamaru took out one of his cigarettes in his breast pocket and lit it with some Chakra flames. "Checkmate."

"And Shikamaru is the winner!" Whis exclaimed, to which the crowd erupted.

"IS HE SMOKING AGAIN?!" Yoshino ranted.

"Looks like it." Gaara said.

The Sphere panned around the crowed, showing them all cheer. Then, something caught Videl's eye. When she looked closer, she gasped and cupped her mouth.

"What is it?" Ino asked.

Videl pointed a shaky finger at two people in the crowd. "I-it-its...my parents..." Videl breathed out as she was on the verge of tears.

Ino and the others saw the two she was talking about. A muscular man with an afro and a woman that looked almost exactly like Videl in strange armor, she had purple eyes and a tail wrapped around her.

"That's your Dad? Wow, he looks nothing like you." Ino said.

"But her mother...she's beautiful..." Hinata breathed out.

"Videl looks almost exactly like her..." Tenten said in awe.

Videl collapsed to her knees. She had never seen her mother before and seeing her now tugged at her heart strings to the point where she was finding it very hard to keep it together.

Sensing his mate's distress, Gohan was quick to come to Videl's side.

"I've...never seen her before...she's absolutely beautiful..." Videl choked out as tears fell.

"Who?" Gohan asked as his attention was focused entirely on Videl.

Videl pointed again. Gohan looked up and saw a woman who was very identical to Videl sitting next to Hercule. It could only be her mother.

"Oh my god...Videl..." Gohan said as the Sphere cut back to the guys celebrating their latest victory as working demons carried Ginyu off to somewhere out of sight to recover.

"I want to meet her so bad..." Videl sobbed as Gohan held her close.

The other girls couldn't help but choke up, especially Temari who lost her mother a long time ago. She could relate to her best out of anyone there.

"It's okay Videl...just let it out..." Gohan comforted her as best he could.

"Fourth match! Would the next contestants please step forward!" Whis called out.

"I'm taking over this shit show..." Freeza growled as he made his way to the ring.

The boys who were celebrating all felt their stomachs drop. They looked over and saw that Naruto was still in his meditative coma.

"Shit...now what do we do?" Lee cursed.

"I still can't wake him..." Sakura said with dread in her tone. "He's the only one who can take him on."

"Can't you take his place? You're stronger than him now, right?" Kiba asked

"I am, but...Whis said I'm not allowed to participate." Sakura replied.

"Crap...I can fight him...but I don't think I can beat him. Not if I can't knock him out of the ring." Lee admitted.

"Lee, if what Gohan told me is true, if you die again, you won't exist in this realm anymore." Sakura warned.

"Well then what do you expect us to do? He's waiting and if he's as powerful as they say only by unlocking the 8 inner gates will I stand a chance. At least until Naruto wakes up." Lee argued.

"Lee has a point, Sakura." Shikamaru said. "If what Gohan said was anything to go by, Cell is far stronger than Freeza. That means Lee should be able to do a lot of damage until his body can no longer handle it."

Sakura just sighed. "Just be careful..."

"Yosh! Do not worry Sakura-chan. I shall beat back this dastardly villain until Naruto can wake up and defeat him." Lee said, giving Sakura and the rest a thumbs up.

Sakura smiled. "Do your best."

Lee smiled and stepped into the arena.

"What the Hell is this? I wish to fight the blond haired brat. Not some bowl cut freak with eyebrows the size of my gluebax." Freeza scoffed.

"Well that's too bad. Naruto isn't ready to fight yet so you have to fight me. That is, unless you're too much of a coward." Lee sneered.

"What did you call me..." Freeza growled.

"I mean; I completely understand if you don't want to fight me. I did take down Cell in the preliminaries." Lee gloated just to get on Freeza's nerves.

 _'That's right. This brat did put Cell into a corner...I better be careful around him_. _'_ Freeza thought.

Freeza chuckled. "The difference between Cell and I is, I'm a lot more careful when it comes to my opponents."

"Pffft...bullshit you are." Gohan scoffed.

"He could be after being down in Hell." Videl pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Freeza isn't one to change, even after being down in Hell for the last 13 years and he doesn't believe in training. He believes the power he has is unrivaled by anyone, hence why he thought of himself as the ruler of our universe." Gohan explained.

"And subsequently he got beat by your dad, which is why he's down there." Videl added.

"Not entirely accurate." Gohan replied.

"But you said your dad defeated him." Hinata pointed out.

"I did, but I didn't say he killed Freeza." Gohan clarified. "A friend of ours from the future killed both Freeza and his father when they came to Earth. My dad had actually spared Freeza's life, albeit not intentionally."

Hinata blinked in bewilderment.

"Your universe is weird..." Ino deadpanned.

Freeza smirked. "To show you I'm not playing around; I'm going into my final form right from the start!"

"Then I shall do the same." Lee proclaimed.

Freeza then exploded into his final form, leaving a much sleeker and less evil looking verson of himself, to which the others began to sweat.

"He's like a Tailed Beast." Minato said with concern.

"Worse... According to Gohan, he destroyed an entire planet." Sakura said grimly.

"Namek wasn't the first planet I destroyed, I'll have you know." Freeza gloated.

"And his hearing is excellent." Choji stated.

"He's still weak with his need to gloat." Neji said.

Freeza glared at Neji. "Just for that, I'll make sure you die slow and in agony..." He growled.

Freeza was jolted as Lee finished his power up to his 8th gate, only this time, he was reaping the full benefits of the transformation without his body cooking itself.

"Hmm... Interesting power, but you still pale in comparison to me." Freeza sneered.

"Power is nothing compared to skill and technique." Lee countered. "My master taught me that."

"You think I don't know that?" Freeza barked.

"Of course not. That why you don't train. You believe your natural strength will carry you through life. I'm aiming to show you that it is not true." Lee declared.

"Who says I don't train?" Freeza questioned. "I have poured countless years of my life into reaching the level I'm at now. All of my blood, sweat and tears went into achieving the level I am at, only for it to be cast aside by a low level, filthy monkey of a Saiyan! I will show you the true meaning of terror!" He yelled before phasing out. He reappeared in front of Lee and delivered a powerful left hook to the green clad ninja that sent him soaring through the air until he hit the wall of the ring hard.

Freeza followed up with a barrage of death beams that all hit their target. He continued his barrage until he was satisfied. Without wasting a second, he charged at Lee and unleashed a fury of blows to the ninja's torso.

"Okay...we have a problem..." Kiba commented.

Freeza flashed in front of Lee to grab the boy's neck with his tail. He then threw the boy into the ground and stomped on his chest.

"Oh what? Did you think just because you managed to back Cell into a corner that you would have it easier than me? I'll have you know I've not been idle since my death. I've trained with Cell for this very tournament. And while he remained relatively the same, I was able to power up substantially." Freeza smirked.

"Shit..." Gohan cursed. "I was afraid of this..."

Soon, Freeza's assault was too much for Lee to handle. His 8th gate transformation dropped as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Freeza saw the limp boy beneath his foot and smirked. "One down."

Freeza then send an electric shock into Lee's forehead, waking him up.

"Don't fall asleep now. Your friends are counting on you to hold out as long as possible to buy time for your little blond friend. So let's not disappoint." Freeza smirked as he placed Lee inside a psychic bubble, which he then kicked straight into the air.

"LEEE!" His teammates cried as Freeza flashed above the bubble and kicked it back down at breakneck speeds. Then left, then right, up, down, and every which way like Freeza was playing "keep it up in the air" with Lee's broken body.

Freeza then broke the psychic bubble and grabbed Lee by the ankle. He flew them both down to the ground and dragged Lee's face across the stone pavement.

"He's an absolute monster..." Sakura gasped as she looked on in fear.

Back in the Leaf, Tenten just had to look away. It was too gruesome. Too inhumane.

"LEE! TAG OUT!" Neji shouted.

Lee seemed to mutter something, but his team couldn't figure out what. It made Freeza smile though, so he threw Lee's limp body towards the boxes. Lee landed like a sack of potatoes mere feet from his friends, separated only by the barrier.

His team looked on it horror at his broken and bloody form, yet somehow Lee managed to raise his head.

"...No..." He whispered.

"Lee, he's shredding you to pieces. You're already dead and if you die again you won't exist anymore in this realm." Sakura warned.

"Only I can take this much abuse though. The rest of you won't stand a chance. But if I can buy enough time...we'll win..."

"No, Lee." Neji said firmly. "You are unable to fight back and you need to rest."

"You heard him fish eyes." Freeza said as he walked up behind Lee. "He wants to sacrifice himself for the group. So why don't you let him?"

"Because I out rank him and if I have to, I will make it an order." Neji growled as he looked at Lee with a look saying that he will if he has to.

"Well it's all up to Lee in the end. Isn't that right, proctor?" Freeza asked Whis.

"Yes that is correct. Unless Lee falls unconscious or admits defeat, I cannot stop the match." Whis said.

"And I don't...I don't give up..." Lee spat.

"Lee." Neji pressed, but once again, Lee went unconscious and didn't respond.

"Good enough for me." Freeza said as he grabbed Lee by the hair and threw him into the air behind him. Freeza then launched one final death beam causing Lee to explode like a firework. All without Freeza ever tearing his gaze away from Team Sasuke.

"And with that, Lee is unable to battle." Whis stated.

Freeza just smiled. "I think that should satisfy me for now." He said as he turned to walk away.

In that instance, the Hyuga prodigy knew only blinding hot rage. Before anyone could stop him he charged up to the platform to attack Freeza from behind. He would use his gentle fist on the alien's heart, causing him to know nothing but terrible heart pains that not even death could relieve him of.

But just before Neji landed his attack, Freeza swiftly turned around and impaled Neji in the chest with his hand, going straight through his back.

"I'm sorry, were you trying to do something?" Freeza smirked.

It happened so fast none of Neji's loved ones knew how to react. Hinata might have screamed, Hiashi, his wife, and Hanabi looked up in horror, Guy just stood there, and Tenten only just summoned the courage to look back up, only to see that now both of her teammates were dead.

"NEJI!" His team mates cried out.

The Hyuga prodigy did not answer them, instead his head went limp and his body just hung on Freeza's arm.

Freeza laughed. "Ninja cabob. My favorite."

"You bastard!" Sakura cried.

"501." Freeza said smugly.

"You smug cunt! I'll snap your alien dick off and shove it up your fuckhole!" Kushina screeched.

"Try it." He smirked as he ripped his arm out of Neji and let him fall to the ground.

Kushina's hair stood up like nine demon tails as she punched the barrier causing it to ripple.

 _'Holy shit Naruto's mom is scary...'_ Sakura thought.

"Oooo, how scary." Freeza mocked.

That just angered Sakura to the point where her eyes turned solid blue.

Freeza saw this and looked at her quizzically. _'What is this?'_ He thought.

Freeza ignored it and turned away, this time actually making it to his own box on the opposite side if the field. Where Burta and Juice stood waiting for him in fear.

"If you both do half as well as me, you'll do alright." Freeza scoffed.

"Y-yes my lord." They both responded nervously.

Back over with the Shinobi, everyone watched as Neji's corpse grew a halo over its head and the deceased Hyuga blinked.

"That hurt..." Neji said before standing up.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked.

Neji looked above him and sighed. "Well, I'm dead, so I'm about as okay as I'm gonna be."

That's when a thought occurred to Neji. He didn't want to dare hope it, but if he was dead... He slowly untied his headband and undid the bandages underneath.

"Guys...is my...?"

Sakura gasped. "Y-your seal is gone..."

Neji touched his forehead, of course he could never truly feel the seal, but it didn't hurt. Back in the Leaf, his aunt and cousins all gasped. The entire Hyuga clan looked astonished as their prodigy stood above free from the cursed seal that bound all who served beneath the main house.

"Mirror, I need a mirror." He stuttered.

"Hold on." Sakura pulled out a pocket mirror on the rare occasion she wore make up and handed it to him.

Neji grasped it with two hands as if it were the most delicate thing in the world. He looked back at himself, at the face he had not seen since he was 4 years old. The face of a boy not destined to serve others who considered themselves his betters. A boy who was free, no longer a caged bird.

Neji hastily handed back the mirror to Sakura and he ran across the ring and kneeled at Freeza's feet.

"What is this?" Freeza asked in a confused tone.

"I'll thank you for this. And only this." Neji said as he bowed before standing back up.

"Um...I'm sorry, that's a new one..." Freeza said in complete confusion.

Neji walked back to his team without another word. For the Hyuga's in the Leaf, it was an unbelievable gesture. For someone as prideful as Neji, whom many considered to be the hero of the branch clan, to willingly bow before an enemy who had killed him and his comrade, while never willingly bowing to the main branch who was in fact his own blood...

It was a ballsy move. A huge middle finger to the entire main branch that filled the cadet branch members with pride.

Freeza just blinked. "The hell just happened...?"

Neji walked over to where Lee's body lay. It was charred, but Lee was merely unconscious. Neji picked his teammate up and carried him over to their box.

"Um...if I were to guess my lord, I think he just thanked you for killing him." Jeice said.

"Uh huh..." Freeza said in bewilderment.

Neji and Lee made it to the box and we're immediately surrounded by their comrades.

"What was that about?" Kiba asked.

"Nothing to concern yourself with." Neji said.

"Hey, I just find it weird that you would thank the guy who killed you." Kiba defended.

"Well I did. I expect you would know why if Lady Hinata is your teammate."

"Wow, glad to see that death hasn't changed you." Kiba scoffed.

"So who fights next? Sakura asked.

"That'd be me." Kiba said.

Shikamaru nodded. "The red guy should be easy, but I don't know about the blue guy so be careful."

"No worries. I just gotta take on one and then the other." Kiba said as he stepped up to the arena floor.

"Jeice, you're up." Freeza ordered.

"Yes my lord." Jeice replied beofre jumping onto the ring.

"Hold it!" Beerus ordered.

"Lord Beerus?" Whis questioned.

"Have dog boy fight both the red one and the blue one at the same time." Beerus decreed.

"Wait, what?" Kiba questioned in shock.

"Oooo, a two on one! How splendid." Freeza grinned in delight. "You heard Lord Beerus, Burter."

"Wait hold on! What happened to one on one?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Maybe I changed my mind, you got a problem with it, dog breath?"

"Yeah I do! It's unfair you damn cat!"

Beerus flashed right in front of Kiba. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said it's unfair." Kiba said standing his ground. Out of sheer ignorance or bravery no one knew.

"I don't care. You want unfair? I'll have Freeza fight you as well."

"Kiba just shut up for once in your life!" Shimakaru shouted.

"Hell no! We're all dead anyway. This is just a waiting game until Naruto wakes up and kicks all their asses!" Kiba stated.

"You're still alive, idiot!" Sakura yelled. But Kiba wouldn't listen, he stood his ground against a literal god and the threat of certain death. He was backed into a corner but he would not be licked.

"Heheheh..." Beerus chuckled. "You've got balls mutt. Alright, you fight them two on one."

"With my buddy Akamaru. He's my partner." Kiba demanded.

"He's not a register soul for your team, but what the hell. I don't think dogs are 2nd class souls anyway." Beerus smirked.

"Oh, so you let him participate but not me, I see how it is." Sakura grumbled.

"To be fair, Sakura. Naruto would never forgive any of us if anything happened to you." Shikamaru reminded.

"That's not the point."

"Um, Sakura-chan, did you just equate yourself with a dog?" Minato asked.

"Haha! She totally did!" Kushina laughed.

"No that's not it at all. I mean, I get Akamaru is Kiba's partner, but he wasn't on the roster and now all of a sudden he can participate. I'm the strongest here next to Naruto and... you know what, fuck it." Sakura huffed.

"Well in our world a ninja dog is the equivalent of a tool such as a kunai. So to be sad that you weren't allowed to participate over Akamaru is like being said you weren't chosen over a kunai." Minato added.

"It's whatever, I don't even care." Sakura huffed and turned away.

"Hold on." Beerus said to Sakura. "Are you saying you can take on both of them?"

"I probably could." Sakura huffed.

"Well too bad, you're a 2nd class soul and you weren't a part of the original team." Beerus leered.

"2nd class?! The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Sakura snapped, her eyes turning blue.

"It means that you're below me, an immortal god. You are a sentient mortal soul. Dog breath over there is just a mortal soul. And so is his pet canine."

"Hey!" Kiba cried.

"So why don't you pipe down and sit down before I kill your boyfriend and then your entire planet."

Sakura had briefly flashed into her blue form before calming down.

"Anyway, So dog boy and the dog against two opponents. You may start when ready, Whis." Beerus waived off before flying away.

Kiba stood opposite Jeice and Burter as Akamaru licked Bluebell goodbye before trotting over to join his master.

Back in the Leaf, Hinata stared up in awe of Kiba's actions. Standing up to the God of Destruction like that. She never realized he had so much... tenacity. It reminded her of a certain whiskered blond.

"And begin!" Whis announced.

Jeice and Burter charged straight at the canine duo as Akamaru and Kiba activated their clan's signature jutsu.

"Man-beast jutsu!" Kiba shouted.

"(Man-beast jutsu!)" Akamaru barked.

"What the...there's two of them now!" Burter exclaimed.

Indeed, the two had transformed into more feral like versions of Kiba. The two leapt off each other to face their opponents head on.

"ULTIMATE MAN-BEAST TAIJUTSU!" They shouted as they spun like tornadoes of fury, colliding directly with the aliens.

Jeice was hit directly, but Burter was fast enough to avoid the attack.

Jiece was all but shredded in the attack that seemed like it was nothing to be afraid of. But one good look at him after it was over, he was cut up on almost every part of his body, barely able to move.

"Pathetic..." Freeza grumbled.

The twins then descended upon Jeice like hungry wolves with their prey, ensuring that he would not rise again any time soon.

"Jeice!" Burter cried out.

"Burter! Focus!" Freeza barked.

"Huh?" Burter said cluelessly before he got hit with the same attack.

Burter tried to counterattack, but Akamaru bit at his neck and tore out his throat before he could do anything.

"Kiba wins!" Whis announced.

The crowd roared as Akamaru spit out the piece of blue throat he was chewing on.

"Good boy Akamaru!" Kiba said as he furiously petted his best buddy.

"Alright, they did it!" Gohan cheered, but sadly the joy was about to be short lived.

"Now it's time to face the last of Team Freeza. The winning team will be allowed to choose who they want to ascend to Heaven." Whis said as Freeza made his way back out to the ring.

"Shit... Come Naruto...wake up..." Sakura pleaded.

"Damn it, he's still training." Shikamaru cursed.

"I'm waiting!" Freeza shouted.

Kiba remained in the ring while Akamaru was forced to leave. He looked over his shoulder at Shikamaru.

"I'll have the next crack at him. I'm still fresh, but you still need to recover. If I don't make it back home..." Then Kiba remembered that there was a Descry Sphere in the village. "Hinata...if I don't make it out of this. I just wanted to let you know that...I'm sorry..."

"You may begin when ready." Whis said and Freeza charged at the Inuzuka heir.

Kiba turned his attention back to Freeza and prepared for the worst, but he was going to give his all before going out.

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba yelled out and turned into a twister of claws.

Freeza sent out a wave of energy shaped like a blade that cleaved Kiba in two, canceling out his attack and ending his life.

"NOOOO!" Hinata cried out as she witnessed Kiba's death before her eyes.

"No! Not Kiba!" Sakura cried.

Akamaru went crazy over at the box, furiously barking at Freeza.

"Next." Freeza said.

"Dammit!" Choji cursed before he leaped into action

"Oh look. The fat kid thinks he can win." Freeza snickered.

"Not a chance. I'm just here to keep you company until the main event arrives." Choji said as he cracked his knuckles while Kiba walked off the stage.

"Go get'em." Kiba pounded his fist on Choji's shoulder.

"Oh, how dull...batting you weaklings around is just so boring."

"Well you could always surrender." Choji suggested.

"Please...if anyone should surrender its your little band of do-gooders. Now, please try to entertain me, fatass."

That was when Choji saw red.

"You know I know you're trying to piss me off. AND IT'S WORKING!" Choji roared. He slapped his hands together and expanded his entire body until he was 300 ft. tall.

"Awe, how cute. Tubby is upset. And here I thought fat people were supposed to be Jolly." Freeza taunted

"GRRR I'M NOT FAT!" Choji yelled out as he attempted to hit Freeza, only to have his attack dodged and was instantly punched hard into his massive belly.

Choji doubled over in a massive amount of pain, his jutsu failing as he fell to the ground. In an instant, he felt something long slither around his neck and it tightened.

"Before I kill you, you should know that..." Freeza leaned over to whisper into his ear. "You're a fat sack of shit."

SNAP

Frieza's tail snapped Choji's neck and he fell limply to the ground.

"CHOJI! NOOO!" Ino cried. She collapsed to her knees and broke down, crying.

"CHOJI!" Shikamaru cried out.

Now, Shikamaru was pissed.

He slowly walked up to Freeza, glaring at him with every step. "I'm going to renovate your face for what you did to my best friend."

Freeza smirked. "By all means try. So long as you are able to provide me a challenge then I will be happy."

Both fighters phased out and exchanged blows, matching every one with perfection and creating shockwaves with every hit.

"Holy crap. Shikamaru isn't even fast enough to keep up with Freeza and yet he is block his every attack! How...?" Gohan asked.

"Because he can anticipate Freeza's attacks like pieces on a chess board." Temari stated.

"Damn...I gotta play him at it sometime." Gohan mused.

The two broke away and landed away from each other. Shikamaru panting heavily while Freeza looked like he didn't even break a sweat.

"Impressive. I can see how you beat Ginyu now." Freeza praised.

"Glad I could impress you." Shikamaru gasped.

"Sadly for you, I'm only at about 45% of my maximum." Freeza stated.

Shikamaru went wide eyed. "You're lying!"

"Am I? Am I really?" Freeza asked as he unleashed his untapped powers.

Shikamaru stumbled back in fear. While not being a sensor ninja, he could still feel the sheer power Freeza was putting out. While not as massive as Cell's, Freeza had the skill to back up his power. That is what scared him the most.

"So, now you need to ask yourself. Do you really think you stand a chance now? Because this..." The dust settled to reveal a much more muscular form of Freeza. "Is my full power."

 _'Damn it, no way I can keep fighting him toe to toe. I need a strategy of some kind damn it. Think. What did Gohan have to say about Freeza's weaknesses...?'_ Shikamaru thought as he dropped down into his own meditative stance. He thought back to the few times Gohan had talked about his adventures to Namek. Fight Freeza...Then his father's stories...

Shikamaru opened his eyes. He had his plan.

"So, are you ready to give up now or shall I kill you like all of your friends?" Freeza sneered.

Shikamaru responded by reaching into his weapon's pouch and tossed a flash grenade into the air that Freeza predictably looked up at.

"And what exactly is that supposed to-GAAAAH! MY EYES!" Freeza cried out as the flash grenade went off and blinded him.

Freeza threw up his guard expecting a sneak attack but surprisingly none came. He blinked away the light and found himself surrounded by three plums of thick smoke and no pineapple haired brunette in sight.

"What in the...?" Freeza wondered. He couldn't find his opponent anywhere.

"What the heck? What did he do?" Kiba wondered.

 _'Phase 1 complete.'_ Shikamaru thought.

"I see...damn Shikamaru, that's very clever." Gohan praised.

"What's he doing?" Videl asked.

"Freeza can't sense energy, so his vision is completely dependent on sight." Gohan informed.

"What?" Videl looked back up and saw Freeza desperately firing death beams into the plumes of smoke, yet he never seemed to hit his target.

"Genius..." Tenten said in awe.

"That's not even the full extent of it." Temari praised as the Sphere rotated around to a spot in between two plumes of smoke where Shikamaru was kneeling with some kind of cloth draped over his body. The cloth was somehow blending into the background making Shikamaru all but invisible to Freeza's point of view.

"And now you see why Shikamaru was the first one in our age group to earn the rank of Chunin." Ino praised.

"No kidding. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up as Naruto's advisor when he becomes Hokage." Videl mused.

"He could make a very good Hokage himself." Temari stated.

"I would agree, but he doesn't want to become Hokage." Ino pointed out.

"How do you know?" Temari asked.

"Who would know him the best than his own team mate?" Ino stated.

"Well I still think he'd make a better Hokage than Naruto." Temari said.

"Excuse me?" Hinata growled.

"Dammit! Where are you?!" Freeza bellowed as he shot beams all over the place.

 _'Phase 2 commencing.'_ Shikamaru thought as he flashed through the necessary hand signs.

 _'Shadow Possession Technique.'_

Freeza growled. "Mark my words, brat. When I find you, you'll be-" He stopped mid-sentence when he felt his whole body freeze up, unable to move. "W-what the..."

"Shadow Possession complete."

Shikamaru undid his cover, meeting Freeza face to face.

"You used that Shadow...whatever on me, didn't you..." Freeza growled.

Shikamaru smirked. "Yes I did, and it's called Shadow Possession. This allows me to take control of your shadow. You can't move unless I move."

"Ho, is that right? Well, I don't need to move to kill you." Freeza smirked as he shot out two beams out of his eyes, hitting Shikamaru in his right shoulder.

"Gah!" Shikamaru flinched but did not break the jutsu. Instead he grit his teeth and turned his head, forcing Freeza to turn his own head away from Shikamaru.

"Clever, but you forgot about my tail." Freeza said as he swung his Tail around and shot beams from the tip of his tail, piercing his leg.

"Now for your other glubok." Freeza smirked.

"My wha-AAAHHH!" Shikamaru cried as Freeza shot his other thigh.

"You're not...really familiar with human anatomy are you?"

"It doesn't matter, I'll hit your glubok somewhere...huh, dejavu..." Freeza mused as he shot Shikamaru's left foot.

"AAAHAAA..." Shikamaru cried out before reaching his arm behind himself and grabbed ahold of his imaginary tail, causing Freeza to grab his actual tail.

"Hang in there, little boy...you can do it..." Temari encouraged softly.

That's when Shikamaru got a devious plan in his head. With one hand holding onto his imaginary tail securely, he reached in to weapons pouch and pulled out a single kunai.

"Hey Freeza! Catch!" Shikamaru yelled as he tossed the knife at Freeza while imagining that he was being tossed a knife himself. They both caught their real and imaginary knifes respectively.

"What's this for-oh no you fucking don't."

Shikamaru started feeling dizzy from his loss of blood, but he shook it off for now.

"Oh yes I fucking do." Shikamaru smirked as he reached back into his weapon pouch while consciously making sure that Freeza couldn't let go of his own kunai.

"What the Hell do you think you are doing brat? Going to slit your throat and therefore mine?" Freeza said furiously.

"Nope. But that's not a bad idea." Shikamaru smirked.

Temari and Shika's parents looked up in horror at the suggestion.

"No, see, contrary to everything you've seen. I don't have a death wish..." Shikamaru said as he positioned his kunai underneath his posterior.

"And I don't have a tail either."

Secretly Freeza channeled ki into his tail so that the blade would not have any effect when Shikamaru made his move

"Don't you fucking do it..." Freeza growled.

"Im'ma do it." Shikamaru cockily replied.

Much to his word, Shikamaru made a swift motion with his hand behind his back in hopes to cut Freeza's tail off, only to see the blade he had given the tyrant shatter.

"WHAT?!" Shikamaru shouted in shock.

"You fool!" Freeza laughed. "Did you really think that blades would hurt me? I had a planet blow up in my face and survived! A little blade won't do anything to me!"

"Then you won't mind if we try again?!" Shikamaru yelled as he threw his kunai at Freeza, repeating the process.

Once again Shikamaru held his own kunai underneath his imaginary tail, forcing Freeza to mimic his movements.

"Really...you're really doing this again..."

"We both are." Shikamaru mused.

Shikamaru staggered a bit, his loss of blood was taking its toll.

He held onto his blade tightly as Freeza laughed at his stupidity. He then stabbed himself right into his leg.

"GAAAHHH!" Freeza cried out, he had not expected that at all until he heard the sicken sound of steel slicing through flesh. Freeza threw something with his other hand. It wasn't until it plopped on the ground facing him that he noticed it was something long and white.

Shikamaru smirked, he might not be the expert on Ki control, but he knew that it operated on the same principles as any other energy and needed concentration to work. By letting Freeze think that he was focused only on cutting his tail, the Frost Demon would concentration all his Ki into his tail to prevent injury like Lady Tsunade and Sakura did with their chakra enhancement. So when Shikamaru unexpectedly stabbed his own leg and therefore Freeza's leg, all that concentration was focused on the newest source of pain. Leaving the tail vulnerable.

"YOU FILTHY WRETCH!" Freeza hollered.

"What?! Did I hit your glubok?!" Shikamaru laughed while feeling woozy.

"I WILL TORTURE YOU SLOWLY FOR THAT!"

"You'll get no such satisfaction. I'll be dead before I release this jutsu and our match will be over." Shikamaru coughed, his lungs feeling like they were on fire.

"No, don't you dare die." Temari cried.

"Then allow me to ease your passing!" Freeza yelled. With an explosion, his energy shook off Shikamaru's jutsu just before he collapsed.

Right as he was about to scamper away to safety he sensed something that made him smile.

"I surrender." He said quickly.

"Not before I squeeze your filthy little head." Freeza growled as he charged at the Nara heir.

Then a golden flash appeared right between him and Shikamaru. He kicked Freeza right in the head and sent him flying in the other direction. The crowd stared in awe of the golden haired boy with whisker marks that stood defiantly against the tyrant Freeza. His blue robes flapping in the breeze.

"Sup, Dildo head." Naruto smirked.

Freeza looked up to see the boy he had been waiting to fight. "So, you finally woke up. Now things will get interesting."

Freeza stood up and smirked. "I almost mistook you for a Super Saiyan."

"Nah, my girlfriend has that part covered." Naruto said while pointing a thumb to Sakura. She took that as her cue to activate her seal, albeit hesitantly since she didn't know what would happen. In an instant, her hair turned golden blond and a golden aura surrounded her.

 _'Wow... that was only a guess...'_ Naruto thought.

Freeza had a sudden look of panic on his face. The hair, the eyes, whilst not completely green, the aura, the strength, it brought flashbacks of Goku to the alien tyrant.

"N-n-nooo...not another one..." Freeza stammered with fear.

Meanwhile, Gohan's and Videl's mouths dropped to the ground.

Naruto took this as his opportunity to deal a devastating blow to Freeza's gut, making him double over in pain.

"Heh, took you long enough." Shikamaru coughed.

Sakura returned her seal back to normal and decided to watch.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked.

"Used...too much...chakra..." Shikamaru wheezed.

"Just rest for right now, I'll handle it." Naruto said as he looked for a senzu bean, only to come up with nothing.

"Aw shoot! Sakura!" Naruto called out, but Shikamaru held his hand up.

"No... don't bother...I'm done for anyway..."

"Not if I can help it you're not..." Naruto said firmly.

"No Naruto...don't waste your energy. Just beat Freeza...and it was all worth it."

Sakura ran to Shikamaru's side and began checking him over. What she found chilled her to the bone and sighed.

"There's nothing I can do...he's lost too much blood..."

"Worth it... It'll all be...worth it..." Shikamaru whispered.

"And what about Temari? Your parents?" Sakura pointed out.

But Shikamaru grew silent and his body grew limp. He slumped against Naruto's chest as he passed away.

"No..." Temari breathed out, but listened to what Sakura had to say as she checked Shikamaru's pulse.

Sakura just shook her head as a tear fell. "...he's gone..."

A golden halo appeared over Shikamaru's head and he opened his eyes.

"Troublesome." He sighed as he stood back up without a care in the world.

"We're gonna miss you terribly..." Sakura said quietly.

"Save the goodbyes for when you two get to go back home. Naruto still needs to beat Freeza with his advanced Kyuubi cloak." Shikamaru said as he reached into his breast pocket.

"Yeah see...about that..." Naruto stammered.

Shikamaru blinked. "You did manage to do it, right?"

"...Kinda..." Naruto said as he tried not to look at either of them.

"What is that supposed to mean? Either you did or you didn't." Sakura deadpanned.

"Well I learned the theory behind how to use the form. I couldn't actually try it because it would use up the little Kyuubi Chakra I have."

"So, we're fucked is what you're saying." Shikamaru said with dread.

"No we're not. I just have to call upon the Kyuubi's Chakra like I normally do and we'll be golden." Naruto reassured.

"Wait...run that by me again...did you say, golden?" Sakura asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, golden, it's a figure of speech, right?"

"Uh...no, not really..."

"What? It totally is. 'We'll be golden,' is exactly a figure of speech. Shikamaru, you agree with me don't you?"

"Oh I get it..." Sakura sighed.

"Right, so if we could just get back on track..." Shikamaru urged.

"You two get back to the box. Let me work my magic." Naruto urged

Shikamaru nodded and headed back to the box to join the others while lighting up his cigarette and muttering to himself. "At least they can't lecture me about getting cancer anymore."

"You have a problem! You know that?" Naruto called out to him. "You're worse than Asuma!"

Back in the Leaf, Asuma coughed out his latest drag.

Sakura smacked him upside the head. "I'm still here, ya know."

"Yea, but I'm dead." Shikamaru reminded.

"It's still a nasty habit." Sakura grumbled.

"I honestly don't see a problem." Videl said as she took out one of her own, but was ripped from her hands by Gohan. "Hey!"

"How long have you been doing this?" Gohan asked furiously.

"About a year, what's the big deal?"

"You're pregnant, that's what the big deal is. Do you know how many birth defects this shit causes?!"

Videl now had a look of worry written on her face. "Shit...I completely forgot..."

"Well, it stops here and now." Gohan said firmly.

"Did I just catch you smoking young lady?!" Tsunade yelled as she walloped Videl upside the head.

"OW! I'm sorry, okay?!" Videl whined

"You're gonna be sorry at our next check-up!" Tsunade lectured as she yanked on Videl's ear.

"OW! Like you're one to talk with your alcohol abuse!" Videl spat.

"She's not pregnant, Videl..." Gohan deadpanned.

Videl just groaned.

"Alright everyone, that concludes this public service announcement. Now back to our regularly scheduled program." Whis spoke to the people watching through the Descry Sphere.

"And as for you..." Sakura said as she punched Naruto upside the head so that he would fall into her arms for a hug. "Please come back to me..."

"I made a promise of a lifetime to you and I'm not about to break it..." Naruto said softly.

"You better not..." Sakura locked her lips with Naruto's for a moment before she pulled away and returned to the box.

"You done saying your goodbyes?" Freeza sneered.

"There are no goodbyes to be said because I'm not dying to you." Naruto proudly stated.

"Ohho. Is that right? Well, we'll just see about that." Freeza sneered.

The two titans stood opposite each other on the stone tiles, seeped in the blood of their two teams. Whis stepped in between them.

"Two teams came to the stadium today. Each took ahold of five victories apiece out of eleven. Only one match up remains to decide the ultimate champion of the 11,185th Get Out of Hell Tournament! Only one will get their chosen soul ascended to Nirvana! The rest must remain here and serve 100 years in Hell! Lord Freeza of the Frost Demons and Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf, ARE. YOU. READY?!"

"Let's get on with it." Freeza said.

"Bring it on." Naruto said as he pounded his fist.

"BEGIN!" Whis exclaimed.

Not a moment after, both fighters clashed into a furry of melee attacks, creating small shockwaves with each connection.

Naruto did a cross, dodge, counter, and finally landed a blow Freeza's cheek.

Freeza staggered back for a moment before he righted himself and launched a death beam at Naruto.

Naruto dodged it but it nicked his jacket. Before he could recover he was kicked in the sides by Freeza.

Naruto was sent flying away while Freeza created an energy disc in each hand. "Have some pizza!" He shouted before launching the discs.

"Have some WHAAAAA!" Naruto shouted as he dodged the two flying death discs. Naruto leapt backwards end over end dodging the twin discs that seemed to hone in on him.

"Careful they're still hot!" Freeza chuckled as he guided the discs around Naruto.

As Naruto was about to land on the ground he noticed that the discs would converge on him before he could touch down. Thinking fast, he concentrated his Ki into stopping his momentum and hovered midair, causing the discs to collide and destroy themselves.

Sakura gasped in shock as did the rest of the team. "H-how did he..."

"He used his Ki like he did with Princess Snake." Kiba reminded them.

"Right...I forgot he mastered it so quickly."

"Not so much mastered as found a method that works for him and utilized that to his full potential." Neji clarified.

"That's my boy." Minato praised.

Sakura looked on in awe as Naruto used a Ki blast of his own that hit Freeza directly. "I'm gonna marry that man someday..."

Everyone looked over at Sakura at bit weirded out.

"Damn girl, you wanna wait a month into the relationship?" Kiba asked.

"Shut up before I pummel you." Sakura growled.

"Maid of Honor!" Ino called out before Videl could.

"Bitch!" Videl cursed.

Hinata, Tenten, and Temari just giggled at the two of them.

Freeza meanwhile slapped the last of Naruto's pathetic Ki blasts aside.

"You know for all the people I've had to kill to wait for you, I've got to say that you're not living up to the hype."

"Bitch, I am the hype." Naruto joked.

"LANGUAGE!" Kushina scolded from the box

"No." Freeza punched Naruto straight into the ground. "You're just another bug I have to squash beneath my feet. Making all your friends deaths pointless." Freeza sneered.

"Heh...I'm not even trying right now." Naruto chuckled.

"You're not?" Freeza asked innocently as he stomped on Naruto's face.

On the next stomp, Naruto caught Freeza's foot and squeezed untill he heard a crack. "No, I'm not."

Freeza then kicked Naruto across the face, knocking a tooth loose. "Well then why don't you show me? Brat."

Freeza flew off of Naruto to give him space for his transformation. The whole village watched with baited breath. This was it. The moment of truth.

Naruto nervously stood up and concentrated on his training. In truth it had mostly just been about how best to control the Kyuubi cloak. Activating it was just something the two of them assumed he could do. Naruto had no real reference points to go off of except for all the times he had technically used the cloak.

He spread his legs in a horse stance and then clapped his hands together in prayer.

 _'Just dig down deep into the power within you...and pull it out.'_

The air around Naruto began to swirl around him as his Chakra began to churn. _'Think of what makes me strong, what calls upon my powers in my most dire moments...'_

The threat of death, the murder of a loved one, losing Sasuke, Sakura being in danger, all his friends being hurt...

The air around Naruto became harsh and repulsive, tinted with blood red orange, the Kyuubi's Chakra began oozing out of Naruto like a bloody disease. Naruto's teeth grew fangs, his eyes turned red, his whisker marks grew dark, his fingers grew claws, and his wounds began to sizzle as they healed.

"So that is the..." Kiba began.

"The Kyuubi's Chakra..." Choji said in terrified awe.

Back in the Leaf and in Hell, both Videl and Sakura winced at the sight of that evil looking Chakra. The entire village saw firsthand the cursed demon chakra. Even if they couldn't sense it, everyone who had lived through that night remembered it's sickening presence.

"So this is your ultimate form?" Freeza asked. "I'm still not impressed."

Naruto stomped his foot so hard into the ground that it left a crater that he used to rocket himself towards Freeza at nearly double his previous speed.

He attacked Freeza with a new kind of ferocity. It was his same fighting style as before but faster and more aggressive. Freeza blocked nearly every strike but that did not stop Naruto from drawing blood here and there.

Freeza then grabbed Naruto's outstretched arm and slammed him into the ground. Naruto quickly tried to recover but he was met head on with a powerful shockwave Ki blast from Freeza. Kicking up a whirlwind energy storm that sent Naruto skidding across the arena floor.

"Not impressive at all..." Freeza tisked.

The blond shot up from the rubble, his eyes filled with rage and to everyone's horror, half the skin on his face peeled off.

"Woops, I think you've got something on your face." Freeza mused. "Let me get that for you." He said as he shot a death beam at Naruto's face. The blond was only just quick enough to dodge it but by then he was running a curve at Freeza on all fours.

Freeza shot blast after blast but each of them Naruto dodged until the last one that clipped his shoulder and he was sent rolling end over end right past Freeza.

"You know; this whole tournament has been boring... You're obviously no challenge to me." He said and then turned to view Sakura. "Your girlfriend on the other hand...her Super Saiyan powers are exactly the kind of challenge I need. Maybe, I'll kill her instead to satisfy my vengance against the one that killed me."

Freeza looked over and came face to face with a massive blood red claw. The tyrant was sent flying to the other side of the arena and buried beneath some rubble.

He threw the boulder off his chest and looked over to see that the enraged blond human was gone. In his place was a bloody red were-fox with four thrashing tails, hind legs like an animal, razor sharp jagged teeth, and soulless white eyes.

 **"RAAAAHHH!"** The beast roared to the Heavens.

"Well, this is new." Freeza said in amusement.

Videl felt a chill run up her spine. There it was, the very form that scared her to the core.

"Sweet Dende..." Gohan breathed out.

Videl had to hold herself even when that demon was safely in Hell. Its skin was moving, boiling with blood, and its body looked so sickly. It repulsed her.

The rest of the Shinobi fared no better. Jiraiya felt the scar on his chest start to sting. Kakashi felt like he would lose his lunch. Minato and Kushina were horrified that beneath all that blood was their son, and that they had both been responsible for sealing such a monster inside of him.

"So, this is your almighty transformation, is it?" Freeza laughed. "You look like nothing more than a mere space mutt."

The beast just roared in response.

"That's all you are now, isn't it? A dumb beast that threw his mind away in the slim hope of defeating me, Lord Freeza." He cackled.

The beast leapt at Freeza with speeds only Gohan and Videl could follow. Yet Freeza merely side stepped him and stomped his foot into the monster's head, sending him crashing into the ground. The beast lunged again but Freeza was too clever to be touched by such a wild animal, no matter how fast he was.

"The only thing you've managed to do is make yourself a bigger target." Freeza sneered.

 **"ROAAAARRR!"** The monster cried.

Freeza then kicked Naruto hard in the gut, sending him flying through the air and landing hard on the other side of the ring.

"I'm not even trying right now!" Freeza mocked. "Isn't that what you told me? If this is you actually trying, then you have disappointed me."

The monster began gathering up black Chakra to launch at Freeza, but the space tyrant was having none of it.

"As much as I've struggled to keep this form in check, this Freeza guy is batting him around like he's nothing..." Jiraiya said in awe.

"I wasn't bullshitting you when I said Freeza is a class A monster." Gohan said, his eyes glued to the sphere.

"And now I believe you..." Jiraiya replied and everyone around Gohan nodded in agreement.

 _'What the hell, I thought the whole idea of this training was to help me waste Freeza.'_ Naruto thought to the Kyuubi.

 _ **'You're the one who keeps dicking around.'**_ The Fox berated.

 _'How am I dicking around? I'm trying to take him down!'_

 _ **'I told you that you need to focus on your fears!'**_

 _'I did that!'_

 _ **'No you dumb idiot! You're focusing on what you are scared of, you're supposed to focus on WHY you are scared of it!'**_

 _'Why I'm afraid?'_ Naruto had to stop and think about what the fox said.

He thought about all his fears. His fears of the death or injury of his friends, the only family he had ever known. His fear of being alone. Was that simply it?

No...

He didn't just want to keep them safe for the sake of it... He wanted to keep them around...to be happy with them...to love them...

He then realized that if he couldn't protect them, he would lose all of that. Forever.

 _'It's love isn't it?'_

 _ **'It's always love, idiot.'**_

 _'So... how do I use that?'_

The Kyuubi face palmed.

 _ **'What the Hell were we training for the last 18 hours for?! You use those positive thoughts to overcome the negative ones seeped into my chakra!'**_

 _'Oh, right.'_

 _ **'I don't even know why I'm so adamant to avoid Hell. Having a dumbass like you for my host is worse than any torture the demons could come up with.'**_ The Kyuubi groaned.

 _'Love you too, you damn Fox.'_ Naruto smiled.

The Kyuubi just smirked. _**'Now you're getting it, Kit.'**_

Back in Hell, Freeza was slapping the shit out of Naruto's beast form. He actually managed to tear one of his arms off which had the kunoichi in the audience screaming until another torso of Naruto's grew in its place to attack at Freeza. The Frost Demon then sent the beast hurling into the air before drop kicking him into the ground like a meteor, burying him beneath all the rubble.

The crowd grew silent as the pile of stones did not stir. Freeza just cackled to himself as he descended down to the platform with a death ball ready in hand.

"Come on out little space mutt." Freeza stuck his head out right over the pile I'd rubble. "It's time for your- MUPHF!" Freeza cried as a golden arm reached out of the rubble and grabbed the alien by his cheeks, shutting him up mid-sentence.

As fast as Freeza could blink, Naruto emerged from the rubble and looked as if he was on fire covered in golden flames. His eyes sparkled with what was now a golden aura and heroic determination. His hair stood up not as a Saiyan's would like lightning, but like flames with two bangs sticking out prominently like divine horns. His whisker marks were no longer nasty looking scars but perfect blank lines. All over his body there were similar black markings that tattooed over his skin and his clothing. He looked like something out of a book of demigods.

Freeza quickly thrusted his death ball at Naruto's head, but the golden blond simply swatted his evil Ki away. He formed a single golden Rasengan right into Freeza's chest, exploding outwards and knocking the Frost Demon back, halfway across the arena.

Freeza was a complete mess. he had staggered back after receiving such a hard hit that knocked the wind out of him.

"W-what are you..." Freeza wheezed out.

Naruto looked at his sleeves and noticed his golden aura. "Um...a Super Saiyan, I guess."

Sakura stared at Naruto in complete awe as did the others in the box.

"That's new...what form is that...?" Sakura breathed out.

"Y-you're no super Saiyan...you look...nothing like it..." Freeza gasped.

"What? I'm golden and I'm clearly stronger. What more do you want?" Naruto asked.

"You aren't a Saiyan..." Freeza wheezed.

"Why not? My father had blond hair like a Saiyan. Maybe he was a Saiyan. You don't know." Naruto said, enjoying the rise he was getting out of Freeza.

"D-did we...drop him on his head before we sealed the fox into him?" Minato asked.

"If...that were the case...only your hair...would have changed...and your eyes would...be green..." By now, Freeza's power was waning and he lost his 100% form.

"Oh hey, you shrunk. Don't worry, Freezer. Happens to the best of us." Naruto smirked.

Freeza staggered back to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth after catching his breath. "You...you're going to pay for that..." He growled.

Naruto smiled, feeling more empowered then he ever had before in his life.

"Bring it on, Dildo head."

The two took a massive step and shot off towards each other faster than anyone could see.

"What happened to Naruto? I've never seen this before." Sakura asked in general.

"If I had to take a guess, He was able to tap into the full potential of the Kyuubi's chakra. This right here, is essentially his version of a Super Saiyan." Minato mused.

As he finished speaking, a sonic boom ripped through the stadium, then another and another, like machine gun fire, but no mortals could see what was happening. Only the faintest glimpses.

"They're so...fast..." Sakura gasped.

"YEA! THAT'S MY BOY! KICK THAT DILDO-HEAD'S ASS!" Kushina cheered furiously.

"Yeah alright! Come on, Naruto! Kick his ass!" Kiba cheered.

"DECK HIM IN THE SHNOZE!" Choji yelled.

"Take him down!" Neji cheered.

"YOSH! BEAT HIM DOWN!" Lee Cheered.

"Teach him not to mess with Leaf Shinobi!" Shikamaru cheered.

Sakura jumped on top of the box. "KICK HIS ASS! I LOVE YOU!" She cheered.

Akamaru and Bluebell howled in cheer, then the entire stadium picked up the cheer.

"NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO! NA-RU-TO!" The chanted. The air was electric, even as the shockwaves kept building.

Meanwhile Naruto was trading blows with Freeza. Punches, kicks, side swipes, counters and parries. The both of them were now evenly matched, but for how long?

 _ **'Kit, you've got maybe two minutes left of my Chakra at this rate! You need to end this quickly!'**_ The Kyuubi thought.

"Right!" Naruto shouted as Freeza fired a death beam at point blank range at Naruto, forcing him to leap back down to the ground. Freeza shot out a volley of death balls in Naruto's direction. The man then extended out his Chakra arm like a grappling hook near the center of the arena. He outran the death balls while using his Chakra arm like a rope.

He kept increasing his speed until he managed to outflank the Frost Demon and got in his blind spot. With his other hand, he split his Chakra arm into multiple limbs, each of them holding their own Rasengans.

"Rasengan Riot!" Naruto cried as he plunged the barrage of spiraling Chakra spheres into Freeza's backside.

"GAAH!" Freeza cried as he crashed into the ground. His body shook from the pain and the fury. Until Naruto ran up and kicked Freeza directly in the hole where his tail used to be.

"AAAAAAHHHHH" Freeza howled in pain.

 _'Man, our hubby is amazing!'_ Inner cheered.

 _'Got that right.'_ Sakura replied.

"That was for my friends, asshole!" Naruto shouted as he charged up a Rasengan. "And this one is gonna be for when you threatened Sakura-chan. It's going right up your tail stump."

Freeza quickly turned around and blasted Naruto with a wide Ki wave, knocking the man off balance. Freeza then righted himself and kicked Naruto right in the junk.

"LOW BLOW! HOW CAN I BE A GRANDMOTHER NOW?!" Kushina shouted.

"YEAH!" Sakura shouted, then she realized what Kushina said. "Wait, what?!"

Naruto doubled over, for second he knew only white hot pain, which gave Freeza just enough time to stand up and shoot Naruto in the leg with a death beam and follow up with a devastating right hook to the jaw.

He staggered back, giving Freeza another opening for another hard jab to the left temple. Freeza didn't get a third punch in though, for Naruto anticipated the third strike and ducked underneath it, with his own fist tucked into his body to deliver his own quick jab and Freeza's jaw.

Freeza staggered back and Naruto went all out on him, blow after blow.

Freeza reached his arm back and created a death disc which he slashed at Naruto with, leaving a huge gash across the ninja's chest from hip to shoulder.

Freeza then brought it down onto Naruto's shoulders, but he could Freeza's forearm before he could make anything more than a shallow cut. The two struggled until Naruto managed to plunge the disc into the ground and hit Freeza directly in between the neck and shoulders with a Rasengan. Freeza was knocked back 10 feet before he came to a screeching halt. The both of them stopped to catch their breath.

"You're good, I'll give you that...It's a shame...I'm dead...I'd want you...as an underling..." Freeza gasped.

"Heh...same. Having a... space alien for an ally... I'd be the coolest Hokage ever." Naruto wheezed.

 _ **'And the two Saiyan's don't count?'**_

 _'I mean...he's more alien looking...'_ Naruto thought.

"Did you have a space ship by any chance?" Naruto asked the Space Tyrant.

"Many, why?" Freeza inquired.

"And was it shaped like a saucer?"

"Yeees...where are you going with this?"

"Well I mean...heh...if it makes you feel any better I had always wanted any alien friend like you. Flying around in your saucer. I'd be a lot of fun. Now if only you were green..."

"I am not a Namekian..." Freeza growled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Shouted an evil Namekian in the crowd, loud enough for the two fighters to turn around and look at him.

"Who's that guy?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Huh?" Freeza looked over with genuine curiosity. "Ah, that's Slug. He's a Namekian."

What? He's not a slug. Slugs are white and don't have any limbs. Although those antennas look familiar." Naruto replied.

"His name is Slug, you imbecile..." Freeza deadpanned.

"What? That's dumb. It's like naming a kid after a condiment...never mind."

Kushina and Minato blushed at Naruto's statement.

"Well I thought it was memorable." Jiraiyia muttered to himself.

"Well anyway why don't we...?" Naruto said before being suckered punched in the cheek.

"Smash Human! Smash Human!" Freeza chanted as he thrashed Naruto about.

He mercilessly beat into Naruto's face, not letting the blond be given an inch.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out as she watched him be beaten like a rug.

Naruto finally stepped into Freeza's assault and kneed him in the stomach. Freeza paused but had enough sense to grab Naruto into a bear hug. Kami damn it he would squeeze the boy to death I'd that's what it took.

Naruto used his instincts and cocked his head back to deliver a devastating head-butt to Freeza's forehead.

Freeza staggered back and then Naruto unleashed his own barrage upon the alien tyrant.

He punched Freeza straight in the gut before throwing a three hit combo at his head. Freeza was dazed and his patience was at an end. He caught Naruto's next punch and gave another right hook straight into Naruto's nose, shattering it.

"ENOUGH!"

Before Naruto could counter attack, Freeza flew directly up into the air.

"I'M ENDING THIS NOW!" Freeza yelled as he created a massive, planet shattering death ball.

"BIGGER!" He yelled.

The sphere grew in size until he felt it was the proper size. "Perfect..."

"Mines still bigger!" Cooler called out from the audiance, to which Freeza growled.

"SHUT UP!" Freeza shouted.

He then looked down at a very panicked Naruto. "NOW DIE!" Freeza through the moon sized ball of Energy directly at Naruto.

The blond quickly held his palms together, concentrating every last drop of energy he had to create the mother of all Rasengans. It grew to the size of a basketball, then a person, then a house. So large that it eclipsed Naruto entirely. A rotating ball of energy with more Chakra than a Jounin could use in a month, and it collided directly with Freeza's Death Sphere.

There was no sound. Just an endless flash of the purest white light, all contained within the arena barrier.

Then suddenly...

 **BOOOOOOOOOM**

A massive shockwave rang out as both attacks detonated, severely damaging their owners.

As their vision began to return, the audience looked up where the barrier opened up to the sky as a plume of smoke and debris blocked out the divine clouds that separated Heaven from Hell.

Sakura tossed a house sized boulder off of her and her team and coughed. "Everyone okay?"

"Well we're all still dead. So..." Kiba said.

"Smartass..." She said.

Kushina grunted. "I'm okay...more or less."

"Guys, look!" Choji pointed at the arena where the dust was beginning to settle. There, a lone figure struggled to stand up, yet no one could make out who it was.

"Is that Naruto?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Neji." Shikamaru instructed. The Hyuga quickly activated his Byakugan to peer through the thick smoke.

"No...no god damn it! No!" Neji cursed.

The dust and smoke cleared to see that it was Freeza that was still standing, but barely.

"No..." Sakura said shakily as she searched around for Naruto.

"Aah!" The tyrant cried as he tried to put weight on his leg, only for a shooting pain to go up it and he fell to his knee.

That's when Sakura noticed another figured appearing from the smoke, standing tall.

Sakura gasped. "Is...is that...?"

The figure waved his hand and blew away the dust, revealing himself to be none other than Whis, standing casually without so much as a scratch on him.

"Shit..." Sakura continued to scan the area, lifting up into the air with her limited flying abilities. That's when she spotted Naruto in the center of the crater. He was barely moving and his golden form was gone.

"NARUTO!" She hollered.

Freeza looked up at the servant to the Lord of Destruction and broke out in laughter.

"I DID IT!" He cried in complete joy. "Victory is mine! I won!"

Beerus cocked an eyebrow at the former Tyrant.

Everyone in the village as well as Naruto's teammates and parents all looked on with defeated looks as well as looks of worry, anger and sadness.

People smashed their fists again walls, tears were shed, all that hard work. All that pain and suffering for nothing.

"No...no no no..." Videl sobbed as she smashed her fist through the roof of the tower.

"Dammit..." Gohan seethed as electricity formed around his fists. "I shouldn't have let them go alone...I should have been there with them..."

Gaara broke the glass cup in his hands, the shards cutting into his palms but he didn't care.

Tenten, Hinata, Ino and Temari all broke down in tears. Now they really would never see the men they loved.

Tsunade gripped Jiraiya's jacket tightly. While Kakashi held Shizune while the two of them were certain that no one was looking. Guy took the opportunity to hug Kakashi from behind.

Kushina cried into Minato's chest, certain that Naruto was dead and that they had failed. Sakura fell to the ground on her knees. She couldn't believe he was dead. She refused to believe it.

Freeza meanwhile continued to laugh and hold his sides.

"Ohhhh...gonna wizz red in the morning..." Freeza grunted. "Heheheh...In Heaven!" He coughed.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Beerus asked.

Freeza looked over at the God of Destruction who had chosen to come down to the arena floor.

"M-my prize, my Lord. I was just saying that I would be in Heaven soon."

"No you won't." Beerus stated matter-of-factly.

At this, everyone perked up.

"W-what?"

"The prize was that you would choose to ascend ANOTHER soul into Heaven. From outside of your team." Whis reminded him.

"It had something to do with sacrificing yourself for another or fighting for someone who is worth it...that kind of nonsense." Beerus added.

"W-what? Are you telling me that I can't claim my prize?!" Freeza exclaimed.

"So long as it's for another soul other than your own, yes..." Beerus stated.

"But I have no other soul that I care about!" Freeza exclaimed.

"Well it's not like it's going to matter. That blond idiot still isn't dead yet." Beerus said, pointing at a broken and battered Naruto who stood up on shaky legs.

Sakura looked up and gasped happily. "Naruto! You're alive!"

But Naruto couldn't answer her just yet. He was dead focused on his opponent. As Freeza stared back at him, both their faces so swollen and bloody that neither of them could quite see clearly. The dust caking their skin, their bones creaking, and their muscles screaming.

He took one step towards Freeza, you could hear the pebbles shifting underneath his feet.

He took another step, his feet feeling like lead at the bottom of a lake.

"He's completely exhausted..." Sakura said in awe as she watched her sunshine slowly make his way back to Freeza.

Whis floated over to him. "Are you sure you want to continue? You can forfeit you know."

"Fuck you..." Naruto muttered without even looking over at whoever he talked to. There was only Freeza now.

"Oh my..." Whis gasped.

Naruto took another step; his left arm was completely numb but thankfully his dominant hand could still mold chakra. He held it waist high and slowly the air surrounding his palm began to swirl around until it formed into a mini hurricane of chakra.

Freeza tried to run at the boy to beat him down once and for all, yet he could not summon the strength to get to his feet. It all just hurt too much and he had wasted so much energy fighting those other five weaklings...

Desperately he raised up his finger and pointed it at Naruto, yet his arm felt so heavy. It waved and bobbed until he fired a death beam and it grazed Naruto's sides. Yet the boy did not register the scalding Ki cutting through a piece of his ribs.

"Come on Naruto, you got this!" Lee shouted encouragement.

Naruto took a couple more steps. Freeza fired again and only hit the dirt right in front of Naruto's feet.

"Dammit! You're not going to win!" Freeza declared.

Naruto stepped forward, focusing all his energy on keep the Chakra ball spinning while putting one foot in front of the other.

"No you fucking don't..." Freeza growled as he tried to fire off another death beam.

The death beam pierced Naruto's calf, causing him to fall to his knees.

"That's better. Now lose like a good human." Freeza snickered.

"Don't you dare give up!" Sakura yelled. "You hear me, Naruto!? Get up and WIN!"

"You shut your mouth you filthy whore." Freeza spat.

Naruto heard her...he struggled to stand up, his knees and his one good elbow all scrapping against the rocks to stand himself up.

"Get up!" His teammates cried.

"Get up, Naruto!" His village cried.

He stood up on one leg, then another. Freeza shot a death beam into Naruto's abdomen and his shoulder, but it did nothing.

"Do it, Naruto!" Minato cheered.

"You can do it, son! I know you can!" Kushina cheered.

"The man I know and love wouldn't give up, so don't you let that bastard win!" Sakura encouraged.

"I said shut your mouth, slut!" Freeza hollered. He tried to shoot a death beam at her, but it bounced off the barrier.

"Come on, Naruto! Fucking do it already!" Kiba shouted.

"Do it! For all the fat people and the idiots out there!" Choji cried.

"Win!" Neji shouted.

"I said-GAAAH!" Freeza cried out when he felt a searing pain shoot up his arm. He yelled out in pain as he was forced to the ground by Naruto.

"Don't you dare talk to my friends like that you fuck..." Naruto growled, his eyes glowing red with rage.

The audience and the Leaf all cheered as one. All across the Leaf along all the roads and atop every building the people cried out for Naruto.

"DO IT!"

Naruto cocked back his arm and thrusted his jutsu directly into Freeza's chest.

"Rasengan!"

The tore directly into his insides like a drill. What a billion souls and an army of powerful Saiyans could not do, one boy did.

Freeza's back exploded and the tyrant's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell over on his back. Leaving only the lone Leaf ninja standing.

"TEAM SASUKE WINS!" Whis shouted, earning an eruption of cheers all over hell as well as the entire Leaf Village.

Lovers and teammates hugged each other in the streets, children went crazy with excitement, a few people even passed out from all the unbelievable victory.

Whis dropped the barrier and instantly, all of Team Sasuke rushed to Naruto, Sakura leading the group so she could quickly heal him.

Naruto just fell backwards feeling absolutely positively 100% exhausted, yet he was caught by something soft, wet, and warm.

Naruto opened one eye slightly to see nothing but pink hair, but he immediately knew who it was and returned her kiss with gusto.

Everyone around her smiled at their interaction until Sakura pulled away.

"You did an amazing job, Naruto. I'm so proud of you." Sakura praised lovingly as she got to work healing him.

"Really? Not even gonna scold me or call me a Baka? I must have died and gone to Heaven." Naruto smiled.

"Naruto...yea, I was worried and so was everyone else. But...you won in the end against someone that took a super Saiyan to take down. That in itself makes up for everything. Plus, you saved Sasuke's soul! What's there not to be happy about?" Sakura asked.

"I mean...you'd usually berate at me for being reckless and making you worry. It's kinda freaking me out that you're not now that I think about it." Naruto admitted.

"Just shut up so that I can heal you, dumbass. You're going to spend the rest of your life making it up to me anyway." Sakura said firmly.

Kiba chuckled. "That almost sounded like a marriage proposal, eh Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru saw where Kiba was going with this and smirked. "Sure did."

"I'll squeeze both your windpipes shut for good if you don't shut your traps." Kushina threatened, not wanting them to ruin the moment.

Both men gulped in fear and nodded.

That was when Beerus descended upon them. "Congratulations and yada yada..." He said with a bored tone. "So, what is your wish?"

"We wish to-" Naruto stopped himself for a moment. He looked at all of his friends who had Halo's over their heads and felt guilty for what he really wanted to do.

Shikamaru was the first to pick up on it. "Dude, it's cool. We came here to save Sasuke, so that's what you should wish for."

"Yeah but...you guys sacrificed your lives..."

"Don't remind me. We literally died for that duck butt haired emo. I'm never going to live this down." Kiba sighed.

"Kiba, enough." Neji scolded. "Naruto, Sasuke is the whole reason we came here. It would be dumb to bring us back. It would make our whole trip pointless."

"Yeah...you're right...I just wish there was some way..." Naruto was stopped when he felt Lee's hand on his shoulder.

"We did not sacrifice ourselves for Sasuke. We sacrificed them for you and your ideas, Naruto. Because we believe in you and what you stand for. You are the most youthful person I have ever met and I am proud to call you my friend." Lee praised.

Naruto closed his eyes and steeled his resolve. He wasn't worthy of such praise. No one could be. For the rest of his life he would have no choice but to be better.

"We wish... for Sasuke Uchiha to be pardoned of all sins and to ascend to Heaven."

"Very well. Whis, you do the honors. I'm returning home for a nap." Beerus said.

"Follow me please." Whis said as he motioned to the hallway inside the stadium, which was filled with feel good music and confetti from the trillions of celebrating souls and demons.

Whis lead them all down the corridor that lead to what looked like a prison block. Many souls of the damned were screaming out in agony and in pain from being tortured for their crimes. Soon they were lead to a cell that had a small child inside who sounded like he was crying.

"Let him out." Whis ordered to one of the guards who begrudgingly opened the cell door. The gang all looked at each other as the sniffling child crawled away from the light as if he feared it.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called out.

* * *

At once the Descry Sphere in the Leaf went black.

"Hey what gives?" Videl cried out.

"What happened?" Gohan asked.

The whole village was filled with murmurs as everyone speculated on what happened.

The Sphere was then filled with the face of Whis, just as it had done so when it first appeared.

"Hello everyone, Whis here. Sorry to cut you off, but this seemed like a private conversation and I think you all get the gist of it. Thank you all for your support. Chow." Whis smiled as the Descry Sphere collapsed on itself and vanished. Uncovering the sky for the first time in days.

"THE FUCK!" Tsunade yelled in rage.

"W-wait, WHAT?!" Ino bellowed.

"You were just getting to the good part!" Temari shouted.

"Turn it back on!" Tenten shouted at the sky.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	26. Chapter 26: Farewell to a Teammate

All around the village, people were outraged that they couldn't see anymore. Tsunade had tried summoning Whis, but he ignored her calls. But there was a call that Gohan was getting that was about to make things a lot better.

 _'Hey Gohan! You there?'_

 _'Huh? Hey dad! Is everything all set?'_ Gohan responded.

'Sure is! We had to modify them a little bit, but we should be able to bring them back in two weeks.' Goku replied.

 _'Two weeks? That's a bit longer than I had hoped, but it's better than nothing. Thanks a lot.'_

 _'Sure thing, son. Say hi to Videl for me.'_

 _'Oh, hey. While I have you on the line...um...you're gonna be a grandfather...'_

 _'I know, I heard! Congratulations son!'_ Goku praised.

 _'Wait, you knew?'_

 _'Sure do! Sakura told me and I'm proud of you son. Do you know how many you're having?'_

 _'Sakura told us we're having twins.'_

 _'Aw man...this sucks that I can't be there to see them...'_ Goku pouted, but was happy for his son nonetheless.

 _'Yea I know; I wish you could too. Anyway, pass on the news to mom, I'm sure she'll be ecstatic.'_

 _'Will do. take care son.'_ Goku finished and cut of the mental link.

"Well, what's the word?" Videl asked, still pissed off that she couldn't see them meeting this Sasuke character everyone seemed to think was so damn important.

"It's a go, in two weeks." Gohan said happily.

"Well that isn't going to make A LOT of people happy. Seriously, that's great news." Videl sighed in relief. Looks like everyone was going to get a happy ending.

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked.

"Can you gather everyone around here? I've got some fantastic news to tell them." Gohan smiled.

"Um, sure." Tsunade said in mild confusion, but let out a loud whistle to get everyone's attention. "I need everyone to listen to what Gohan has to say!"

Everyone quickly heeded the Hokage's words and soon Gohan found himself staring down at the faces of dozens. Including the teammates and parents off the members of Team Sasuke.

"I just got off the horn with my father. In two weeks, our friends and loved ones who have died in hell will be brought back to life. The Dragon Balls on my world were recently modified to bring them back to life so that they can return home, safe and sound." Gohan announced.

"And how is that going to work?" Tsunade asked.

"The creator of the Dragon Balls in my realm modified them to revive souls from other universes who have died in Otherworld. this in turn, will bring them back to life and they will be home in about 2 weeks."

There was disbelieving murmurs in the crowd.

"I need to make this clear. This is a one-time thing. The Dragon Balls can only bring them back while they are in the Afterlife that our multiple universes share. They won't be able to bring your loved one physically back home. King Kai has reassured me that Whis plans on doing that when the time comes."

 _'Gohan is correct.'_ King Kai said to all of them.

The crowd gasped at the sound of a new voice.

 _'With all of that said, I will bring them all to my planet to train until they can be wished back.'_ King Kai added.

"Get the fuck out of my head!" Gaara shouted suddenly, startling everyone in the crowd.

"Lord Kazekage, it's okay. He's a God of my realm." Gohan assured.

"I don't care! I will not have him invade my mind without permission!" Gaara snarled.

 _'Alright, alright. I've said my peace anyway.'_ King Kai said before closing his link.

Gaara stormed off of the Hokage Tower rooftop and headed for his hotel and Daimyo suite.

"Um...Is he going to be okay, Lady Tsunade?" Videl asked.

Tsunade just sighed. "There are somethings you just can't cure, Videl. A lifetime of insomnia and psychedelic episodes is one of them."

"Oh my god...I never knew..." Videl said with concern.

Tsunade took her aside as Gohan continued to take questions from concerned parents.

"You said you knew about him being a jinchuriki like Naruto, correct?" Tsunade asked.

"Huh? Oh yea, I heard about that." Videl replied.

"Well unlike what we saw in the Descry Sphere a few hours ago, the relationship between a Tailed Beast and it's jinchuriki is rarely ever pleasant. Especially for the human vessel."

"He was the... 1 Tailed Jinchuriki if I remember correctly, right? Was it something it did to him?"

"Yes, it tormented my little brother with horribly nightmares, whispered in his ear to kill and maim other people, and tried to take over my brother's mind whenever he tried to sleep. Those bags underneath his eyes aren't deep shades of mascara." Temari interjected.

"Good god..." Videl breathed out. "...that makes Gohan's life a cakewalk in comparison...I can hardly imagine living like that..."

"Just try imagine living with him. Having a brother who never slept. Who would just stare at you for hours at a time without blinking. You'd see him kill another caretaker every week over the slightest provocation, perhaps for even nothing. Wondering if the day could come that he decides to snap and kill you on a whim. Knowing that your same brother was only ever considered to be a weapon by our father the Kazekage. And a monster by everyone else." Temari sighed deeply. "So let me be as straight forward as possible when I say that he does not like having other voices in his head and you should NEVER enter his mind without permission."

"I understand completely." Videl said in agreement.

"Thank you..." Temari said as she wiped away the moisture gathering around her eyes at the memories. "You can also see why Gaara values Naruto so much as a friend."

Videl nodded. "I heard about that too but I never really understood it until now."

"Before my brother met Naruto, he believed that the only way to justify his existence was to kill other people. It was his own twisted way of making himself feel alive by feeding the blood to his 'mother'."

"My god..." Videl's heart ached to hear that anyone had to endure such a horrible past. She had her fair share of terrible times, but this one took the cake. "...I hope he'll be okay..."

"Well that was until he met Naruto, who was exactly like him. A living weapon with a demon sealed inside of him. Someone who was alone in a crowded room. He convinced Gaara that there was a better way to live. For others, not just for yourself. It gave Naruto the strength to defeat my brother. Something that Jounins from my village had never been able to accomplish. My brother became the Kazekage because of Naruto and the Sand village is richer for it."

"That's good to hear at least."

"My poor brother has been through hell since he was made a Jinchuriki, yet, in recent years he's been more focused on everyone else's needs over his own. Naruto had definitely changed him for the better."

"He tends to have that effect on people, I've noticed."

"He really does. And I can never repay him for that."

* * *

Back in Hell, Naruto and Sakura looked on at their former teammate in astonishment. What was once a proud if not arrogant young man had been reduced to a sniveling husk of his former self. Looking like a tormented child, scared of his own shadow.

"Is that really Sasuke...?" Sakura asked.

"Well of course it is." Whis confirmed. "What were you expecting?"

The supposed little boy named Sasuke scampered further back into the corner of his cell. Like a terrified rat in a cage.

"But, he's a scared little boy. He should be our age now." Sakura said with concern.

"You're looking at his soul, remember?" Whis pointed at the halo adorned over the boy's head.

"Why would his soul look like this?" Kiba asked.

"Do you all even know what a soul is? Jesus Christ." Whis sighed.

"Yes?" A man with white robes, a beard and long brown hair asked.

"Not now, Jesus." Whis waved off and the man left.

"Can't say we really took the time to think about it." Naruto admitted.

Sakura took it upon herself to enter the cell. She wanted to see Sasuke for herself. She charged a small ball of Ki in her hand to give off light so she could see. What she saw was far from what she was expecting. This Sasuke was like he was back when they first started at the academy.

"Sasuke?" Sakura said softly.

"Get away!" The boy cried as he hastily tried to raise up his hands in some pathetic attempt at a defense.

"Sasuke, it's okay...no one is going to hurt you anymore." Sakura said softly, almost in a mother like fashion.

Naruto then entered holding up a Rasengan for light, but as soon as the boy saw his swollen face he screamed in terror.

"Ogre!"

"No, Sasuke. That's Naruto. He's just beaten up from fighting to save you." Sakura explained calmly.

"S-sakura?" Sasuke tentatively asked.

Sakura nodded. "That's right. Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Lee and Choji are also here."

"No, you're illusions. Demons trying to trick me. Get away!" Sasuke said as he buried his face in his knees where he could be safe.

"No, we're not...we came here to free you of this place. You can go to heaven now and you can thank Naruto for that. He and the others risked their lives to save you." Sakura said.

"No, no, no, it's a trick! It's all a lie! You're just gonna die again like my family or betray me. Just leave me alone...please..." Sasuke begged.

Sakura didn't know what else to do. Sasuke was so completely far gone, he didn't even trust what was right in front of him.

"Let me handle this." Kushina said as she placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder before stepping forward.

"Hey there, Sasuke." She said in her gentle and motherly tone. The boy carefully looked up at this new voice and this new face.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kushina. I'm Naruto's mother." She greeted.

"Naruto doesn't have a mother. He's an orphan." He said.

"So then you should have never met me. But I met you. Back when you were a little baby sleeping in your mother Mikoto's arms. You were so cute I mistook you for a girl several times." Kushina laughed.

"How do I know that you're not an illusion? Just another trick to torture me?" Sasuke asked, almost sounding hopeful.

Kushina's response was to pinch Sasuke's cheeks and painfully stretch them out.

"Just believe me already, ya know!" Kushina berated.

"Hey, what was..." Sasuke was about to protest when he heard those all too familiar words that Naruto had used a lot in their childhood.

"Y-you can't be...Naruto has been an orphan since he was born..." Sasuke said in awe as he finally looked up to see the red haired woman and then to see Sakura behind her. She looked nothing like the illusions. She was taller and older than what he remembered.

He activated his clan's signature jutsu, the mirror wheel Sharingan, his eyes glowed red in the darkness. He gazed upon them all and found them not to be illusions. Their Chakra signatures were even similar to what he remembered. And it wasn't even just Sakura. There was Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Rock Lee, Neji, some tall man-(was that the 4th Hokage?), Kiba's dog, some blue dog, and...Naruto...

"N-naruto...? S-sakura...?" Sasuke squeaked.

"We're here Sasuke... We're here to take you to heaven..." Sakura said softly.

"Okay...this setting is a little gloomy. How about a scenery change?" Whis offered as he tapped his cane on the ground twice and the entire group found themselves in a brightly lit waiting room.

"Heaven is through that door and the Otherworld entrance is back out the other." Whis pointed out each double door on either side of the white walled room.

Now Sasuke was able to get a good look at all of them present. He noticed that Naruto and Sakura had definitely aged since he last remembered as did the others. But what the others had that his teammates didn't have were Halo's.

He also noticed that Naruto looked like he had gotten into a fight with several bears and lost. Or maybe he just made a pass at Sakura again. His left arm was in a sling, his clothes were all torn up, and his body was covered in tons of large bruises and cuts.

"So do you finally recognize us, Teme?" Naruto asked.

"I can't believe it..." Sasuke breathed out.

Sasuke made his way to the battered and beaten up Naruto and smirked. "Good to see you again, Dobe."

"Hey he is back to his old self!" Naruto excitedly proclaimed. He was about to pat Sasuke on the shoulder when he found himself wrapped up in a bone crushing hug and felt something wet against his cheek. He looked over to see that Sasuke had grabbed himself and Sakura in a very tight hug.

"(Sob)...thank you...THANK YOU!" Sasuke wailed. None of his peers had ever seen him like this. It actually scared them. He just seemed to break down after spending a year in Hell.

"Anything to help you, Sasuke..." Sakura said as she returned the hug.

He just sobbed even harder. This was real. He didn't know why he believed it now but something deep in his soul told him that it was genuine. He was free.

"H-h-how? Why?"

"It's...a long story, really." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Well I think you've got time. It's not like we're getting any older." Kiba commented.

"Don't remind me..." Naruto said sadly.

Sasuke picked up on Naruto's sadness and pulled away and wiped his tears. "How did you all die?"

Shikamaru stepped toward with the explanation. "You wouldn't believe us, but Naruto over hear learned about a special fighting tournament taking place in Hell where the winning team would get to to ascend one damned soul (i.e. you). So he bribed the servant of the God of Destruction."

"Hello." Whis waved.

"With ramen and the rest of us all came to join him. We ran for...five days? Or was it three days?"

"It was three." Sakura clarified.

"Right, we fought a giant snake princess and her army of attractive handmaidens." Shikamaru listed off. "Then we fought for three days in the Get Out of Hell Tournament until we finally were all killed by this alien space tyrant from another dimension, also do that Naruto here could master the powers of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, which as it turns out was sealed inside him since his birth. I think that about covers it."

"Don't forget that I sacrificed myself to defeat the grasshopper man." Lee chimed in.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. "So, the rumors were true... You are the nine tails jinchuriki..."

"When did you learn about...I'm sorry, what rumors?" Naruto inquired.

"Yea, there were a lot of rumors going around that you were the reincarnation of the nine tails, but I didn't really believe it."

"Why not?"

"Because you weren't evil unlike the fox." Sasuke said simply.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you." Kushina cooed.

"Plus you're too much of a dead last idiot. No way you could ever be a threat to the village." Sasuke finished.

"Not anymore he's not." Sakura praised.

Sasuke raised a quizzical eyebrow. "How so?"

"He's one of the strongest in the village now."

"I'm sorry, when did you turn into Naruto's fangirl?"

"The day they started going out." Kushina said simply.

Sasuke actually took a step back. "You two are dating?"

Sakura blushed hard at what Kushina blurted out. "Ummm..."

"Dobe, is this true?"

"Sure is!" Naruto said happily.

"Sage of Six Paths, finally." Sasuke gave a great big sigh of relief, surprising everybody.

"Yer-you're okay with this...?" Sakura asked, astonished.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? You two got on each other's nerves so much, well more Naruto on yours, but you two were made for each other. I wished that you two would've just kissed and shut up back when we were teammates." Sasuke admitted.

"But I... but you...never mind." Sakura sighed as she waved off the issue.

"So, wait...you act as if you never had feelings for Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"Because I didn't." Sasuke said simply.

That struck a tender cord with Sakura.

"Well. If that's all settled. I guess I've got nothing else to do but to head on in to Heaven. Thanks you guys." Sasuke waved as he turned towards the door with a golden gate imprinted over top of it.

"Wait!" Sakura exclaimed, bringing all eyes on her. "Guys, can you give me and Sasuke-kun a minute?"

Everyone looked shocked, especially since Sakura had referred to Sasuke as "Sasuke-kun" again.

"Uh...sure. Let's go-"

"Hold on a minute." Whis said suddenly.

"What's up?" Kiba asked.

"Sasuke is going to heaven, but the rest of you are going to King Kai's to train." Whis said.

"No offense, but what is the point? We're dead. And I'm hoping to get a head start on the pool parties with the concubines. All of them wearing skimpy little bikinis to complement their massive tits." Kiba said.

"And I was hoping to check out the buffet while eating of plates made of platinum blondes." Choji chimed in.

"And I was going to find a nice spot to watch the clouds and nap." Shikamaru said.

"And I wished to see my father." Neji said.

"I'd love the opportunity to train!" Lee chimed in.

"Simple. Because you lot are being wished back in two weeks." Whis smiled.

"Wait what?" They all stammered.

"To put it simply, the one called Goku informed me that the Earth's dragon balls have been modified to bring back any soul who has died in otherworld, regardless of what dimension they come from. So, you all have another shot at life."

"Really?! That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, so King Kai has offered you all to train on his world while you wait to be brought back. At which time, I will be bringing you all back to Element, fare free." Whis chuckled.

The boys were speechless. What do you say to this? When you've been given a second chance.

"Can we still have the pool party with the concubines?" Kiba asked hopefully.

"Sorry, but no." Whis said.

"DAMN IT!" Kiba shouted as he punched the wall. "I blame you, Duckbutt!"

"Hm." Sasuke said ignoring the dog boy's outburst.

"Anyway, if you all will join me, I'll take you to King Kai directly." Whis said.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Sakura said.

"Actually I think I'll stay here with you." Naruto insisted.

"I... really wanted this to be private, Naruto."

"But...but..."

"Oh what? Do you think I'm going to steal your girl, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered like his old self.

"Why you!" Naruto was about to attack him when he was held at bay by Sakura standing between the two.

"Naruto...please." Sakura said firmly with conviction.

Naruto sighed. "Can I at least say goodbye to him first?"

"Of course." Sakura stood aside to let the two boys sort out their feelings. They each took one look at each other and grabbed the other by the collar of their shirts like they were back in the Academy again.

"You got something to say to me, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered.

"Yeah. You were my closest friend too and I'm gonna miss you ya bastard!"

"Oh yeah? You were like the dopy younger brother I've always wanted."

"I looked up to you and thought that you were the coolest guy ever. I wanted to be just like you."

"I was jealous of your ability to find joy and happiness in a world that we both knew was shit. You made my life brighter just by being in it and now you've saved my eternal soul! I can never repay you!"

"I'd never expect you too. You're my brother damn it and I love you!"

"I love you too you dumbass spaz!"

"Same to you, you brother complex, emo bastard with a stick up your ass!"

 _'Oh my god are they going to kiss or something?'_ Inner thought.

The two suddenly closed the gap and hugged each other in a brotherly hug, tears streaming down their cheeks.

"You have no idea how much I'll miss you, Teme..." Naruto choked out.

"Not as much as I'll miss you, Dobe." Sasuke sniffed.

"It's not a competition, Teme."

"True, because like all competitions between us, I would have won."

"Maybe then...but I've been training in 150x gravity thanks to two people who came with me to the Leaf. I'm leagues above you now..." Naruto sniffed.

"Oh really? Cause I can just copy your running style with my Sharingan to become as fast as you like I did with Lee." Sasuke reminded them."

"Yea...that would be something..." Naruto said softly and they pulled away. "Take care, bro."

"You too. Treat Sakura right, you hear? And become the best Hokage the Leaf has ever seen."

Naruto pounded Sasuke on the back and broke away from the hug. He gave him one last nodded before retiring out the door to Otherworld, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone in the waiting room.

"So what's up?" Sasuke asked as he wiped his tears away.

"Sasuke-kun...about us..." Sakura began. Sasuke just sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, listen Sakura. You want to know what I really think of you? Fine. I like you, as a sister." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Back when we were on the same team together with Naruto and Kakashi I would sometimes think of myself as having fun and the pain I felt for my clan started to fade away. I started to think of Team 7 as my new family. And so I started to think of you as my annoying little sister. I cared about you, I still do, but I just don't like you in THAT way. I know it's not what you wanted to hear, and maybe you're just latching onto Naruto because of my death, but please do give him an honest chance. For reasons I can't fathom, he loves you. And he deserves that much." Sasuke ranted.

"So then what about my forehead?" Sakura asked.

"Come again?"

"My forehead. Back when we first became Genin, right before we met Kakashi-sensei, you said that you thought my forehead was big and charming. So big that it made you want to kiss it. What happened with your feelings about that? Was it just a lie you were using to trick me?" Sakura asked as her anger began to rise.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, genuinely confused.

"Don't lie to me, Sasuke-kun. I want the truth." Sakura demanded.

"You want the truth? Fine, since there is only so much you can do to me while I'm dead, I think that your forehead is your worst feature." Sasuke ripped the band aid off.

"What?" She said with an icy tone. "YOU were the one who said you liked my forehead! And when you about to steal my first kiss you just ran away like a little bitch and then came back acting like a bastard!" Sakura yelled.

"Look, I don't know what you think you remember about that day, but I definitely didn't almost kiss you. I would remember that. And yes, I thought you were cute as girls go, and your pink hair was unique, but the forehead was off-putting and you weren't even my type." Sasuke defended.

"And just who is your type pray tell?!"

"I don't know her name...that dark haired girl with the bangs, who was always staring at Naruto with her Byakugan?"

"Wait, you mean Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"That's her name. Yeah, she was the one girl in our class that didn't annoy me so that made her come across as a breath of fresh air." Sasuke explained.

Sakura nodded. "Look, all I remember is, you came up to me and made that sweet comment about my forehead. You were about to kiss it, but ran away suddenly, almost like your stomach was bothering you. Are you just saying that was a lie, or are you calling me a liar?" She said with an icy tone.

"Stomach problems?" Sasuke asked, then it donned on him and he laughed.

"What?" Sakura snapped.

"Sorry, but that sounds like such a Naruto move." He laughed.

"A Naruto..." Then it hit her. Like a mountain dropped on her head, it hit her. Sasuke looked at her with concern on his face at her vacant expression. Before her face split in half with a grin and she leaned forward to plant a sisterly kiss on Sasuke's cheek.

"Thank you Sasuke. I love you." Sakura said as she gave Sasuke one last big hug.

"Sakura...too tight...air..." Sasuke wheezed.

"That's for trying to kill Naruto three years ago with your Chidori." Sakura smirked as she let go of Sasuke.

"Well he killed me, so I think that's fair." Sasuke gasped out.

"W-what...?" Sakura gasped out.

"He didn't tell you? Figures he would blame himself. First off it wasn't directly his fault." Sasuke tried to explain.

"No hold on, go back, Naruto didn't kill you. Itachi did." Sakura said.

"Itachi? No it was Naruto. The both of us clashed with my Chidori and his Rasengan, I got knocked back and my neck landed on a rock." Sasuke said recounting his death.

"B-but...we were told by Jiraiya that...Itachi... He must have saw it and wiped his memory of it." Sakura deduced.

Sakura ran over to the door and threw it open.

"Naruto get in here!"

"I didn't do it!" Naruto called back.

"Yes you did! Now get in here!"

Naruto scurried back into the room to see a ripshit mad Sakura which made him gulp.

"So... Sasuke here tells me you were the one who killed him, not Itachi. Explain." Sakura said firmly.

"What?! No, Itachi killed him a year ago." Naruto said with absolute certainty.

"No, you killed me a little more than a month ago." Sasuke clarified.

"You're certain?" Sakura pressed.

"Positive. The demons in Hell make a point of letting you know exactly how long you've been in Hell and how long you have left to serve. So when every day feels like a year on a 365,000-day sentence, you feel the despair."

"No, I don't believe that. There is no way I would kill you willingly." Naruto said firmly.

"You didn't Dobe. We clashed with our jutsus and I landed on a rock and broke my neck. If anything I won that fight since you took more damaged where as I only died due to bad luck."

"I don't believe that either. I spent nearly 3 years out in the world training with Pervy Sage. I can recall perfectly what happened during that time and I never ran across you."

"Idiot, why would I lie to you about this?" Sasuke pointed out.

"Because I have no memory of that, that's why."

"What? Then why do I remember it differently?"

"I don't know, but I would remember something like that if it happened."

"Holy Sage, he's so dumb and stubborn I don't even know where to begin." Sasuke exclaimed.

"You probably had your memory altered by Itachi. His Sharingan can do that, right Sasuke?" Sakura chimed in.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks at Sakura's suggestion. "That is a very good possibility, Sakura."

He then looked at Naruto. "Naruto, I need you to look into my eyes. I'm going to see if Itachi did alter your memory."

Naruto sighed deeply. "If it will make the two of you feel better then fine..."

Sasuke looked directly into Naruto's ocean blue eyes with his glow red Sharingan activated.

 _'Okay NOW they're going to kiss.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Shut up. They ain't going to do that. Besides, they did that once anyway.'_ Sakura snickered.

 _'Yes, and this is the last chance we'll ever get. So why don't you just slowly nudge the two of them together...'_

 _'No, I'm not...actually, it would be pretty funny.'_ Sakura admitted.

 _'Yeah...and then after they are done raging about it, we'll all have a good laugh, they can admit that a part of them enjoyed it, and we can end this goodbye with a Sakura Sandwich.'_ Inner evilly thought.

 _'Is everything you think about all have to revolve around sex? I'm not... well...actually...I think I am ready...but we haven't even been together for a full month yet.'_

 _'Well this is a perfect chance to find out! No one to judge, and it's not like you can get pregnant from a dead guy. Wait, can you?'_

 _'Forget it. We're just going to go back home and live out a normal relationship. Where we take things slow and don't rush into things.'_

 _'Pssh, like that'll happen.'_

 _'My choice not yours.'_

 _'Fine. What about Gohan?'_

 _'WHAT ABOUT, GOHAN?!'_

 _'Never mind, you're about to miss your opportunity to make them kiss.'_

Sakura looked over to see that whatever Sasuke was doing was almost over. But, did she really want to do that again?

 _'...yup.'_ Sakura thought before slightly nudging Naruto forward.

She then nudged Sasuke forward.

 _'Now kiss...'_

She pushed them together just as they both regained consciousness.

Both their eyes went wide as they noticed the contact they have now and they quickly separated coughing and gagging while Sakura burst out laughing.

"YUK! I GOT YOUR TONGUE ON MY GUMS!" Sasuke cried out.

"GAK! I CAN TASTE IT! IT TASTES LIKE ASH AND KETCHUP! WHY THE FUCK DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME?!" Naruto cried back.

"ME?! YOU'RE THE ONE SO OBSESSED WITH-

"GAAHAHAHAHAA!" Sakura hollered with laughter. Her sides ached as she held herself.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Both Naruto and Sasuke yelled.

"AHAHAHAHAA...Both your faces!" Sakura laughed. Oh lord, she couldn't breathe.

Sakura sat up after collapsing to the floor to catch her breath. "Hoo... man that was too funny..."

Now Naruto and Sasuke were suspicious of their female teammate. "You did that, didn't you?" Sasuke asked.

"Maaaaaybe." Sakura winked as she stuck her tongue out at the two of them.

"What the hell, Sakura-chan! That was just wrong." Naruto pouted.

"Oh come on. With all the pranks you've pulled? That was a drop in the bucket in comparison."

"Well why'd you have to bring me into it? What did I do to deserve..." Sasuke ranted, only to be silenced by Sakura's raised eyebrow. "Never mind."

"Look, Sakura-chan we realized something extraordinary inside my mind." Naruto began.

"That you actually have a mind?" Sakura teased.

"Sakura this is serious. Itachi is a good guy." Naruto exclaimed.

"Wait, what?"

"Sasuke undid my memory problem and I remembered fighting him and Itachi a month before I came back to the Leaf. It was the same time that I met Videl and Gohan. The three of us and Pervy Sage all ran into Itachi and this sword fish guy. And it wasn't a resort town at all! It was just some crappy little village."

"Seriously? But they never said anything about it."

"Chances are, their memories were altered as well." Sasuke said.

"They were. Itachi offered to alter my memory and take the blame for killing Sasuke. Just to spare me the guilt."

"My god..." Sakura gasped out.

"There is more. Itachi is Pervy Sage's spy in the Akatsuki. He's been feeding him information for years. He's the one who told Pervy Sage about the three-year time gap we had to train up." Naruto said.

"What? How is that possible? I thought that Itachi massacred the entire Uchiha clan. Why would he help Jiraiya? Why would Jiraiya work with him?" Sakura insisted.

"Because my brother killed my entire clan under orders from the Leaf village." Sasuke sneered.

"W-what...?"

"Apparently the Uchiha's were planning a coup to overthrow the Hokage and all the elders. So this guy named Danzo ordered Itachi to kill them all to spare the rest of the village." Naruto explained.

The mention of that name drew a dark shadow over Sakura's eyes. "I know Danzo. That old War hawk has always hated my Lady Tsunade for being too peaceful as he would call it."

"Then I wonder how he would handle Naruto being Hokage?" Sasuke mused.

"He's not going to handle it. He thinks that he can get away with ordering someone to kill their entire family? That he can just order the extermination of an entire family? Unforgivable. I'm telling you Sakura-chan we are going straight back home and murdering that son of a bitch. Then we'll clear Itachi's name and-

"No." Sasuke cut him off, surprising both his teammates.

"No? What do you mean no?" Naruto questioned.

"If you clear my brother's name, then my family gets branded as nothing more than an evil clan filled with traitors. That includes everyone, even those that had nothing to do with the coup. I have nothing more to do with my clan's future, and the Uchiha line will end with my brother."

"But what about all those who did betray the Leaf?" Naruto asked before he realized how harsh that sounded.

"If there is one thing I've learned after being in Hell for two months, everyone gets their just dues. My father and the other leaders of my clan might be punished, but the clan's legacy will remain intact and the world will keep on spinning." Sasuke said grimly.

"Still, there's gotta be something we can do." Sakura pressed.

"Just get Danzo and the Elders. Don't let them get away with their crimes anymore." Sasuke said.

"Promise." Sakura and Naruto said.

Sasuke brought them in for one last hug.

"Thank you both. You were the best teammates I could ever ask for. Sorry I didn't realize it in life."

The living members of Team 7 started to choke up and hugged Sasuke tighter.

"Ack...air...please..." Sasuke gasped.

"You're dead. You don't need air." Naruto reminded him.

Sasuke wheezed out a small laugh before they pulled away. Then a thought occurred to him. "So, is our team still down a man or have I been replaced yet?"

"Videl is our new team member." Sakura replied.

"Another woman? You poor bastard, Dobe."

"Tell me about it...she's almost like Sakura-chan."

"What, are you attracted to her too?"

"Well...I mean she's good looking, but that's not what I meant. Besides, she's a lot more violent and has anger issues."

"Just like Sakura?"

The pink medic then punched Sasuke square on the nose.

"That was long overdue." Sakura said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Ugh...I deserved that..." Sasuke groaned.

"For the record, she's worse than me."

"Record taken. But why didn't you team up with that Gohan guy? He seems powerful."

"Well, he is. But Videl has way more potential in being a ninja. She can use two types of energy. Plus, Gohan is the leader of a global peace keeping force." Sakura explained.

"Like what the Akatsuki is trying to be?" Sasuke pointed out.

"Different than that. They, as in Naruto and myself along with Gohan, protect the world from serious threats."

"You're members of his little gang? After knowing him for what, a month?"

"To be fair, he did train us in more advanced forms of taijutsu." Naruto said.

"And Ki training." Sakura added.

"What's that?"

"Remember what Gohan used against that pirate armada?" Naruto asked.

"No, but I remember fighting against him. He was worse with genjutsus then you were."

"Still is actually. Videl was trained by Kurenai-sensei to resist them though." Sakura said.

"Tell her to teach Gohan. I'm certain that Dobe here could trap him a genjutsu." Sasuke said.

"Already have." Naruto smirked.

"He was being trained by Asuma-sensei, but yea I agree. He needs to learn to resist genjutsus. Having the power to blow up a planet 10 times over is fine and all, but..." Sakura sighed.

"Am I supposed to react to that somehow?"

"I dunno. Was just saying that he's overpowered almost to a fault." Sakura shrugged.

"Like you're one to talk, miss 250x gravity." Naruto teased.

"Hey, I did that so Videl would teach me to fly." Sakura grumbled as she elbowed Naruto.

Sasuke blinked. "Fly?"

"Huh? Yea. You can apparently use Ki to fly. Ki is essentially a more raw form of chakra that is extremely deadly if used in a certain way." Sakura explained.

"Uh huh..." Sasuke said in confusion, but shrugged it off. "Well, I think I've held you two up long enough. I guess I'll see you guys when you pass on..."

"Well you can talk to us whenever you want through King Kai. Just like we did with Naruto's parents." Sakura suggested.

"Really? Well that would be something. I think I'll do just that." Sasuke smiled as he turned the doorknob to enter Heaven.

The door opened to reveal a path that lead to a floating airport that had a bunch of planes that said; "Heavenly Express" docked at several gates with different numbers on them.

"What the Hell are those things?" Sasuke pointed at the airplanes.

Sakura looked at the aircraft and remembered that Videl had showed her something similar. "They're called airplanes. Special vehicles that can travel in the air." Sakura said.

"How do you..." Naruto asked.

"Videl showed me a smaller one she has." Sakura said simply.

"Incredible. Do they run on Ki too?" Naruto asked.

"No, these have...what did she call them...internal combustion engines. Kinda like a steam engine, but they run on a type of fossil fuel."

"How would rocks be used as fuel?" Naruto asked.

"Oil, petrol, kerosene, those kind of fossil fuels, Baka." Sakura lectured.

"Well sorry I didn't spend my 3 years of training with my nose buried in a book."

"Yea, fuck you..." Sakura grumbled.

"Anytime." Naruto winked as Sakura flicked him in the forehead.

"This is my fault. I gave him an inch and look what happened." She said to herself.

"Yea, like you don't want it." Sasuke smirked.

"Hey, that's none of your business." Sakura said firmly.

"Fair enough. Hey did I hear the rumors right or does each house in Heaven come with a Descry Sphere?" Sasuke mused.

"I... don't know offhand." Sakura admitted. "I think so."

"Well maybe I'll check in on you guys once and awhile. Any time I want..." He smirked.

Sakura blushed. "Do you really wanna see Naruto like that?"

"Maybe I secretly want to see you like that." He said getting his face right in front of Sakura's, making her turn beet red.

"U-uhhh... I, uhhh..."

"Pssht, old habits die hard I guess." Sasuke laughed as he turned away. Giving Sakura the opportunity to throw her boot at his head.

"G-get out of here, pervert! Sage of Six Paths, is everyone on my team a pervert?!" Sakura cried.

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm nowhere near as perverted as Pervy Sage." Naruto protested.

"Don't give me that! You created that stupid perverted jutsu that degrades women. AND you taught it to Konohamaru AND Gohan!" Sakura berated.

Sasuke just laughed. "Just like old times..." he said fondly.

The two living Shinobi looked over at their teammate. "Oh yeah? Well why aren't you sticking your nose up while trying not to have a good time and going 'hm' right now?" Naruto asked. "Make it really like old times."

"Oh hey, I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm so dark and mysterious because the stick up my ass keeps all my emotions from leaking out. Hur dur, don't mess with the Uchiha." Sakura grunted in an imitation of her dark haired teammate.

Naruto and Sakura burst out laughing while Sasuke stuck his nose up in the air and went, "Hm."

"LAST BOARDING CALL FOR FLIGHT 24!" They heard over the PA.

"Is that me? I don't know if that's me." Sasuke said.

"That's you, Sasuke. We're universe 24, so..." Sakura sighed.

Sasuke grabbed his teammates and hugged them again.

"I'll...get settled in my new house in Heaven and then...I don't know maybe I'll come visit you guys on King Kai's planet. Or maybe I'll just talk to you through him. I don't actually know what to expect in Heaven. I never gave it much thought when I was alive. I'm nervous. And I wish you two could join me. I'm scared and I'm rambling." Sasuke said.

"According to my parents, you'll love it." Naruto said.

"Yea, about that. That man that was with us, that was your father, right? Who was he?" Sasuke asked.

"Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage." Naruto confirmed.

"W-what?! Your dad is Lord Fourth?!" Sasuke exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, who da thought it?" Naruto smirked.

"FLIGHT 24! IF YOU'RE FROM UNIVERSE 24 AND LIVED ON THE PLANETS CRONIN, ELEMENT, OR XENO, PLEASE BOARD NOW!"

"I gotta go. See you guys... I love you both." Sasuke admitted.

"We love you too, Teme." Naruto smiled as the both of them gave Sasuke one last hug.

The former last Uchiha broke away from then and entered the gate. The duo only then realized that was once a childlike for was now back to his 16-year-old form.

Sasuke walked past the blue demon stewardess who politely bowed and smiled at him. He gave his own polite nod before boarding the so called "airplane." There he saw rows upon rows of comfortable looking seats, all of them windows. They looked crowded, but at the same time there was no lack of elbow or leg room with any seat.

"Sir, if you could just take a seat. We will be departing soon." The red headed demon stewardess spoke in a polite tone to him.

"Hm." He said as he took the seat nearest to the front and watched the airlock doors being shut tight.

"Sir, I'll need you to buckle your safety belt as well." The stewardess insisted. Sasuke looked down at the buckles and did as he was instructed. The lady demon smiled and returned to her duties.

One of the demon stewardesses picked up the intercom and began explaining something that Sasuke wasn't paying attention to. Instead he looked out his window to see his two best friends Naruto and Sakura standing outside on the tarmac waving at him. He waved back as the plane began to turn to face down the runway and took off. Sasuke kept looking down at the tarmac until he could no longer make out the figures of individuals on the ground. He settled back into his seat and decided to close his eyes for a brief rest.


	27. Chapter 27: King Kai's Planet

**Author's Note from Panda: This is a filler chapter. No other word for it. So just kick back and enjoy.**

* * *

Naruto and Sakura kept waving at the airplane even when it turned away from them until it had taken off and had disappeared beyond the golden horizon. The two just stood there for a few minutes, letting it all sink in.

"Come on Sakura-chan. Let's go..." Naruto said. Sakura turned around with him without a word, her head laying against his shoulders as they headed back to the Otherworld.

"Do you really think Heaven is as beautiful as they say?" Sakura asked.

"No idea, but where would the fun be in knowing?" Naruto asked.

"True..." Sakura softly, then she remembered something. "So, you really think my forehead is cute and charming?"

"Well, yea of course I do." Naruto said simply.

"Then why did you disguise yourself as Sasuke to tell me that and make me think he had true feelings for me?" Sakura said bluntly.

Naruto then stumbled. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me. Sasuke denied the whole thing when I asked him about it and he helped me piece together that it was you."

"Well I um...you see...the thing about that is...before you kill me..." Naruto stammered.

"Oh I'm not going to kill you, idiot. Oh no, I have a much more heinous punishment for you." Sakura smirked.

Naruto gulped.

"See. All these revelations have left me realizing that I'm never gonna be able to fall in love with any other guy ever again. Now that you've killed off the only other possible candidate." Sakura said bluntly, making Naruto chuckle nervously.

 _'The rock did most of the work.'_ Inner thought.

"So now I'm going to spend the rest of your natural life whipping you into shape of what I imagine to be proper boyfriend material. You think I've ridden your ass on being reckless or not eating healthy before, you ain't seen nothing yet." Sakura listed off.

 _'This girl is going to be the death of me...'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **'Thank the Sage you're a masochist.'**_ The Kyuubi thought.

 _'I'm a what?'_

 _ **'Never mind, someone will explain it to you eventually.'**_

"And all I ask you in return, Naruto, is for you to keep being you." Sakura said.

"So wait, hold on, you want me to change...so long as I'll always stay the same?" Naruto clarified.

"Correct." Sakura smiled.

"Ooookay...I'm confused..."

"Good." Sakura said as she snuggled into Naruto's arm. "You're cute when you're confused. Your lip gets all scrunched up." Sakura giggled.

"Heh...first time I heard that."

"You wanna know something?" Sakura asked.

"What?"

"Had you said what you did about my forehead as yourself then, we would have gotten together a lot sooner."

 _ **'Oh, the irony...'**_ The Kyuubi said.

"Please don't say that, Sakura-chan. I already hate myself for not telling you sooner." Naruto whined.

"Well its true. Hell, if you really wanted to do something as Sasuke, you could have done something to make me hate him. But whatever...I just love you more now just knowing that it was you that said that in the first place."

"Right... So does it score me any more brownie points if I didn't tell you about me transforming into Sasuke when we were confessing just so that you could hold on to your best memory of him?" Naruto asked.

"You'll find out later."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Later? What does that mean?"

"Like I said, you'll find out later." Sakura replied with a content sigh.

Soon they found their way back to the rest of their friends who had been patiently waiting for Naruto and Sakura to return.

"Bout time." Kiba said.

"Oh zip it...it was hard enough to say goodbye to him as it was..." Sakura said sadly.

"Yeah I'll bet. Ouch!" Kiba cried as Kushina slapped him upside the head for being rude.

"Well, now that everything's settled, I'll be taking you all to King Kai's planet. Normally you would have to traverse all of Snake Way to get to him, but he has made an exception this time." Whis informed.

"Wait! Sir, hold on!" Cried a voice. The group all looked over at one of the referees from the tournament. Specifically, the one that had over seen their first match.

"Hm? What can I do for you?" Whis asked.,

"Sorry sir, but I need to return this mortal's pet." The announcer gasped, apparently running was not his forte.

"I'm sorry, who's?" Whis asked.

"His." The announcer clarified by pointing at Naruto.

"Oh! I forgot about that." Naruto said sheepishly.

 _ **'Thanks a lot you ass.'**_

The announcer snapped his fingers and out popped a cage large enough to fit say...a Tailed Beast.

 **"Would you mind getting me out of this? My 3rd tail is going to sleep."**

"Yeah, yeah, a deal's a deal." Naruto said as the cage shattered into nothing upon the boy's honored agreement.

 **"Great, now then..."** The Kyuubi said as he yanked on his and Naruto's lifeline, throwing the blond boy forward onto his belly.

"Ow! What was that for?" Naruto protested.

 **"Ha, see, not so fun when it happens to you, huh?"** Kurama leered.

"Right on my broken arm..." Naruto groaned.

Sakura jumped up and flicked the Kyuubi on the nose, making him take a step back. "You be nice to him. After all, he IS your lifeline." Sakura scolded.

 **"Ah, it's like running into a boulder. What the hell are your paws made of, vixen?"** The Kyuubi groaned.

"You really wanna find out?" Sakura growled as she cracked her knuckles.

 **"Urg...no..."** The Kyuubi groaned as he rubbed his nose while trying to keep a scowl on his face.

 **"Let's get this over with. Just seal me back inside so that I can take a nap."** The Kyuubi sighed.

"That's better." Sakura smirked.

"Actually, hold on a minute." Naruto said as he stood back up.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Everyone else looked similarly confused.

 **"Oh what Kit? Don't tell me you want to find a way to leave me here. Cause I've got news for you."** The Kyuubi held up the string. **"This lifeline can stretch infinitely but it can't follow you across dimensions. You leave without me and we're both dead."**

"No, that's not it." Naruto began. "I was just wondering what you want to do?" He said, making everyone else do a double take.

 **"What I... what are you getting at?"**

"I'm just genuinely asking you what you want to do. We're both in this together like you said, so you get a say too." Naruto said simply.

The Kyuubi just stared at Naruto, looking terribly assumed. He almost felt like laughing.

 **"One thousand years of fighting off humans, one hundred god damn years of imprisonment, two vessels, and you're the first person to ever ask that of me. What I want."** Kurama mused.

"So what is it that you want?" Naruto asked. Fair is fair, that's how Kakashi always taught them how to treat their teammates. Everyone is risking their lives. So when the superior officer isn't around, everyone gets an equal say.

The other shinobi living and dead might of had to get their ears checked, cause they could have sworn that the Demon Fox just chuckled.

 **"Me? Oh nothing I'm likely to get. Mostly freedom from your damn seal and to be left alone by the humans, but good job getting my hopes up. It was a good joke."**

"It's not a joke! You wanna be free, then I'll free you. Like you said, I owe you anyway." Naruto said with conviction. He then turned back towards his father. "Dad, you designed the seal that trapped the Kyuubi in me. How do we free him?"

Kushina cupped her hand over her mouth. Did her son know what he was suggesting?

"Without killing you? I have no idea. I didn't design the seal, I modified the 2nd Hokage's design with the help of your mother's clan's sealing techniques.

"So can't you modify it some more?" Naruto inquired, causing Minato to go into deep thought.

"I could...theoretically...but it would take years. Not to mention that I'm dead, so you would have to learn the sealing yourself."

"That's actually perfect. There are actually still some threats that we need to deal with back home. And I'll need your help, Kyuubi." Naruto stated.

 **"It's Kurama, by the way. But...I suppose I can wait a while longer. I've waited this long, so what's a few more years?"**

"Oh okay, Kurama, thank you. You have my word that I'll uphold my end of the bargain. As soon as the modified seal is complete I will free you." Naruto promised.

 **"And if you lie to me?"**

"You can bust out of the seal and my friends won't ever take vengeance against you." Naruto swore.

 **"Deal."** Kurama said as he brought one of his tails out to shake Naruto's hand.

Then Sakura had an idea. "Wait a minute. Lord 4th, you said that Lord 2nd created the seal, right?"

"Yes, that's true." Minato said.

"Well, Lord 2nd should be in heaven, right? If that's the case, you could work with him on modifying the seal further in a much faster time." Sakura said.

"Hey that's brilliant. You picked a smart one, son." Minato praised.

"And I'm never letting her go either." Naruto said proudly.

"No you're not." Kushina and Sakura both said.

"Hey is this just gonna be our whole two weeks? You four acting all lovey dovey while we stand around and pretend to be side characters?" Kiba shouted.

"Oh shut up." Sakura grumbled.

"You know maybe if we had brought Gohan and left you behind Kiba we would get to go home sooner." Neji suggested.

At that, everyone laughed at Neji's joke at Kiba's expense.

"Oh yeah? Well by my math I took out two of the Ginyu Force so that puts me above you in terms of usefulness, Neji." Kiba fired back.

"Yea, and Lee took out Cell and Naruto took down Freeza." Sakura fired at Kiba.

"I'm not underplaying their accomplishments; I'm just saying if we should have left anyone behind it should have been Neji." Kiba stated.

"You only took down two because Akamaru was with you." Neji fired back.

 **"Girls, girls, you're both pretty."** Kurama said to shut them up.

Most of them snickered.

"Well, can we please move this along?" Whis sighed.

"I'm sorry are we keeping you from something?" Kushina snapped.

"Yes, actually. Beerus gets testy when I'm not around so if you could please move this along so I can take you to King Kais?"

"Yeah sure." Naruto said without thinking. Whis tapped his pole twice and teleported the twelve of them to King Kai's planet.

 **BOOM!**

The young shinobi instantly found themselves on a tiny planet, and by tiny they mean that ten of them could fit in the Leaf village. They looked over and saw that Bluebell, Minato, and Kushina were struggling underneath the increased gravity, while Kurama seemed to be sitting on the remains of a house.

"MY HOUSE!" Yelled a voice that a lot of them recognized.

They all turned and expected to see an impressive looking god for all the times they had spoken to him in their minds. Instead they looked down upon a short round old man with full moon sunglasses, blue skin, and two long antennae.

Kurama looked down and saw that he was sitting on his house. **"My bad..."** He said as he carefully got off the remains of the Kai's house.

"You big dumb oaf! Who just teleports a monster onto my planet without my-LORD WHIS WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE!" King Kai groveled.

"That was my fault, King Kai. My apologies." Whis bowed.

"N-n-no problem, M'Lord." King Kai stuttered.

Whis snapped his fingers and King Kai's house was the way it was before. "All fixed."

"T-thank you, M'Lord. Is there anything you require of me?"

"You remember the agreement you made to train these kids, right?"

"Yes of course, but first they must pass my test." King Kai said gravely.

"Alright then. I leave them in your care. Minato, would you be willing to do the honors of sealing Kurama back in Naruto?"

"Sure thing. Naruto, er...Kurama, come with me." Minato said as he started walking over to the other side of the planet.

Naruto and Kurama walked away with Minato so they could take care of business. Meanwhile, King Kai was about to give the others their first test.

"Alright. To pass this test..." He paused dramatically to build up suspense and to make them sweat. "You must..." He paused again, they were all feeling the pressure now. "Tell me a good joke!"

The teens all fell over backwards. Sakura was the first to stand up. "Are you serious?! THAT'S YOUR TEST?!"

"Yes that's my test. If you can't make me laugh, then I won't train you." King Kai said firmly.

"Um...Ooh, I got one!" Kushina exclaimed. "Men can be such a pain. Take my husband...please."

King Kai started to snicker and then laughed. "That's a classic but a good one!"

"I got this." Kiba said confidently.

"Hoo...alright, let's see what you got." King Kai said.

"Gohan told me this one. What do you call a caribou in Italy?"

"What?" King Kai asked.

"Mussolini."

"I don't get it, what's Italy?" Lee whispered at Neji.

"Country on Earth. I'll tell you later." Kiba whispered.

"BAHAHAHAHA!" King Kai almost died laughing at that one.

"Oh yeah!" Choji shouted. "Well we've got a midget fortune teller killing his customers in our village. We've got a small medium at large!"

"BAHAHAHAHA!" King Kai laughed hysterically.

Shikamaru was next. "If you want to catch a squirrel just climb up a tree and act like a nut!"

Then went Sakura. "So I was working at the free clinic and this guy with premature ejaculation comes out of nowhere."

Everyone laughed at that one. "BAHAHAHA!"

"Damn, who knew Sakura was capable of dirty jokes?" Kiba snickered.

"I have my moments." Sakura shrugged.

"Well that's five of you. What do the rest of you got?" King Kai inquired.

"Well, Neji? You got one?" Kiba asked.

"I don't tell jokes." Neji said firmly.

"Oh come on, Neji. You've got a few." Lee encouraged.

He sighed. "Fine. My uncle recently got crushed by a pile of books. In retrospect, he only had his shelf to blame."

King Kai didn't even crack a smile. "What was that...?"

"A joke...?" Neji said. "It always gets a chuckle in the branch family kitchens."

"I'm afraid I'm a bit harder to please in that area." King Kai said.

"Ummm...what kind of shoes do ninjas wear? Sneakers."

King Kai snickered and laughed a little. "Okay that was better."

"Oh I've got one!" Lee called out. "Last night I almost had a threesome. I just needed two more people!"

King Kai snickered. "A little weak but passable."

"Damn it, I must be granted this youthful training! Neji, we must try harder!" Lee yelled passionately.

"I said you passed." King Kai deadpanned.

"Oh, well then you're on your own, Neji." Lee deadpanned.

"Neji passed as well."

"Oh but I had another one. Why did six hate seven?" Neji tried.

"Alright...why?"

"Because seven was a registered six offender."

"BAHAHAHA! Oh that's terrible but funny!" The whole group laughed as Naruto and Minato returned.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"We need to tell jokes in order to be allowed to train with King Kai." Kiba explained.

"Oh man." Naruto groaned.

"Oh come on Naruto. I know you've got plenty of jokes." Sakura said.

"Speak for yourself, I'm not that punny."

"BAHAHAHAHA!" King Kai laughed.

Naruto smirked.

"Okay, that was good I'll give you that one." Sakura smiled.

"Well Minato, you're all that's left." Kushina said.

The young shinobi waited on baited breath to hear the famous Fourth Hokage's sense of humor.

"Okay, this is one a friend of mine told me...ahem... So I went to attend a friend's funeral. A man stands in front of the crowd and begins the eulogy. 'Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today because SOMEBODY couldn't stay alive...'"

"BAHAHAHAHA!" King kai laughed.

"Ooohohohohooo...that's baaad." Sakura laughed.

"Okay, you all pass." King Kai said happily.

"Now, normally I would test your speed by catching my friend Bubbles and my friend Gregory. But a lot of you have done gravity training with Gohan so this time we'll skip it. That and you're only here for two weeks. So, that being said, I'm going to train you all in the basics of Ki. After that, we'll work on my signature techniques."

"Whoohoo!" All the young shinobi cheered.

"That being said. Tall blondie and red-head, go chase the monkey." King Kai instructed.

"Wait, that?" Kushina and Minato questioned.

"BUBBLES!" King Kai called and out came a small monkey.

"Wait, we have to chase that?!" Kushina protested.

"Yes, you do. Get going Bubbles!" King kai said and the monkey took off at a leisurely jog, Minato and Kushina struggling to keep up. "As for the rest of you, we got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, so let's get to it."

* * *

The rest of the day passed with the young shinobi all mastering the finer points of Ki control. All the while Minato, Kushina, and Bluebell failed to capture Bubbles. While the Fourth Hokage could do it with his Flying Thunder God technique as could Kushina with her Chakra Chains, the both of them realized that this was strictly a physical exercise.

Before anyone knew it, six hours had passed.

"Okay break." King Kai called as the seven shinobi all collapsed from what Sakura would have called Chakra Exhaustion if it wasn't for the Ki.

"This is a lot different than what Videl was teaching me..." Sakura wheezed out.

"I will credit her this much, she was able to teach you how to channel it, but she really didn't instruct you properly in control." King Kai said.

"My hands...god damn I'm still injured." Naruto whined. "Sakura-chan, why haven't you or Kurama just healed me already?"

"You need to give your bones time to recover themselves, you fool." Sakura lectured.

 _ **'She's right you know.'**_ Kurama replied.

 _'Hush you, who's side are you on?'_

"Lee seems to be getting the most out of this. You lot rely on Chakra, which is fine. But it has a lot of flaws. Ki is easier to control and mold into many similar uses that you use Chakra for. Chakra wears you out faster simply because the mental energy used to create Chakra actually dilutes the power you could have just using the physical and/or spiritual energies." King Kai explained.

"It... does?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

King Kai nodded and created a house size ball of Ki. "This ball of Ki is just from using your physical energy." Suddenly it grew bigger. "This is when you channel spiritual energy into it." Then it grew a lot smaller. "I just removed the spiritual energy and replaced it with the mental energy. It's less than half of its original size because you would be over concentrating on it. See my meaning?"

King Kai dispelled the ball completely. "You need to learn to focus on your energy without using your mental energy to concentrate on it. This will help you utilize it to its fullest capacities."

"So that's why it kept blowing up in my face." Sakura mused.

"That's only part of it. With you, you're too timid around this kind of energy and you've been solely dependent on Chakra for years. You need to learn to calm your mind and learn what each energy type feels like in order to properly control Ki." King Kai finished.

"And how do I do that?" Sakura asked.

"Meditation is the quickest and more fruitful way of calming your mind and learning about each energy individually." King Kai replied.

"Just like Gohan said...I should've listened..." Sakura sighed.

"Yes, you should have. Meditation isn't an excuse for solitude, it keeps your mind and body in balance with one another."

Before Sakura could respond the entire group heard the desperate panting coming from two of the Leaf's greatest heroes. Kushina and Minato came running up the horizon while chasing after Bubbles, still being no closer to catching him.

"Alright you two. Take a break for now and I'll fix us something to eat." King Kai said.

The two collapsed onto the grass when Kushina realized something.

"Wait a minute. Did you say eat?" Kushina shot her head up.

"Yes, eat." King Kai nodded.

Kushina hastily stood up on one shaky knee. "No. I'll...do it..." She grunted as she forced herself to stand.

"Just relax, I can take care of-" King Kai stopped when he saw the unbridled fury in Kushina's eyes as she grabbed him by the head.

"This will be the first meal I've ever eaten together with my son. As a FAMILY. With his friends over, and his girlfriend no less. Neither Hell nor a god like you is going to stop me from cooking a homemade meal for my son." She stated firmly.

"Uh...s-s-sure thing..." King Kai said with fear.

"Very good. Now show me to your kitchen. And I swear to you that there had better be some vegetables and soy sauce in there. Sakura, help me out would you?" Kushina demanded.

"Of course." Sakura said as King Kai led them to a rather small kitchen that was fit for maybe two people.

"Disgraceful. What is this a bachelor's pad?" Kushina scoffed.

"Yes, if you must know..." King Kai grumbled.

The only saving grace was a large, self-restocking fridge and a large chest freezer.

"It'll have to do." Kushina said as she tied her hair into a messy pony tail. She took one step forward and her leg muscles gave out.

Sakura caught her as her possible future mother-in-law collapsed. "I think you should rest."

"Never...I'll cook a family meal for my son if it's the last thing I do..."

"Well...alright..."

"Good. Now heal my legs."

"Of course." Sakura channeled her chakra into Kushina's legs to quickly heal them back to normal.

"Ah, so you're a healer." King Kai said in realization.

"Okay..." Kushina said as she stood back up. "I need the largest stir fry pan in this place and the best quality cooking oil we can find. Then some prime A steaks diced." Kushina ordered.

King Kai Materialized all the items Kushina requested seemingly out of thin air.

"Now we're in business. Sakura, dice the meat. King Kai, I need these ingredients..." Kushina listed off.

"Sounds simple enough." Sakura said.

* * *

Exactly ten minutes later...

"I don't know how you did it, but you managed to dice the meat into perfect spheres..." Kushina said in awe.

"Is... that… good?" Sakura tentatively asked.

"I mean it's not...bad...they're the same size as what I wanted it's just...unexpected..."

Sakura sighed. "This is also the first meal I'm cooking for Naruto so I'm nervous..."

"Well I'm nervous too, truth be told. This is the first meal I've ever made for my son and it has to be perfect." Kushina said.

"You know he'll eat just about anything, right?"

"Perhaps. Still, I want to make sure that it's the best thing he's ever eaten."

"Same."

"Well I mean. There is something YOU could do to make it the best meal he has ever had. Something I never got the chance to do." Kushina said.

"What's that?"

Kushina smirked and leaned in close. "Feed him."

"EH?! F-feed him?! I mean...I don't mind, but it just might seem weird for him to have someone feed him his meal."

"His arm is still broken isn't it? Use that as an excuse to feed him." Kushina suggested.

"But he's right handed."

"Damn..." Kushina cursed. "I wonder how inconspicuously you could break his other arm...?"

"I'm not doing that." Sakura said firmly.

"Good. I probably shouldn't be encouraging you to break my son's arm anyway." Kushina said as she awkwardly laughed.

Then Kushina thought about something. "Maybe you can feed him something else..."

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

Kushina leaned in and whispered something to Sakura and she turned beet red.

"Oh I don't think so...I'm not ready for that..."

"Why not? This is the perfect opportunity." Kushina insisted.

"On a planet you could hit yourself with a rock with if you threw it hard enough? Where all my male friends are staying with us?"

Kushina tapped her finger on her chin to think. "Hey King Kai. Do you have like a really private place here?" She called.

"Um...my garage has a guest bedroom in it. I figured I'd set up sleeping bags on the floor of the garage for you guys and you'd get to fight over who get the bedroom." King Kai said from the living room.

"Odd place for one, but it sounds good." Kushina replied before smirking at Sakura.

"I... I don't know..." Sakura said nervously.

"Well no pressure, dear. I just want you and my son to be happy." Kushina said as she placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"And we are. But, we've barely been together for a month now. Isn't it too soon?"

Kushina sighed. "Minato and I weren't much older than you when we had our first time together, and you wanna know how long we had been dating?"

"How long?"

"3 weeks."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "3 weeks...?" she gasped.

"Your parents were sooner than that. They did it on the first date." Kushina smirked.

"WHAT?!" Sakura shrieked.

"Yup, and your mother said it was the most romantic and memorable night she ever had." Kushina said. "She always was a little easy. Although she was 23 at the time." Kushina added.

Kushina looked Sakura dead in the eyes. "It doesn't matter how old you are or how long you've been in a relationship. What matters is how much love you two have for each other and how long you want it to last."

Sakura had to stop and think about that. It actually made a lot of sense and she loved Naruto more than anything, just as Naruto loved her more than anything. She always thought she had to wait a year or more or even after they got married, but Kushina proved that wrong in a heartbeat.

"I never really thought of that..." Sakura breathed out.

"I can take care of things here. How about you go sit down and think things over." Kushina suggested as she got right to work cooking her massive meal.

Sakura slowly made her way to the living room where King Kai was taking a nap in his easy chair. She sat down at the nearby table, her mind swimming with the knowledge and the thoughts of taking this next big leap with Naruto.

 _'Am I really ready for this...?'_ Sakura thought to herself.

 _'There is no shame in not being ready.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Coming from you, that doesn't really feel like a lot of help.'_

 _'I know that I've mostly been on the side of riding him like a blond stallion up to this point, but in all seriousness if you're not ready, you're not ready. Naruto can respect that or he can get over it.'_ Inner said simply.

 _'He's never even asked me once, although I can tell he really wants to fuck me. I can see it almost every day...then finding out it was really him that made that sweet compliment about my forehead all those years ago, him going above and beyond the call of duty to save Sasuke's soul, watching him desperately defeat Freeza and taking that near fatal blow from Zabuza...he deserves something for everything he's done.'_

 _'He has your love, he gets to spend time with his deceased parents, and all his friends get to come back to life. Is that not enough?'_

 _'Hmm...maybe if I wait until Naruto has completely healed. Then we can revisit the issue.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'But, then there's something else...the fight we had before he left... He may say he forgives me, but I can tell he's still hurt about what I did.'_ Sakura then thought it over and she made her decision. _'I think I'll heal him up tonight once training is over.'_

 _'Are you sure you wanna do that?'_ Inner asked.

 _'Thinking about it, yes I am.'_ Sakura said with conviction.

 _'So... the day has finally come that you're going to pop your cherry.'_

 _'Well, it may not be tonight that I do that. But who's to say I can't share the bed with him?'_

 _'No one. But that isn't going to stop me from sending erotic thoughts into your dreams.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'Gee, thanks a lot...'_ Sakura sighed.

 _'You're welcome.'_ Inner smiled as Kushina popped her head out of the kitchen.

"Oh Sakura, could you help me serve dinner?" She smiled.

"Sure, I need to talk to you anyway." Sakura said as she stood up.

"Of course. What's up?" Kushina asked as she hoisted up the pot filled with stir fry.

"I think I've made my decision."

Kushina beamed with anticipation. "You have?"

"Yes. While it may not happen tonight, but soon. For tonight however, I think we're gonna take the bed and I'll get him all healed up."

"That sounds wonderful. Until then, could you grab the punch and the bread rolls?"

"Sure thing." Sakura smiled.

Sakura picked up the large bowl of punch with one hand and the large basket of bread rolls and carried them to the table, followed by Kushina with her stir-fry.

"Wow you really went all out." Sakura said happily.

"I tried." Kushina said simply. "It just doesn't feel as satisfying as having bought the groceries myself. I can't explain it."

They both made their way outside where, to their astonishment there were three picnic tables all pushed together with utensils and napkins laid out next to plates and glasses. Enough for nine people plus two dogs.

"Alright! Food!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Where did these picnic tables come from?" Sakura asked as she placed the punch bowl and the bread on one of the tables while Kushina laid the main dish in the center.

"King Kai's garage." Shikamaru informed.

"Ah, cool." Sakura shrugged. "Well, foods ready when you are."

"Awesome, I'm starving." Naruto said as he looked inside the pot and was disappointed that it wasn't ramen. "What's this?"

"Steak stir fry with mixed veggies and a side of buttered rolls." Kushina introduced, a little nervous that Naruto didn't seem enthused by her cooking.

"Never had it before. Did you-"

"Don't you dare mention ramen. You need to eat something else for once and your mom worked really hard on this. The least you can do is eat it." Sakura scolded.

Naruto looked over and saw his mom almost on the verge of tears and he felt horrible.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry mom." Naruto apologized sadly. He picked up a plastic fork and dug in.

Sakura and Kushina held their breath as Naruto took his first bite.

His eyes shot wide open and he scooped up another bite. Then another and another.

"This is awesome!" Naruto exclaimed with joy. "I've never anything taste this good. This is seriously better than ramen."

Kushina's face lit up like a 10,000-watt lightbulb.

"Why are they little balls though? It tastes weird, but cool." Naruto pointed out.

"I made those, thank you..." Sakura grumbled.

"They're amazing. How did you make the meat so round?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Um...well I guess I'm so used to making food pills that that's the way I cut them up without realizing."

"Well it's still delicious. Thanks you two." Naruto smiled his huge smile that looked more beautiful to Kushina than anything Heaven could ever produce.

"Damn...he's not lying, this is fantastic!" Kiba exclaimed.

"And I thought my mom's cooking was good." Choji praised as he took another bite.

"Yosh! This is a most youthful meal! Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki." Lee exclaimed.

"Damn, that's good." Shikamaru praised.

"Exquisite." Neji praised.

"As good as ever, dear." Minato said.

That got Sakura curious and made a plate for herself. She took a bite and she almost fell backwards at the flavor. "Oh my god that's good." Sakura sighed contently.

"Man, I want this, every night!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

That made Kushina and Minato pause. Minato was scared for a moment that it would remind her of their finite time left with their son.

"Well then I'll have to teach Sakura the recipe so that she can cook it for you." Kushina smiled.

"That would be awesome!" Naruto said happily.

Minato sighed in relief.

"You could really teach me? The last time my mom tried to teach me I blew up our kitchen." Sakura admitted.

"Well thankful it's not my kitchen. So we can experiment." Kushina giggled.

"It's MY kitchen, thank you." King Kai protested.

"Oh you wouldn't mind, would you?" Kushina batted her eyelashes at the short god.

King Kai sighed. "Fine...please don't wreck it..."

"Hey, what's that?" Kiba asked as he pointed to a red car.

"Ah, that's my baby. A 1957 Chevrolet BelAir." King Kai gloated.

"You gave birth to a car!" Naruto exclaimed. "No wait, that's stupid, what am I saying?"

"No you idiot!" King Kai exclaimed. "I mean that it's my most prized possession."

"Meh...the one Minato and I have is better." Kushina shrugged.

"Oh really? And what do YOU have, pray tell."

"1972 Ford Gran Torino sport." Minato said.

King Kai's mouth dropped and then grumbled. "I hate you..."

"Wait, you own a car?" Sakura asked.

"What the Hell is a car?" Choji whispered at Shikamaru.

"Remember the purple one Videl showed us?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kind of?" Choji said. "A lot has happened since then."

"The loud one..."

"Okay then."

"Yea, we got it about 8 years ago and we love it." Kushina smiled.

"Oh yes, we get to drive it around town and along the highways. We can race other drivers or clash in the demolition derby." Minato said excitedly.

"Ack! Why would you crash such a nice ride?!" King Kai exclaimed.

"The insurance I got covers everything. Even when it's my fault."

"And your rates don't go up?"

"What rates? We don't pay for anything."

"Oh...right..." King Kai said sheepishly.

After a while, dinner was cleaned up and it was back to training.

"Now then. Now we're going to discuss training on an individual level." King Kai informed. "Lee, I saw that gate release technique that you used against Cell. I know of a form that would benefit you better without putting your life at risk, but has similar properties."

"Actually, for some reason I have felt faster ever since I used it." Lee mentioned.

"That's because you're dead." King Kai reminded him.

"No, like I feel just as fast as when I've unlocked my inner gates. At least up to the seventh one."

"Hmm...what if I told you that this form at the third level would equal up to unlocking 10 gates?"

"I would ask what the catch is. This technique sounds too good to be true." Lee replied.

"Its most effective in short bursts and will put an enormous amount of physical strain on your body with each level, but you won't die from it. At 20 times, you can be on par with a Super Saiyan."

"Are you serious!?" Lee cried with joy, his eyes visibly sparkling.

"Absolutely."

"Yosh! That would be a most youthful tool to have in my arsenal! When can we begin training?"

"Tomorrow after you're all rested up."

"What will you be teaching the rest of us?" Kiba asked.

"I'm getting to that. Let's see...I think you would be best suited for the spirit ball attack."

"Me personally?"

"Yup. The spirit ball is a ball of Ki that you can control. Allow me to show you." King Kai created a Ki ball and threw it. With fluent hand motions, he was able to send the ball in any direction he wanted. "With this, you can smack the hell out of your opponent from afar and detonate it with a powerful blast." To prove it, King Kai detonated the ball, creating a decent size explosion.

"Sounds damned useful. I could use a long ranged attack in my arsenal." Kiba said.

"As could I. I would request to be taught the spirit bomb." Neji chimed in.

King Kai was taken aback at first until he realized something. "Gohan told you about that, didn't he?"

"He mentioned it. Said his father never found a use for it though." Neji replied.

"Did he also tell you that it's the most devastating attack I have in my arsenal?"

"How so?" Shikamaru asked.

"The spirit bomb draws off the life energy of every living thing on your planet into a single ball of energy. That ball can level anything between a city and your entire planet." King Kai advised.

Everyone there gulped hard.

"This attack I reserve for the most disciplined of fighters and those who have the greatest control of their energy. Personally, I think the best candidate for that attack is Sakura."

"Woah, woah, woah! Me? Controller of such a powerful attack?" Sakura said in shock.

"Yes. From what I hear of your exploits, you have superb Chakra control and you're already on your way to really good Ki control. You are quite literally a prodigy in this field."

"Alright Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered with his mouth full of rolls.

"N-now wait a minute...I'm not so sure about this..." Sakura said nervously.

"And that right there is going to be part of your training. You need to stop doubting yourself and actually show some confidence in learning something new. Were you always like this?" King Kai asked seriously.

"I... well..."

"She was." Naruto said as her teammate.

"Thanks for selling me out, dick." Sakura grumbled.

"My point is, you are actually capable of learning all of my techniques...if you can just show more self-confidence and stop being so timid. You can do this Sakura. I can also sense an enormous amount of power that has yet to be tapped into. You have the ability to do so much if you put your mind to it."

"That's what I meant by that, Sakura-chan. You always seemed to sell yourself short back when we were kids when you were always the smartest kid in our grade. You put your book smarts to use and three years later you became the greatest apprentice of Granny Tsunade." Naruto reminded her.

She looked all around at her friends who nodded in agreement, even Lee. "D-do you really think I can do this...?" She asked not only Naruto, but all of her friends.

"Yosh! Of course we do, Sakura-chan! The flames of youth burn passionately within you. You can do anything you set your mind too!" Lee declared.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, this is the kick in the ass you need to become what you've been wanting your whole life. You need to put aside your fears and become what you've been aspiring to be." Neji said seriously.

"Here here!" Choji toasted with his glass of punch.

After Neji's speech, something in Sakura's mind seemed to click. She suddenly was no longer filled with nervousness, fear, doubt, or misgivings. She was now filled with something else that was almost foreign to her. Pride, determination, confidence, things she had been missing for most of her life, flooded her being all at once. It brought out a new side of her that she was going to use to her full advantage, come hell or high water.

"Alright! I'll do it! Anything you can throw at me, I will learn it! I will work all day and night if I have to! Believe it!"

 _'Oh sweet Sage she's become like Naruto.'_ Everyone but her thought.

 _'I love that girl.'_ Naruto thought happily.

King Kai smiled. "Now that's what I want to hear."

"When do I start?" Sakura asked with determination.

"Your training will take longer, however, when you go back home I can continue to train you mentally. So, for now, I want you to meditate to continue your Ki training while I train the others first." King Kai informed.

"Okay." Sakura replied.

"That being said, I want three more hours of training after I finish this delicious meal." King Kai praised. The group cheered as they dug into their meal.

* * *

At the end of the day, the ninja were all so tired that they could barely carry themselves into King Kai's garage where 7 cots were set up.

The boys had never seen something so beautiful. Blankets big enough to cover their entire bodies. For the first time in a week.

"Oh sweet Sage yes..." Kiba sighed as he collapsed onto his cot.

Shikamaru, Lee, Neji, Choji, Minato and Kushina all did the same with Akamaru and Bluebell taking the last one.

"Hey, what gives! We don't we get cots?!" Naruto protested.

"No we don't..." Sakura yawned. She grabbed Naruto by the collar and wordlessly guided him into the guest room.

"Just put up a silencing jutsu." Minato requested as Sakura shut the door behind them.

Minato's joke got the others to snicker a bit.

"Yea, right, like Naruto is brave enough to take that big of a leap." Kiba scoffed.

He was shut up by Sakura who opened the door back up and shot a small beam that bounced off his forehead.

"Another remark like that and I'll fuck you up so bad your own mom won't recognize you." She growled before closing the door again.

"I wouldn't mind being fucked by her." Kiba snickered. Earning him a pillow to the face by several of the guys.

Kushina on the other hand, flipped his cot over and he landed on the floor hard.

"OW! The hell was that for?!"

"Don't talk about my future daughter-in-law that way asshole!" Kushina berated before returning to her cot.

"Geez, no one can take a joke anymore..." Kiba muttered.

In the guest room, Naruto was quite confused as to what was going on. That was until he saw the queen-sized pillow-top bed in the room and saw Sakura removing her boots.

"You just gonna stand there or are you gonna cuddle with me?" Sakura yawned.

"Oh, uh...sorry I guess I-WOAH!" Naruto stopped when Sakura removed her red dress that she had always worn and was left in her sports bra and her shorts.

"You act as if you haven't seen me like this before...with all the countless hours we've put in the gravity chamber..." Sakura said half asleep already as she opened the bed and crawled inside.

"Well I guess you never been so...bold." Naruto admitted.

"What King Kai told me has opened my eyes and mind. I can't be timid about every new thing, otherwise I'd just be like Hinata..."

Naruto realized that what Sakura was saying was true and shrugged. "Yea, good point."

"Now, come to bed..." Sakura ordered softly.

"Okay." He said as he eased himself into the bed, carefully avoiding any sudden movements that could hurt his torn muscles or his still broken arm.

As he finally laid down, Sakura turned over and grabbed his right arm. Snuggling in close and resting her head on his chest.

"Goodnight Sakura-chan..." Naruto yawned.

"Night Naruto..." Sakura muttered back as the steady breathing and rhythmic heartbeat lulled her into a deep sleep. For the first time in over a week she drifted off with complete peace of mind.

Soon Naruto drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep. Having the girl of his dreams in his arms was all he needed to calm him and bring him to what would be the best night of sleep he's had in over a week.

* * *

A few hours later, Sakura awoke to a cold draft, it was still dark out so she decided to just fall back asleep. Which was when she realized that she was no longer sleeping on top of Naruto like a pillow. She grasped at the covers, feeling around for her life sized teddy bear. When it became clear that she was alone in the bed she moaned out Naruto's name.

"I'm here, Sakura-chan." A husky voice whispered to her.

Sakura opened her eyes and saw Naruto standing at the end of the bed, staring at her with a kind of feral look in his eyes. Sakura could tell by the way the moonlight carefully highlighted the boy- no the man's features that he was both fully recovered from his injuries, and completely naked.

"W-what are you doing?" Sakura asked in a worried tone.

"You." He leered.

He dived right at Sakura and pinned her arms above her head as he attacked her lips. His tongue demanding entrance to her mouth. She was all too willing to comply with this beast before her. His powerful legs straddled her as his lower region brushed up against hers.

Sakura pulled away frantically. "Naruto, stop it! Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want you." He smirked as he attacked her neck with nips and kisses. "I want every part of you."

Sakura squirmed beneath his hot breath, her entire body grew tingly from his touch. To Hell with it! She would not deny her basic instincts. Not when every molecule in her body cried out for it.

She lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his torso. Defying gravity itself to be closer to her man. To grind her moistened nether regions to his rock hard one. To feel his long-

"Sakura-chan, get up..." Naruto whispered.

"Huh?"

"Come on, get up and help me make breakfast." He whispered to her in a woman's voice.

"B-breakfast...?" She asked in confusion.

Sakura opened up her eyes for real to find Naruto right back where she left him that evening and the faint glow of red hair beneath the rising sun trying to nudge her awake.

"Ugh..." Sakura groaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "It was just a dream..."

"Yes I can smell that. Now get up, and don't wake Naruto." Kushina whispered to her.

"It felt so real...and I wanted it as bad as he did...but..." Sakura looked up to Kushina's eyes. "I dreamt that Naruto forced himself on me...I was so scared, yet...excited...what does that mean?" Sakura whispered.

"Well I'm only his mother so I'm going to assume that means you want to have sex with my son. As a woman I can tell you that it means you want him to plow you like its harvest season." Kushina whispered back as she navigated Sakura back over to the door.

"Do I really...?" Sakura gasped out in genuine curiosity.

"Is it that surprising? We literally had this conversation nine hours ago."

"Nine hours...? You only let me sleep for six hours?" Sakura deduced.

"Yes, because if I am to trust you to take care of my baby boy, then by God you are going to know how to cook. So every morning and for every meal you are going to help me out as I teach you everything I know. Sound good?"

"Fair enough." Sakura nodded. "So what are we making?"

"A feast fit for a king." Kushina said as they made their way outside. "Eggs, bacon, french toast, pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, the whole thing."

"Okay...simple enough." Sakura thought out loud.

 _'It's breakfast food. How hard is that to screw up?'_ She thought.

 _'Knowing you, you'll blow us up.'_ Inner said.

* * *

A few minutes later...

"Oookay..." Kushina coughed as smoke billowed out of the window.

"Sorry..." Sakura said sheepishly.

"If you want my advice, Sakura. I'd stick with frozen TV dinners..."

"I knew I sucked at cooking..." Sakura sulked.

"Sucked isn't the word for it, I'm afraid..." Kushina said with a heavy heart.

"That bad...?" Sakura whimpered.

"Yes...but I'm sure one day you'll be the greatest cook in the Leaf. Your main problem is you gotta follow directions. Setting the oven to 500 degrees for a pan of bacon is a little overboard."

"I thought it would cook faster."

"Everything takes time, Sakura. When cooking, you can't rush things."

"But I did the math in my head."

Kushina sighed. "Sakura...there is a reason why recipes have a set amount of time and cooking temperature. If not followed properly, you'll ruin your food as you've just exhibited." she said as she pointed to the smoking oven.

"I guess I just don't understand." Sakura sighed.

That was when Kushina had an idea. "You're a medic, right?"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"Just humor me."

Sakura sighed. "Yes, I was trained by Lady Tsunade."

"Okay, so a damn good one then. When you heal a patient, do you usually take your time?"

"When I can. Time is a factor in most medical procedures."

Kushina nodded her head. "And you constantly make sure that you get everything done so that your patient is healthy, right?"

"Down to every detail."

"Okay. Now...say you have an injured patient and you have all the time in the world to heal him."

"Then I would take my time to make sure I've got everything."

"Okay, good." Kushina then directed Sakura's attention to the griddle with a bowl of batter next to it. "Say this bowl is your patient. He has a bad case of hypothermia. this griddle is your method of warming him up. Would you heat him up quickly or take your time?"

"With hypothermia cases, heating him up quickly could cause him to go into shock and possibly kill him. I would need to... slowly...heat him up..." Sakura then caught onto what Kushina was getting at.

"And there you go." Kushina smirked.

Kushina then handed Sakura a spatula. "Now, warm up your patient."

* * *

Back in the guest bedroom, Naruto awoke to discover that his bed was short one cute pink haired medic.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Not exactly." Chuckled a male voice.

Naruto looked over and saw his father sitting at the edge of the bed. "Dad? Where's Sakura-chan?"

"She's in the kitchen learning about how to cook from your mother. Get up, I want to show you something."

"Oh geez...I hope she doesn't blow mom up." Naruto wondered out loud.

"Well the fire alarms stopped going off every five minutes so we can assume that Sakura is getting better." Minato chuckled.

Naruto gulped. "Oh boy...I hope mom can be patient with her." He said as he got up from bed.

"I'll admit, your mother isn't known for her patience, but I'm certain that those two will work it out. Now get dressed."

Naruto nodded and quickly got dressed. King Kai was kind enough to provide him with an outfit similar to his normal one.

Minato smirked at Naruto's outfit.

"I take it your favorite color is orange?"

"Well, it's kinda grown on me since it was the only color I could get from the stiffs at the clothing shops."

Minato frowned. "I see. I was wondering if it was just the combination of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot Habanero"

"Actually, I never thought about it like that until now." Naruto admitted.

"Well its more likely just a coincidence." Minato admitted as the two of them snuck past the boys all sleeping on their cots. Their halos sticking out from underneath their blankets and glowing in the darkness.

They made their way outside and breathed in the fresh air.

"Oh good, the sun is still rising. Come on." Minato said as he led his son over to the nearby tree in the western hemisphere.

"What are we doing?"

"Something I had always hoped to teach you when you became old enough."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "What's that? A really cool jutsu?"

"No, not exactly." Minato chuckled as he sat down beneath the tree and patted the ground next to him for Naruto to join him.

Naruto obliged, his night of bed rest having healed off most of his sore injuries, yet he still had trouble moving his left elbow.

The Fourth Hokage then grabbed a fallen stick, pulled out a knife, and began carving into the branch.

"Wood carving?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I always enjoyed woodcarving with my dad as a child. I found it relaxing. Even after I became Hokage." Minato said as he began carving curves into the design.

"Huh...Old man Hokage suggested I take care of plants as a hobby. Didn't really take too well."

"Old man...?" Minato asked.

"Oh, uh...Lord Third." Naruto corrected.

"Well I can't say your mother or I were terribly enthused about plants either. Your mom always seemed to love pulling pranks over anything 'girly.'"

Naruto laughed. "That explains why I always loved pulling pranks."

Minato smiled. "You know you remind me a lot of your mother. I swear, you might have my hair and eyes, but you have her face and personality. Especially in the way you smile." Minato pointed out.

"You really think so?"

"I know so." Minato ruffled his son's hair before pulling out a carving knife and handing it to him.

Naruto picked up a thick and curved stick. "Hmm...Ah!" Naruto thought about what he was going to make and got right to it.

It was slow going at first. With his arm still in a sling he was limited on how he could hold his scrap of wood. Minato how enthusiastic Naruto was in trying out wood carving though, and the two just sat in silence underneath the oak tree. Occasionally Minato would chime in some tips for Naruto to try when he had difficulty cutting something a certain way.

"So what are you making anyway?" Minato asked.

"Something for Gohan." Naruto said simply.

"Your friend?"

"Yea. Him and his girlfriend came from Universe 7 by accident and he often talks about this magical dragon so I figured I would make one for him."

"Universe 7?" Minato had to think about that. The name really sounded familiar and he had a theory of who it might be. "Is he related to someone named Goku by chance?"

"Yea, that's his dad." Naruto replied.

"Ahh, so that's where he ended up." Minato said.

Naruto stopped carving. "What do you mean?"

"You see, son. I have trained with Goku while he was here on Grand Kai's planet. He's stronger than anything I've ever seen and he often talked about the family he left behind. Your mother and I had him over for dinner a few times. Man can that guy eat."

"You've met his dad?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

"Yea, he's a great guy. A true hero of his world if there ever was one."

"A true hero, huh?" Naruto said, deep in thought.

"Yes, he not only saved his world more than half a dozen times, but he has even saved his galaxy. Cell, the guy Lee fought in Hell, the one he sacrificed his life to stop in order to save Earth. King Kai can attest to that because this is where Goku brought Cell where he blew up. I know this because your mother and I saw the explosion from our universes Heaven."

"That's insane." Naruto said in awe.

"It was noble." Minato said as he put down his stick. "You see, son. Those who are willing to protect their friends no matter what are the ones who do great things." he then put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "And you're well on your way to becoming just that."

"Y-you really mean that?"

"Yes, I do. You could become our world's greatest Hero one day. I only wish I could see you become that man in person."

Naruto tried to sniff back the tears. A lifetime of loneliness and neglect, yet these few moments made up for it all. Just to know that he had been loved and had those who believed in him.

"Dad...thank you for being my dad."

"And I thank you, for being the best son your parents could ever hope for." Minato smiled.

The two Namikaze men shared a smile, then continued back into their work.

"So what are you making dad?"

"A walking stick for Lord Third. He collects them."

"Is that a fact. How is the Old Man doing anyway?"

"Well, he has his youth back now. You might get to see him, he stops by King Kais once in a while with Lord First and Lord Second. I come along as well just to mess with King Kai."

"Wow, that's so cool. Wait, then did you and mom struggling beneath the planet's gravity?"

Minato sighed and rolled up his pant legs to show rather large training weights.

"Maybe the one downside of Heaven is that there are no gravity rooms. We have to make do."

"How much do they weigh?"

"About 2 ton a piece."

"2 TONS!?" Naruto repeated.

"Yea, their weight increases by how much Ki you put in them." Minato explained.

"You know how to use Ki? You never told me that."

"Hey, I've been here for 16 Years. I picked it up after a while."

"I see. And how long did it take you to master Ki?"

"Hmm... about 4 months give or take."

"That's it?"

"Well, normally a Chakra user is four to six months. Someone like Lee who can't use Chakra should be able to get it down pat in a few weeks."

"Huh...that explains how Videl got it down so quickly." Naruto mused.

"You said she's part Saiyan, right? Well, they have a natural affinity to Ki so she probably had it down in a matter of days."

"You know about Saiyan's?"

"Well, yea. Our universe had them too at one point. A lot of them are in our section of Heaven. Come to find out they were Galactic Peace Keepers. Who knew?"

"What happened to them?"

"They were wiped out by our universes equivalent to the Frost Demons. Someone by the name of Hail did them in, except for one. Who he is or where he is now or even if he's still alive, no one knows. But the fact remains is that we do have Frost demons and they make Freeza look like a joke."

"Shit. You think we'll ever have to worry about them?"

"I don't know...I sure hope not. Our universe once had an Earth as well, but they were far more technologically advanced than we could ever hope to be. They could travel the stars in massive spaceships that traveled faster than light. Hail and his empire conquered them as well and took their technology and made it his own so him and his empire could conquer the whole Galaxy."

"Does that mean Gohan's universe has an Element?"

"It's very possible that they do or did at one point. Every universe is a mirror for the other in some way, shape or form."

"Wow. That's crazy." Naruto said in awe, his distraction allowed him to nick his finger. "Ah, damn it."

"You're fine." Minato waved. "I met some people from universe 8, most notably, our Third Hokage from that universe."

"Wait. There is an alternative version of the Third Hokage...of us?"

"Exactly. Our world in that universe shares a covert alliance with Earth. Remember how I told you Earth in our universe, the Humans there were extremely advanced? Well, so are these humans. They have enlisted some of our people to work for their starship captains off and on, Hiruzen was one of them."

"That's crazy. I kinda want to visit that universe now."

"As would I, but divine law clearly states that only 1st class souls may traverse the alternate universes. US 2nd class souls and below are limited to the Otherworld and our original universe." Minato informed.

"Damn, that sucks." Naruto sighed.

"BREAKFAST!" Kushina yelled from King Kai's house.

"Ah, perfect timing. Was getting hungry." Minato said as he stood up.

Naruto put down his stick, now with the most basic form of a mouth taking shape.

"Let's pick this up again tomorrow. I feel like our days will mostly be spent training, so come talk to me when you've healed up and I can teach you my Flying Thunder God technique." Minato said.

"The what now?"

"My most infamous jutsu. The one that made me famous in the 3rd World War." Minato stated.

"Awesome..." Naruto said in awe.

"Yes. It's a teleportation type of jutsu, but it would serve as a great introduction to fūinjutsu."

"You think I can learn that?" Naruto asked as they walked to King Kai's house.

"I'll admit; I have my doubts. But then again, I had my doubts about you facing Freeza, even with the Kyuubi's chakra, and you proved me wrong. So now I'm back to having unquestionable faith in my child." Minato teased.

"Ha ha..." Naruto said sarcastically as they reached King Kai's house, Kushina and Sakura waiting for them.

"Bout time, where were you?" Sakura asked.

"Having a little father/son time." Minato said happily.

"Well that's great." Kushina said as she quickly pecked Minato on the cheek good morning.

The four of them were soon joined by the rest of the gang. Who all crawled out of bed at the promise of food. Mostly Choji.

"Morning Mrs. Uzumaki, Lord Hokage, Naruto and Sakura..." Choji yawned but instantly woke up when the scent of breakfast hit his nostrils.

"Foooood..." The other guys drooled in anticipation and immediately dug in.

"Maaan this is good!" Kiba moaned in delight.

"What are these green specks on the pancakes?" Shikamaru pointed out.

"Basil leaves." Kushina said.

"And broccoli." Sakura proudly stated.

"Odd choice..." Shikamaru took a bite and it tasted amazing. "But good."

"You outdid yourself again mom! This is great!" Naruto praised.

"Actually. I didn't make any of this. Sakura did." Kushina said, putting the spotlight on Sakura.

Everyone stopped eating and all eyes were on the infamous kitchen destroyer.

"Sakura-chan... you made this?" Naruto asked in awe.

"It's good right?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"It's amazing." Naruto praised.

"You're a miracle worker, Lady Kushina." Neji said.

"To be honest I barely lifted a finger. I isolated her problem and corrected it." Kushina said simply.

"Ahem..." Neji coughed as he choked down some eggs. "I think the eggs could use a little less garlic, but otherwise not bad."

"Yea that's the next thing we're going to work on. Her tasting her food before she serves it." Kushina sighed.

"Well hey. It's not a bad first day." Minato praised as he ate some bacon.

King Kai soon joined them, offering more praise for the cooking while a couple of the guys offered to clean up. By 9 o clock everyone was outside and ready for a new day of training.

"Alright. Today we're going to continue on your work with Ki. You've all done a great job yesterday, so today you're going to continue with it. Around noon, I have one of my former students coming by to give you instructions on the special techniques I will be teaching you." King Kai informed.

"Who would that be?" Sakura asked.

"Oh you'll see." King Kai said. "Now then, get on with your Ki exercises. Minato, Kushina, time to pick up from where you left off yesterday."

"Alright. Come here you little monkey bastard!" Kushina shouted after it.

* * *

The morning carried on with everyone doing their own thing. Kushina and Minato had yet to catch Bubbles, but they sure tried like hell.

Lee however, was making good progress on his Ki training. He was able to form and shoot small Ki blasts now which would help him for long ranged attacks.

Neji was still struggling. He had yet to form any kind of Ki at all and it was starting to frustrate him.

Shikamaru was able to feel the flow of his Ki, but he wasn't able to form it just yet.

Choji was making some progress. He was able to form his Ki, but not much of it.

Kiba was making no progress at all. He couldn't even channel his Ki.

Sakura's meditation paid off and she was getting really good. She was able to create spheres of various sizes and small beams. This also helped her out with her flying. She was actually able to move around a little faster in the air.

Naruto meanwhile, was being trained by a clone of his dad on the Flying Thunder God jutsu and he was making little progress.

Soon it was noon and King Kai called them all back to welcome their incoming guest.

"Alright, he should be arriving in 3...2...1..." King Kai counted down and then seemingly out of thin air, a tall muscular man with gravity defying black hair in an orange and blue Gi appeared.

"Hi!" Goku said.

"Oh hey, Goku." Sakura greeted happily.

"Oh hey there! So you guys won after all, huh?" Goku asked excitedly.

"If it wasn't for you getting me to Naruto, I don't think we would've won. I owe you a lot."

"Hehehe, you don't have to thank me." Goku chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head in a very Naruto like manner.

"What? No way." Kiba said. He turned around to face Goku but instead got a face full of chest. Holy crap this guy was tall.

"Hey you sound like my oldest son." Goku pointed out.

"I...do?" Kiba asked.

"Positive. It's uncanny. I almost thought you were him."

"Anyway, King Kai asked me to come over here and be your sparring partners." Goku said.

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"That's right. Ki relies heavily on spiritual and emotional energy, so what better way to tap into it then by fighting an opponent of superior skill?"

"Superior, huh? What makes you so superior to us?" Kiba scoffed.

"You'll just have to fight him and see. We'll start this as a one on one match." King Kai said.

"Fine, then I'm going first." Kiba said with determination.

"Really? But you don't seem that strong." Goku said innocently, getting chuckles from everyone else.

"OH YEA?! I'LL SHOW YOU! FANG OVER FANG!" Kiba yelled out in fury as he went directly for Goku.

Goku on the other hand, saw Kiba coming at him like he was moving in slow motion. As soon as one of Kiba's claws was about to hit him, he used one hand to knock away Kiba's attack and then sent a light jab (for him) to Kiba's chest, sending him into a tree.

The other ninja's jaws dropped.

"I couldn't even see that..." Neji gasped.

"Woah..." Sakura said in awe.

Neji felt the planet quake until he realized that was just his teammate shaking from excitement.

"Lee?" Neji asked.

"YOSH! PLEASE GOKU-SENSEI, I WISH TO FIGHT YOU NEXT!"

"Goku-sensei? That's new." Goku chuckled. "Sure thing, come at me with everything you've got!"

Lee wasted no time jabbing his finger into his heart, unlocking the 8 Inner Gates from the outset. His power level exploded and his skin turned dark red.

"Woah…neat transformation!" Goku praised.

Goku sensed Lee's energy. Yea, he could overpower him easily, but what fun would that be? No, he was going to make this as fun as possible.

"Let me show you one of mine." Goku smirked.

"Gladly." Lee smirked as he tested a few kicks of his own. He needed to move, move, MOVE!

"HaaaaAAA! KAIO-KEN!" Goku exploded into his own red aura, making those who could sense him back up.

"Woah, that's the Kaio-ken?" Sakura asked in awe.

"Yes, this is the transformation I taught Goku 14 years ago." King Kai confirmed.

Lee meanwhile, was shaking with anticipation.

"I'm ready whenever you are." Goku smirked.

Lee stomped his foot into the ground to launch himself at Goku, faster than any of his friends could see. He flashed in front of Goku, then behind him, then in front of him again to deliver a powerful jab at his face.

Much to everyone's shock, Goku saw the punch like Lee was moving in slow motion and caught it, creating a powerful shockwave that rang out.

Lee opened his mouth like "ooh" and then swung out his leg to kick Goku in the shoulder.

Again Goku blocked that attack, then another, and another. Soon it turned into a flurry of attacks from Lee that Goku effortlessly blocked or dodged.

"Unreal..." Neji gasped out. "It's like Goku is testing Lee..."

Lee tried the same tactic again, trying to land one punch that Goku caught, along with one kick that Goku also caught, followed by a second kick that Goku blocked with his elbow, leaving his stomach completely unguarded to Lee remaining fist that was already headed on a collision course with Goku's abdomen.

Just as it was about to connect, Goku raised up his knee and it connected. The resulting shockwave flashed outwards, sending a ripple effect through the area. Both fighters stopped and broke away, sizing up the other with smirks on their faces.

"You got some good moves, Lee. But I can tell that form you're using puts too much strain on your body. It's restricting your movements. You could move a whole lot faster." Goku stated.

"I'll admit; I've been holding back a bit. My apologies for not facing you at 100% for the outset." Lee stated.

"Then show me what you've got."

Lee vanished and began running circles around Goku, moving so fast that he kicked up a torrent whirlwind surrounding the Saiyan.

Goku felt a hard punch smack him upside the head., then a kick opposite his knees, and many more blows to the chest and legs. Yet these were not actual hits, they were shots of air pressure created by Lee's super-fast punches and kicks, the same speed that allowed him to fly by kicking the air allowed him to attack Goku at a distance.

 _'He's not bad. But it still isn't enough.'_ Goku thought. He continued to track Lee's movements until he found an opening and delivered a hard punch to Lee's chest, causing the green clad ninja to stagger back.

Goku followed up with a sweeping kick that knocked Lee off his feet then dealt a sledgehammer blow to Lee's abdomen, driving him into the ground.

Lee wheezed out a gasp of air before fainting.

"Oh my god...Lee!" Neji cried out.

"He's okay." Goku said simply. Now, Neji stepped up to the plate as Goku dropped his Kaio-ken form.

Immediately, Neji charged at Goku, using his signature move. "8 Trigrams; 64 Palms!"

Goku saw what he was trying to do and anticipated his strikes.

"One Palm!" Neji cried out, but Goku blocked it. "Two Palms...Four Palms...Eight Palms...Sixteen Palms...Thirty-Two Palms...Sixty-Four Palms!"

Goku block each of Neji's strikes until the onslaught ended, Neji backing away in shock.

"He...he blocked them all..." Neji gasped out.

"You were trying to stop my flow of energy, weren't you?" Goku asked.

"H-how did you..."

"I once faced an opponent who could do something similar. He backed me into a corner and stopped my flow of energy. Since then, I've been more careful around opponents who can do that and learned to do it myself." Goku smirked before dealing 3 pressure point blows, causing Neji to pass out.

"Oh, he's good..." Sakura commented in awe.

"My turn I guess." Shikamaru sighed.

"So what can you do?" Goku asked innocently.

"Just watch. Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru shot out his Shadow Possession Jutsu, which was a black shadow that crawled along the ground until he thought he got Goku in his possession. "Shadow Possession Complete-What the?!"

The image of Goku faded away into nothing and then he felt a sharp hit to the side of his neck, knocking him out.

"H-how did you..." Sakura breathed out.

"Afterimage Technique." Goku smiled.

"This is getting good. My t-"

"No, Naruto." Sakura said firmly.

"Huh? Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because I'm going next." Sakura said confidently.

Sakura walked up to Goku and took her stance.

"Wow, I can sense a lot of power in you! This is getting exciting!" Goku said cheerfully.

Sakura smirked. "Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited myself."

"Then how about we make this interesting." Goku said before flashing into a Super Saiyan.

"I-isn't that going a bit...overboard?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Nonsense. The energy I sense in you should put me in the ground at this level."

"Um...okay..." Sakura then activated her seal. It glowed a bright gold before a golden aura surrounded her and her hair turned a golden blond and spiked up.

"Woah...you're a Super Saiyan?!" Goku asked in shock.

"Not quite. Videl channeled her energy into my seal by accident. You can think of this as an artificial Super Saiyan." Sakura clarified.

"Ooooh. Still, this should be fun." Goku smirked.

"I agree." Sakura smirked.

"You go first. I wanna test your strength."

"Heh, you asked for it." Sakura phased out to get closer to Goku. When she reappeared, she charged Chakra into her fist and sent a very hard left to Goku.

The elder Saiyan tried to block it, but the punch was so powerful that it broke his guard and hit him directly in his gut, sending him flying away.

Goku stopped himself mid-flight and grunted. "Ugh...Damn, you hit like a freight train..."

"And that is why people shouldn't underestimate me." Sakura gloated a little.

"I can see this. but we're only getting started." Goku smirked as he charged at Sakura to deliver his own attack, only to have it blocked. This triggered the two fighters to erupt into a flurry of blows faster than anyone could see, shockwaves ringing out with each blow.

Naruto just looked on in awe. Never in his life did he ever think Sakura could be this strong just by absorbing someone else's energy. It made him well up with pride and joy that the girl of his dreams was on par with him in terms of power and speed.

Minato and Kushina were also impressed. Finally, a girl that could protect their son just as much as he could while also keeping him in line.

The two fighters separated after a fierce battle and panted heavily.

"Damn...you're good." Goku praised.

"You're not bad yourself." Sakura panted.

"But, I feel that you can do more. There is a lot of untapped potential within you just waiting to come out." Goku informed.

"Huff...thanks..." Sakura said as she lost control of the transformation and reverted back to her usual self.

 _'Hey, inner. You think you can give me that first level for a bit?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'No can do, your body is too worn out to continue.'_ Inner replied.

 _'Oh come on...just for a few minutes?'_

"Hey, what happened? You're giving up already?" Goku asked in disappointment.

"Huh? No, I can only hold this form for so long before I lose it." Sakura informed.

 _'Come on, Inner...I need this like right now.'_ Sakura pressed.

 _'Well, excuse me, princess. Maybe if you had trained your body more, you could hold your transformations longer.'_

 _'Come on! I need this, Inner!'_

 _'And if I do this, what do I get in return?'_

 _'Oh, I don't know...what do you want?'_

 _'Like you have to ask.'_ Inner smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed. _'Deal...but it won't be right away.'_

 _'Oh no. You want my help, then you take him tonight.'_

 _'Oh for crying out loud!'_ Sakura groaned.

 _'Deal or no deal?'_

 _'No deal. I'm not going to sell my virginity for my own powers.'_

 _'You always have to make it difficult don't you?'_

 _'Give me my powers and I will have sex with Naruto sometime this week.'_

 _'3 days. That's all I'm giving you.'_

 _'And if I don't make the deadline?'_

 _'Then you will lose any access to your powers until I say different.'_ Inner said firmly.

 _'What happened to not rushing myself?'_

 _'There is a fine line not rushing yourself and denying yourself what you clearly desire. Right now, you are ready, but you are denying it and you are forcing yourself to believe that you are not ready.'_

 _'So wouldn't that mean that I'm not ready?'_

 _'Oh it doesn't even matter anymore...'_ Inner sighed.

 _'Why?'_

 _'Because everyone assumed that you slipped into a coma and took you inside.'_

Sakura opened up her eyes and found herself laying on King Kai's couch with a wet rag on her forehead. Naruto was kneeling beside her with Kushina standing next to him.

"Sakura-chan, you're awake." Naruto exclaimed in relief.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"We don't know. You just stopped moving for 5 minutes straight so we brought you inside. We thought that you had a stroke." Naruto said in a worried tone.

"Huh? No... I just over exerted myself I think..."

"Well, all the same. I'm thinking a few hours of bed rest will do you some good." Kushina stated.

"What? I'm fine, it's not necessary." Sakura said as she tried to get back up, only to be pushed back down by Kushina.

"As the only mother here, I am pulling rank and ordering you to lay down for an hour." Kushina said sternly.

"But, you not my-"

"I'm your Godmother, so that's close enough, young lady." Kushina said sternly.

"And she's technically still a Jounin." Minato chimed in.

"And I'm also the wife of the Hokage, so I outrank him and therefore you." Kushina added.

"Fine..." Sakura sighed.

"Good." Kushina smiled as she combed her fingers through Sakura's hair in a relaxing manner. "I'll get started on lunch. I think tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches would be nice."

"Blech...I don't like grilled cheese." Sakura stated.

Kushina looked over at her shocked. "What? But it's so delicious!"

"I'm lactose intolerant..."

Now Naruto looked at her funny. "Since when?"

"Since always, but I don't have my lactose pills with me that would allow me to eat it."

"Well I can make you another kind of sandwich if you like. I could use the leftover bacon to make BLTs." Kushina compromised.

"Oh I love those." Sakura beamed.

"Same here, I think I can heat up the bacon a little bit. That always makes it taste better." Kushina replied. "Naruto, why don't you ask your friends if they would like grilled cheese or BLTs with their tomato soup."

Naruto looked at his mother and then back to Sakura. He really didn't want to leave her.

"I'll be fine..." Sakura said softly before pulling him in for a soft kiss. "Do what your mother tells you, I'll be okay."

"Okay, Sakura-chan." He said with a smile before heading out the door.

"You really do love him, don't you?" Minato said with a soft smile.

Sakura blushed as she buried her face in her hands to avoid both of their gazes.

"I do..."

Minato took one of her hands into his own. "Do us both a favor...keep our son safe and healthy and happy. We can't be there for him, so we ask that you do in our stead."

Sakura looked up at the Fourth Hokage, who up until a week ago was just another stone face hanging over Sakura's village, was now looking at her with loving and pleading eyes. She looked over and saw Kushina making the same expression.

"I promise. No matter what happens between us I will always be there for your son." Sakura stated.

"Thank you... You know, he's lucky to have someone like you in his life." Minato smiled.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm just lucky to know him." Sakura admitted.

"Naruto loves you without end, you know that. He'd do anything for you just like you would." Minato said.

"And I know for a fact you love him without end as well." Kushina smiled.

Now Sakura felt like tearing up. "I'm so grateful that I got to meet you both."

"And we're glad to meet you. As far as I'm concerned, you are part of the family." Minato smiled.

"Same. You're the best daughter in law I could ever ask for." Kushina gushed.

That was all it took for Sakura's dam to break and she started shedding happy tears. "Thank you..." She sniffed.

The two of them hugged Sakura like she was their own long lost daughter.

"...So long as you marry him and have lots of children." Kushina added jokingly.

Sakura felt like her head was going to fly off from embarrassment.

Kushina saw this and laughed. "I'm just joking dear."

"Really? Cause you were telling me and all of Naruto's friends the other night of how many grandchildren you wanted." Minato pointed out.

"And I was joking then...kind of..."

"You told all our friends!?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Maaaaybe." Kushina winked.

"What did you say again, dear? One for every day of the week?" Minato innocently suggested.

Sakura's face felt like it was going to pop she was so embarrassed.

"No... I think I said one for every month." Kushina mused.

"Oh god no...3, Maybe 4 at most." Sakura said firmly, then she realized what she just said. "Ummmm...I mean..."

"One for every season? I can dig it. I just hope that one of them has my hair." Kushina said.

Sakura just groaned in embarrassment.

"Oh don't worry. We're just teasing." Minato said.

"I'm not." Kushina smirked.

Naruto meanwhile had returned a while ago and stood frozen in the door leading into the living room having heard the entire conversation.

Sakura just sighed, not knowing Naruto was there. "When the time comes, it will be years from now."

"Really? When, not if?" Kushina smirked.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, but it's still far too early for..." Sakura stopped when she turned her head and Saw Naruto standing at the door and began to panic. "Oh God! N-Naruto...uh...I..."

"Um...am I interrupting or...?"

"Oh no. I was just trying to find out how big of a family you're gonna have." Kushina smirked.

"Kushina stop. I think we've said too much..." Minato said.

"Well I've always wanted a huge family." Naruto admitted.

That got Sakura's attention. "Wait...so...you're not mad or weirded out...?"

"Why would I be? I'm happy you'd want to have a family with me." Naruto smiled.

"W-well...it's not gonna happen for some time, you know." Sakura stuttered, shocked that Naruto would be okay with this.

"Well obviously. I've got to become Hokage first and you probably are aiming to take over Granny Tsunade as the Head Medic, right?"

"Well, yea that's true." Sakura replied.

"I always imagined...at least 20." Naruto stated.

"WOAH! Woah woah woah...Hell no. I am NOT pushing out 20 kids! You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm doing that!"

"Yea...even I would have to draw the line at 12." Kushina said.

"Well I mean I was considering adopting some orphans. Like what I used to be." Naruto clarified.

"Oh...well, even still. Raising 20 kids is a lot of work, Naruto. We'd be busy enough with you as Hokage and me as Head Medic, let alone raising children of any number."

"Yeah...that's true..." Naruto said, sounding a little disappointed.

Sakura sighed. "Tell you what...when the time comes, let's make our cap 6 at most, mix of adopted and conceived. Does that sound fair?"

"That sounds great. But we can still talk about it, right?"

"Like I said, I think our cap should be 6. Granted, I'm sure Ino and Videl would be more than willing to help us out, but Videl will more than likely have her own hands full with the two she has coming."

"And no doubt Ino will have kids to in some way compete with you." Naruto pointed out.

"Oh yea, I'm sure. It's a shame Lady Tsunade can't have kids anymore... or can she..." Sakura mused.

"I think she's a little too old for that." Kushina said.

"Naturally, yes...but, she can have one via invetro."

"But who would she have it with?" Minato asked.

"Master Jiraiya I assume."

"What's...whatever it was you said?" Naruto asked.

"Invetro. It's a special type of procedure where her eggs are extracted from her ovaries and placed in her uterus and then she is artificially inseminated with a donor's sperm. In this case, Jiraiya's. They could in fact have a baby this way." Sakura explained.

"Sounds fool proof if you ask me." Kushina said.

"It's actually a much safer way to have a child. This prevents ectopic pregnancies as well." Sakura said.

"Huh...I have no idea what you just said." Naruto said sheepishly.

Sakura just sighed. "You're hopeless...but I love you all the same."

"I'm gonna get started on lunch. Naruto, did you get everyone's orders?" Kushina asked.

"Honestly the guys want both now."

"Alright then." Kushina nodded before heading to the kitchen.

"Sakura-chan. What's an ect...ectoplasmic pregnancy?" Naruto asked.

"Ectopic..."

"Yea, that."

"It's a serious medical condition where the fetus forms outside the uterus and can be fatal if not treated. Usually forms in the fallopian tubes." Sakura explained.

"What are those?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Ugh..." Sakura groaned as she pulled out one of her medical scrolls that contained the female reproductive system. She opened it up and showed him. "This large part here is the uterus. This is where the fetus or baby is supposed to form."

Naruto nodded. He honestly found this very interesting.

"You see these tubes that come out of the top?" Sakura pointed out.

"Yea?"

"Those are the fallopian tubes. At the end of the tubes are the ovaries where the woman's eggs exit out of and travel down these tubes and into the uterus. Sometimes what can happen is an egg trapped in one of the tubes will become inseminated and a fetus can develop there. This causes extreme pain for a woman with an ectopic pregnancy and in cases like this, the baby must be aborted if the woman is to survive. If not, the fallopian tube can rupture or burst if you will, and cause massive internal bleeding that can lead to death if not treated."

Naruto started to get nervous. The last thing he wanted to happen was for Sakura to end up with one of these pregnancies and die.

"And the chances of this happening are?" Minato asked.

"With today's medical technology? Every 2 in 10 women end up with an ectopic pregnancy, but are usually caught before anything major happens." Sakura informed.

Naruto then breathed a sigh of relief. Low chances are always good in his book.

"Oh, ok. So a 20% chance then. That's not too bad then." Minato mused.

"All things considered, no. However, even if the pregnancy goes completely normal, problems can still arise."

"S-such as...?" Naruto asked nervously.

"Well, the most common one is placenta previa. That means the placenta is in the way of the baby making its way out of a woman's vagina. In cases like that, a C-Section is required to deliver the baby."

"That's when they cut you open, right?" Naruto asked.

"Correct. There are no dangers to the mother, but there may be additional complications with the baby. Another complication is where the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck. This is a very serious case and we take extreme precautions in these cases. Then there is another complication where the mother can push too hard and cause the baby to rupture her aorta. This happened with Videl's mother."

"What's an aorta?" Naruto asked.

"It's the major supplier of blood for your body." Sakura said simply.

"And the chances of any of that happening are what?" Naruto asked.

"They're actually pretty common, but as I said, we take extreme precautions in cases like those." Sakura informed.

"Good to know..." Naruto said with concern.

That was when Sakura realized why he was drilling her for information. "Oh, Naruto...you don't have to worry. If anything like that does happen to me, you can trust Lady Tsunade and the medical staff will be there to make sure myself and the baby are still alive." She said softly.

"Oh good..." He sighed in relief. "Cause I swear I would have fought tooth and nail to bring you and our baby back from the Afterlife if that ever happened."

"I know you would..." Sakura said with her eyes glimmering.

"Yo, are the sandwiches done?" Kiba called as him and the rest of the guys came bursting into the living room.

"Not yet!" Kushina called out.

"Aww..." Choji whined.

"Lunch will be ready in about 10 minutes so wash up!" Kushina announced.

"Hey, where's Goku?" Sakura asked.

"He left to go have lunch at his house." King Kai said from his easy chair. "Sakura, I couldn't help but realize that you're a healer. I know of a Ki technique that would be perfect for you."

"Really? What does it do?" Sakura asked.

"It's a healing technique."

"Ok, so then how is it different from my Mystic Palm Technique?"

"It's faster and has identical properties to that of a Senzu Bean. I assume you know what those are."

"Can it stop blood flow? Or be used to draw out a sample of poison for study?" Sakura asked, wanting specifics. In her medical experience she need more than just a "quicker" healing technique. She needed tools to operate and to control the body.

"It can stop bleeding, but not the other..."

"I meant stop blood inside the body as it is traveling through the veins."

"Oh...no it can't."

"Oh. Well then let's learn that. If it is quicker, then it would be great for first aid or in a pinch."

"I'll just add it to the list for when you're rested up."

"Seriously I'm fine." Sakura huffed.

"I said rest, dammit!" Kushina scolded from the kitchen.

"Darn it! I'm not sick! I was just..."

Kushina poked her head out from the doorway of the kitchen with rage in her eyes. "Are you back sassing me, young lady?!"

"Nope!" Sakura squeaked as she plopped herself back onto the bed.

All the boys flinched at Kushina's tone. They had all heard it from their own mothers at one time or another.

"That's what I thought." Kushina smirked before going back to cooking.

"Is this why you guys always said that moms were scary?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty much..." Shikamaru sighed.

"So what's going on in here?" Kiba asked.

"Nothing!" Naruto and Sakura said quickly as Sakura hid her scroll

"They were talking about having pups." Bluebell said from the foot of the couch where she was curled up by.

"ACK! SHUT UP!" Sakura and Naruto shouted in embarrassment.

"Why? Because you were going to have one kid for every hour of the day?" Bluebell snickered.

"NO!"

"Oh, this is too perfect." Kiba snickered.

"You two have barely dated for a month and now you wish to have babies?" Neji asked.

"Yosh! Do not deny your flames of youth! Let them burn brightly!"

"Oh man. Ino is gonna have a field day with this." Choji smiled.

"Oh gooood..." Sakura groaned.

"W-well...I-it's not like that..." Naruto stammered.

"No, Naruto walked in on Minato and Kushina teasing Sakura about grandchildren and Sakura admitted she had been thinking about the future and it just went from there." Bluebell clarified.

"Oh, so it wasn't really anything serious then." Shikamaru said.

"Was gonna say... We'd have to call you Gohan and Videl otherwise." Choji said.

"Oh don't even get me started on those two." King Kai commented. "They make Saiyans seem like part bunny rabbits instead of part monkeys."

"Yea really." Neji commented.

"Although to be fair, the mating cycle is pretty intense." King Kai mused.

"So, there really is no protection for them is there?" Sakura asked.

"Who said? Of course there is."

"What? There is? But all our birth control methods..."

"Don't work, only because you're missing a key ingredient that has been hiding under your noses this whole time!" King Kai smiled.

"And that would be?"

"The violet and Jade roses. They act as a natural birth control for Saiyan's." King Kai smiled as he pulled out a large bottle of pills.

"Gimme!" Sakura demanded as she snatched the bottle out of King Kai's hands and examined the ingredients. Much to her delight, she could get the herbs needed to make this at home. "HAHA! They'll be begging for these when we get back!" Sakura said, her face lit up like a 1000-watt lightbulb.

"Not for 9 months they won't." Kiba snickered.

"Actually, Saiyan pregnancies last 6 months." King Kai corrected.

"Still though."

"So does this simply help them control their urges or prevent them from getting pregnant entirely?" Sakura inquired.

"Both actually."

"Incredible."

"You can thank Videl's great great great grandmother. She created it."

"You're kidding. She must have been a fantastic doctor for the Saiyans." Sakura said in awe.

"She was a medicine woman. Her name was Vidalia, sadly she didn't make it to heaven..."

"What? Why wouldn't she?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Saiyan's seldom get to go to heaven. For her part, she poisoned the King of the Saiyan's of that time period to help usher in an age of conquest and war."

"My god." Lee said.

"I don't know. It's not outside the realm of what we shinobi do." Shikamaru admitted.

"The king wasn't the only one. His 8-year-old son, 3-year-old daughter and his wife so there wouldn't be any heirs." King Kai said grimly.

"Never mind then..." Sakura said in disgust.

"Yeah, that might be a little overboard." Shikamaru stated as the Fourth Hokage coughed.

"Wait a minute. What's to stop Videl from doing that?" Kiba asked.

"Simple, she's pure of heart." King Kai said simply.

"Why would she in the first place?" Naruto asked.

"Runs in the family?" Kiba shrugged.

"As dedicated as she is to upholding the peace, I doubt it." Sakura commented.

"Videl being evil sounds ridiculous anyway." Naruto commented.

"In universe 19, she is." King Kai commented.

"Come again?"

"In universe 19, the Saiyan's control most of the galaxy. Videl in that universe is a full blooded Saiyan and the general to King Kakarot's army."

"Kakarot, that's a stupid name." Kiba joked, earning a few chuckles from the group.

"That's Goku's Saiyan name..."

"I can't win today." Kiba grumbled.

"So, how did he get to be called Goku?" Sakura asked.

"Ah, that right there is quite a long story." King Kai said before Kushina walked in with a platter of sandwiches.

"Well, we got plenty of time." Shikamaru shrugged as he grabbed a sandwich.

King Kai cleared his throat. "It all began over 40 years ago on Planet Vegeta. The Saiyan's were about to be wiped out by Freeza and none of them knew about it except for one. A Saiyan by the name of Bardock, Goku's father."

The next hour and a half went by with King Kai explaining in detail of Goku's life story all up until now.

"-and to this day, Goku has dedicated his life to protecting those who cannot protect themselves and has aspired to be the world's greatest fighter." King Kai finished.

"Wow, that Vegeta guy was really an asshole." Lee said.

"And unfortunately, not much has changed." King Kai pointed out. "He still has an attitude, but I can sense that most of his evil intentions has left his heart."

"Goku is also a REALLY irresponsible parent." Sakura commented.

"True...but, he loves his family all the same."

"That makes me wonder how well Gohan will do as a parent..." Shikamaru mused.

"Well as long as he doesn't die and let a humanoid slug man raise his kid he has nowhere to go but up." Kiba said.

"Or an overprotective and overbearing mother." Sakura added.

"Like you would be any different, Sakura." Neji commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura growled.

"Yea, I can see it now." Kiba chuckled. "Their kids would be in their rooms studying every book the Leaf has while she makes them her lousy cooking."

 **WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!**

Kiba laid flat on his back after Naruto, Sakura and Kushina knocked him upside the head, birds flying around his head.

"Anyone else got something to say?" Sakura growled.

"Mmmm... I'm good." Choji sighed content between bites of his BLT dipped in tomato soup.

"Good." Sakura said with satisfaction.

"So, what about the other universes? What are we like in them?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I think you would find Universe 6 very interesting." King Kai said.

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"Well, in that universe, Element and Earth share the same planet."

"Really, how does that work?"

"In many ways it doesn't." King Kai said grimly.

"How come?" Naruto asked.

"In that universe, the world was divided in two due to an ancient war that left people on both sides bitter."

"Damn...but what about us? Anything different with us?" Sakura asked.

"A few things. For one, Sasuke didn't die. But you have the biggest difference of them all."

"What, don't tell me I'm a Saiyan or anything ridiculous like that." Sakura laughed.

"You are." King Kai said matter-of-factly.

"Really? Huh, that's pretty cool." Sakura said.

"Awesome..." Naruto said in awe.

"Yeah, there are tons of alternate universes. Like the one where you're all on Earth and the Saiyans invade and Sakura over here is Goku's adopted Saiyan daughter fighting against the ninjas led by Naruto and Sasuke." King Kai listed off.

"No way..." Sakura said in awe.

"Yes, and if I'm not mistaken both your parents are alive in that universe Naruto and I'm pretty certain that Videl loves you in a childhood friend sort of way. She being your third teammate after Sasuke."

"Now that's something..." Naruto said before thinking about it. "Do...Sakura-chan and I still end up together?"

"I don't know. It's happening right now. I can't tell the future."

"Although you do get captured by Sakura and taken back to her home to see life from her perspective. Then you capture her right back and take her to your home and then Videl gets all jealous...I have to check and get back to you on that."

"Wow..." Sakura and Naruto both said in awe.

"Oh yeah, and there are many others. A universe where Naruto and all the other jinchuriki have their own village and Sasuke abandons the village with Zabuza. A universe where you all fight against the Sand village until you wipe it out, which leads to a war for territory grab with the Rock and then somehow with the Mist, so basically your entire teen years are spent in war. One where you all are space marines and Naruto here is a 100-year-old experiment. Another where you all just live normal civilian lives in high school. And one where everyone is of the opposite gender and in a homosexual relationship. Like literally, everyone." King Kai listed off.

"Okay, that last one, hell no." Sakura said in disgust.

"Yeah, apparently there are no straight people. Just bi people and the planet still has a population of 7 billion." King Kai said.

"How?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Apparently the men can get pregnant too. No it doesn't make sense, put your hand down." King Kai scolded at Lee.

Sakura had a mixed look of confusion and disgust on her face before throwing her hands up. "I'm done..."

"Trust me, it's no better for me. But it gets difficult to find you guys when I have to find you among the infinite number of versions of you."

"Yea...still though, you could've kept that last universe to yourself." Shikamaru shuddered.

King Kai stood up. "Welp...back to training I suppose."

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Yup, just a fun little chapter of fan service moments for you to enjoy. Next chapter will be more of the same, but shorter, and then by the end we shall return to the Leaf village for good. So look forward to that.**


	28. Chapter 28: Returning Home

**Author's Note from Panda: Heads up, for those who care, this chapter contains a lemon. We won't be marking where exactly but we wanted to give everyone a heads up in case they wanted to skip it.**

* * *

It was another evening after a long day of training. These past two weeks have been extremely fruitful for the Leaf Ninja. Lee Was able to use up to two times Kaio-ken whereas Sakura was able to go up to 3. She was also able to make full use of the Ki based healing technique and was making progress on the Spirit Bomb.

Kiba learned the spirit ball after finally getting the hang of Ki, Neji as well. The Hyuuga prodigy was also able to master the first two levels of Kaio-ken along with the Multi-Form technique.

Shikamaru was also able to nearly master the Multiform technique and was even able to come up with new and improved strategies for his jutsu's.

Naruto learned the Instant Transmission technique as well as make more progress in mastering his dad's infamous jutsu. He was also learning more about Kurama's golden form and how much of the chakra he could handle at one time. Naruto also helped Sakura discover that she, too, can use the Golden form by using her seal to absorb Kurama's Chakra, this in turn turned her seal red. She noted that the energy absorbing properties of her seal will be very useful until she can learn more about her own power. In addition, they all had finally learned to fly and well.

Today, Goku brought over some of his friends from Earth as well as his wife, Chichi and his youngest son, Goten. They were just finishing dinner while Krillen told some stories about his youth.

"-and just when Vegeta came up to him, Yajarobi was like, 'Please sir. I really admire your power and would like to join you if it's not too late.'" Krillen joked, earning a healthy laugh from everyone there.

"As if I would have let him join me." Vegeta snickered.

"To be fair, he probably would have run his sword through you in your sleep." Piccolo smirked.

"Ha, as if I'd let my guard down that easily." Vegeta scoffed.

"Oh no, you only did that with every battle." Krillen jeered.

"What was that, shorty?!" Vegeta grumbled.

Everyone just laughed at their actions, until Chichi stood up. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably go home."

Meanwhile, Goten heard his mother while he was playing with Sakura and pouted. "Aww...but I don't wanna..." Goten whined.

"Now, Goten. they can't stay here forever you know. They go back to their world tomorrow, just like we have to go back to ours. Besides, it's way past your bedtime."

"...okay..."

Sakura ruffled his hair with a smile. "You be good now. And no more chasing those dinosaurs." Sakura playfully scolded.

"Okay! Say hi to Gohan for me!" Goten beamed before hugging her and running to his mother's side.

"Ah, yes about that..." Chichi started as she looked at the ninja with pleading eyes. "Please...watch over my son and his wife to be...and my grandchildren...please...keep them safe..." She pleaded with misty eyes.

"We promise Mrs. Son. We'll be the best godparents your grandkids could ever hope for. Believe it." Naruto smiled.

Chichi wiped away a stray tear. "Thank you..."

Piccolo smirked. "It's a shame we haven't gotten to know the Elementians of our universe. You really are good people."

"Same with the Earthlings of our universe." Sakura commented.

"Sadly, Element in Universe 7 was destroyed by a comet 15 years ago...and Earth in Universe 24 was destroyed over 200 years ago." King Kai said sadly.

"Well then we are lucky to have Gohan and Videl drop into our lives." Sakura added.

"Well...there may be a way to bring back our universes Element and their people." Piccolo mused.

"How?" Goku asked.

"With the Namekian Dragon Balls. They should be able to bring them all back."

"Why would you want to do that?" Kushina asked as she helped Chichi pack some leftovers for the trip home.

"If they are anything like you people then they deserve to live." Piccolo said seriously.

"Yes, but if their entire world was destroyed, I guarantee that they wouldn't want to live." Kushina countered.

"Take me and Minato for example. If Naruto had died with us that night, then there would be no reason I can think of for wanting to come back to life. Our friends, maybe, but if our entire planet was destroyed then that point is moot."

"In the end it's up to them. Their planet can be restored and so can its people." King Kai said.

"Fair enough I suppose." Kushina shrugged. "Still. Would you want to give up Heaven if everyone you already knew was dead?"

"If they all came back to life then what's the problem?" Vegeta asked.

"You obviously haven't spent enough time in Heaven. There is a reason they call it a paradise." Minato jumped in.

"Hm. Whatever." Vegeta shrugged off.

"I'll ask them the next time I'm in that area." King Kai said to change the subject.

"Alright then. Everyone gab on." Goku said cheerfully as those from Universe 7 connected themselves to Goku.

"Goodbye Big Sis Sakura!" Goten waved.

"Bye, Goten. Be good now and study hard." Sakura smiled.

"I will!"

In an instant, they all vanished, leaving the area in silence.

"Who would have thought that little angle is Gohan's brother?" Sakura asked happily.

"He really is a sweet little boy. But I think it's time for everyone to go to bed. Gotta be up early so you guys can return home." Kushina said brightly.

"I don't know. His brother is such a goodie two shoes I'm more surprised that his brother isn't a brat." Kiba commented.

Sakura glared at Kiba before she and the others made their way to King Kai's Garage.

"What? I'm just saying." Kiba stated.

"And no one cares what you think. That is probably the sweetest little boy anyone could ever meet." Sakura replied.

"Yea, whatever..." Kiba grumbled before hoping into his cot.

 _'So, you gonna do it now?'_ Inner asked.

 _'What is it with you and that? seriously?'_ Sakura replied.

 _'I'm your inner most desires, bitch. It's really you who wants to do this if you'd only be honest with yourself.'_ Inner reminded her.

 _'Yeah, yeah... I said I'd wait a week, remember?'_

 _'Yeah and it's been two.'_

Sakura stopped midway to her bedroom door at that realization. _'It has, hasn't it...'_ She mused.

 _'Look, god knows that you don't HAVE to do it now. Naruto hasn't pressured you into doing it. I'm not even sure that he realizes that it's on the table.'_ Inner said. _'I'm just proof that you WANT to do it. Not that you should or shouldn't.'_

 _'The point is I promised myself a week and it's been two. Plus, I want it as much as he does. I see how he looks at me when he thinks I'm not noticing. It's now or never.'_ Sakura replied firmly.

 _'Well it's not like we will get another chance at banging in the Afterlife. Not for a while anyway.'_ Inner thought.

Naruto walked passed Sakura and held open the door for her. "You coming?" He asked.

"Huh? Yea." Sakura nodded before walking inside and closing the door. "Put up a silencing Jutsu."

Naruto made the appropriate hand signs and the sealed room instantly became silent to all outside ears. Sakura was about to strip off her top when she noticed that Naruto was now unlocking the window.

"Idiot, if you open anything the barrier shatters." Sakura reminded him.

"Were not doing it in here." Naruto said as he stuck his foot out the window, then the other, until he gestured for Sakura to follow him.

"W-what...? You know?" Sakura asked in shock.

"My mom kinda clued me in with a meat tendering mallet. Plus, I've got a surprise for you." He said.

"So... you're okay with it?"

"Well only if you are okay with it. My mom said that I shouldn't make light of a girl's feelings." He said, worried that he had assumed too much.

"Of course I'm okay with it...I was about to lay you out here and now. In hindsight, I think I should have done this a while ago..."

 _'Yes you should have.'_ Inner agreed.

"Well..." Naruto chuckled. "I don't think that I would have been ready if you did. It took a lot of psyching up this past week."

"Yea, fair enough... Alright, let's go." Sakura said as she too hopped out the window. Outside the house the sky was a beautiful shade of night blue with billions of stars twinkling across the sky and silver moon as big as the planet itself hovering nearby.

King Kai had told them that the sky turned from day or night based on his will. If he wanted to sleep, then it would be night time. If he wanted to take an afternoon nap, then it would be daytime and the sun would never get into his eyes unless he wanted it to. Which confused the group of mortals, but perhaps it was better not trying to understand the motivations of an immortal.

Sakura followed Naruto out from behind the garage to the main road on the planet.

"Okay, so...where we going?"

"I believe it's called..." Naruto said as he dangled a pair of keys in front of her. "A joyride."

Sakura gasped. "You didn't..."

Naruto responded with a foxy grin. "I did..."

Sakura looked over and realized that she had been led right to King Kai's car.

"Do you even know how to drive?"

"My dad taught me a little bit. He's also the one who gave me this idea. Said that it was a common 'fetish' over in Heaven."

"Oh my god...do you even know what fetish means?"

"Um...no? That's just what my dad described it as."

"It's kinky shit. Like whips and ropes, getting me off with a dildo, a whole laundry list of stuff...plus, I don't think kinky stuff is appropriate for our first time..."

"Well it's just a preference some dead people have, I guess. If you're weirded out by it...I just wanted our first time to be special."

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed after thinking about how Ino would never be able to top this one. "Okay..."

"You're sure...?" Naruto checked.

"If nothing else, I can rub it in Ino's face." Sakura smirked.

"And we both know how much you love to rub things in Ino's face." Naruto smirked.

"Exactly. So, let's get to it."

Naruto automatically unlocked the car doors and then opened the passenger side door for Sakura like a gentleman.

"Well, why thank you, kind sir." Sakura said jokingly.

"Anything for you, Madame." Naruto bowed before returning to the driver's side and settling into his own seat. He revved up the engine which gave a satisfying hum.

"So, where you taking us? It's not like we have far to go."

"Thought we would check out make out point on the other side of the world." Naruto said as he began driving slowly down the brick paved road. After about thirty seconds, they had arrived.

"Make out point, huh?" Sakura smirked.

"Something else my dad told me about. Said it was the best place to 'do it.' Plus, look at that view." Naruto said as he pointed up at the absolutely gorgeous silver moon hanging over their heads.

"Wow..." Sakura breathed out.

"It's amazing..." Naruto commented, when really he was just looking at Sakura. The way her hair and eyes shined in the moonlight and how perfectly it framed her face. The diamond on her forehead sparkled like a star to complete her beauty. She looked like a priceless work of art. A masterpiece he was only ever meant to observe and admire, yet here he sat ready to feel her and to know her as no other man had ever done.

"Yea it is..." She said softly before turning to him. "Just like you..."

Naruto looked over at her direction and her night grew brighter. To her, Naruto looked like a god. His golden hair catching the silver streams of moonlight making them shine. And his whiskers that were so uniquely him standing out against the bluish light the outlined his cheeks. Until he smiled that ear to ear smile of his that seemed to challenge the moon for being the brightest light in the night sky. The moonlight also gave an outline to his powerful physic. His broad shoulders and large muscles that weren't too bulky or too lanky but just right to contain the quick strength he was known for.

The stage was set just as it had been for their first giant step forward, and now it would see them through to the next.

"I love you, Naruto...and I wanna show how deep that love goes..." She said softly as her eyes glimmered off the moonlight.

Sakura maneuvered herself over to Naruto, lifting her right leg and straddled him. "If you're nervous...so am I."

"I've...never done this before." Naruto admitted. It was all he could say.

"Baka, neither have I." Sakura giggled, then she realized something. "Wait a minute...you mean to tell me that the entire time you were with Master Jiraiya you never once had sex?" she asked in awe.

"No, never. He sure tried like hell, though."

"Wow...I'm proud of you. But you ain't saying no to me." Sakura smirked.

Naruto clamped his hands on her ass and made her gasp. "Like I would ever say no to you." He growled huskily.

In response, she locked her lips with his as she unzipped his jacked. She slipped it off to reveal his tight black shirt, where she felt up every muscle by rubbing her hands over his chest.

Naruto meanwhile kneaded her bottom like dough, with one hand tracing up the contours of her back, bringing her ever closer to his body.

Sakura started grinding herself against Naruto's fully erect member through their clothes, their breathing getting more and more heavy and rapid, causing the windows to fog up.

Naruto then slipped his fingers down the waistband of Sakura's shorts and pulled them down, her ass completely bare. Now he was able to feel her soft, unrestricted ass like he could only dream about doing, except now, it was for real.

Sakura gasped at his touch, her every inch starting to grow hot. She began breathing heavily over Naruto's neck, sending warm puffs of air against his skin that send waves of shivers down his spine with every breath. Until she dived down to nip at his neck with butterfly kisses.

Naruto slid off Sakura's shorts the rest of the way, lifting her legs to get then off. When he saw them, his eyes went wide with how soaked they were.

"D-did you wet yourself?" Naruto asked.

Sakura walloped him right in the face from embarrassment. "It's not pee, idiot!"

"Ow! Then...what is it?"

"It's...it's..." She stammered, trying to explain.

Naruto looked down to see some kind of fluid dripping from her, but it was thicker than pee.

"It's...a woman's way of being...aroused..." she stammered.

"So then you... and I..." He stammered, feeling both incredibly embarrassed and pleased with himself.

Sakura bit her lower lip and nodded.

Naruto slammed his lips against hers. That was so fucking hot he couldn't think straight anymore. He just had to have more of her, all of her.

Sakura was in the same boat. She wasn't even thinking when she pulled him down to lay on top of her on the rather large bench seat. Her breath hitched and she moaned when Naruto started to finger her soaking wet vagina.

"AaaaAAAAHHH!" She cried out when he hit the exact right spot.

"Are you okay?!" Naruto asked with concern.

"Yes..." She gasped out. "Just do that again..."

"Okay..." he returned to messaging the same spot as before.

Sakura could feel her mind going blank, her body going numb, her legs shivering with each movement of his fingers and her moans and screams rattling the windows of the car.

To Naruto, Sakura was like a musical instrument. He could control her pitch, volume and note just by moving his fingers a certain way, and it was absolute music to his ears like a symphony orchestra.

Then it happened.

"OHHHH...NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as her first orgasm hit her like a freight train, her juices spraying out and soaking her lover.

Whatever Naruto was expecting, it wasn't that. Almost without warning, Sakura just sprayed him like a firehose before collapsing on top of him in a shaky mess. Again he felt embarrassed, even a little disgusted, yet still somehow aroused as Sakura instinctively curled her limbs around him to ride out her orgasm.

He kissed the top of her head, hoping to get her attention.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura panted heavily as her body still shook. "Y-yea...?"

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Never...felt better..." Sakura gasped. "that was... amazing..."

 _'Tell me that there weren't fireworks going off outside.'_ Inner thought.

Sakura couldn't even find it in her to respond. Instead, she tried to move to satisfy Naruto. But first, she removed her top and her sports bra, completely exposing her B-cup size breasts.

Naruto's mouth fell open. The sight of Sakura's pink areola was breathtaking. Each were no bigger than a quarter yet to him they looked so perfect. Like the tips of two perfect scoops of vanilla ice cream. Just begging him to be eaten.

Sakura meanwhile turned her head in embarrassment. "I... I hope they're not too small...please don't make fun of them, I'm chastised enough about them as it is..."

"What are you talking about? They're absolutely perfect." He praised, almost offended that she or anyone else could think these two mounds of flesh were anything but beautiful.

Sakura's breath hitched and she turned to face him. "R-really...? But...the other girls always make fun of them, Ino mostly..."

"Even Videl?" Naruto asked.

"No, she never did. She's been supportive of me and encouraging me not to let what the others say bother me."

"Well take it from me. I think they are the most beautiful pair of boobs I have ever seen. Better that Granny Tsunade's or Hinata's or Ino's or Videl's or whoever else you care to name." Naruto stated matter-of-factly, his eyes briefly meeting hers before returning to her tits just to emphasize his point.

"R-really...?" Sakura had happy tears forming in her eyes.

"...Yes..." He whispered as his lips hovered over Sakura's right titty, his mouth drooling. He could smell her. He wanted to taste her. But he felt the need to ask permission for such a treat.

"Then they're yours to do with whatever you please..." Sakura smiled. "Go ahead. Eat up."

Naruto latched onto Sakura's tit like a thirsty man in the desert. He suckled on her tit, his tongue dancing around her tip as his lips sucked on her breast like a suction cup. Her other breast was given a rough physical by his hand as his other one pulled her in closer.

"Aww, you're just like a baby." Sakura cooed as Naruto kept suckling her, his eyes closed in pure bliss. Sakura took a hold of his head and brought him closer to her as she petted her fingers through his hair.

Sakura hand never been happier in her life. This was the man in her life she had been needing. The same man who stole her heart a long time ago but she suppressed those feelings for Sasuke. He had done a lot for her ever since the academy and him admitting his love for her made her grow even closer. Every day that had gone by she grew closer and closer to him until she admitted her true feelings for him. Then seeing him almost die twice in Hell made her decide she never wanted to lose him. She learned from Sasuke that Naruto was the one who commented her forehead in the first place and that was the finishing touch. She was completely head over heels for this man and it will never change...until now. Another part of her anatomy she hated and was chastised for he found absolutely perfect and was fondling like a thirsty baby. That was it, her heart was now completely his.

Naruto could not believe his luck. He was so happy. Sasuke was an idiot for ever letting this girl slip through his fingers. Her milky smooth skin felt cool to the touch but so warm underneath. And now her breasts were saturated with his saliva, yet she kept petting him like a good little boy. Unknown to either of them, this was a completely new experience for Naruto, who had only ever known baby formula. Now it seems he was subconsciously making up for a lifetime of titty sucking.

Sakura now felt kinda bad. She got off, but he didn't, so she took it upon herself to unzip his pants where Naruto froze.

"Sakura-chan? What are you doing? I wasn't done." He whined softly.

"You got me off and I'm completely naked and the only thing you're missing is your jacket." Sakura said logically.

"Oh right. Still though. You're titties are delicious. I wanted to try the left one."

Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile. "Lose the clothes first then you can."

 _'Now we get to see what he's packing!'_ Inner said giddily.

Slowly, Naruto removed his black shirt, revealing the perfectly sculpted male torso beneath it.

Sakura subconsciously licked her lips. He had the body of a God.

 _'It's even more perfect then when the whole village saw it on Snake Way.'_ Inner observed.

 _'I know... yum...'_

All the peaks and valleys along his chest. Sakura just wanted to pour chocolate syrup all down his chest and lick it off wherever it got trapped. And then everywhere else.

 _'Woah, where did that come from?'_ Sakura wondered.

 _'The better question is...can we run back to the house and grab a bottle of chocolate syrup before the mood dies out?'_ Inner thought.

 _'Save that for another time.'_

Now it came down to the main event; Naruto removed his pants and only his boxers remained. Sakura could already see the tent he was pitching and she waited eagerly with anticipation.

 _'I bet it's big, no huge! No wait, we shouldn't think like that. We could build up too much expectation and get disappointed. Think small penis, average sized penis, with decent girth-no bad girl!'_ Inner frantically thought.

Naruto reached for his boxers and started to lower them.

 _'Oh god...this is it.'_ Sakura and Inner thought.

Naruto lowered his boxers and his big behemoth sprang up to wave hello.

 _'Holy dick! It's an inch thick!'_ Sakura exclaimed.

 _'THANK YOU GODS!'_ Inner praised.

 _'You're welcome.'_ A mysterious woman's voice spoke before fading back into oblivion.

 _'Who was that?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'FOCUS ON THE D!'_ Inner yelled.

"Holy shit..." Sakura breathed out.

"What? Is it bad?" Naruto asked, fearing that he was too small to please her.

"Bad? Are you kidding? You got a fucking monster! It's huge and I've seen enough dicks to know!" Sakura beamed, her juices starting to flow again.

 _ **'There see, what did I tell you Kit?'**_ Kurama thought.

Naruto couldn't help but blush at that. "Thank you..."

"Wow...who woulda thought..." Sakura breathed out before gently grabbing his member. "Man, its hard as a rock and warm..." She said before gently messaging it.

"Aaaahaaa..." Naruto moaned. Sakura's hands felt cool to the touch, yet so gentle.

 _'Suck on it.'_ Inner instructed.

 _'What?! That's nasty!'_

 _'That's how blowjobs work. Think of it as a meat popsicle. A big, salty sausage.'_

Sakura hesitated a bit, but if anyone deserved one, it was him. So, she just did what Naruto does best; she dove in.

Naruto gasped at the sudden new sensation. He looked down and saw a sight he never thought he'd see. Sakura was sucking his dick like a lollipop and it just felt... there were no words to describe how good it felt.

Sakura licked up the underside of Naruto's shaft. God, she felt so slutty. Her drool saturating down his penis, mixing with his pre-cum. This was exactly like how those girls in the dirty magazines sucked a dick. The ones that Ino always made her read on sleepovers. Yet it all felt so good. His dick tasted so delicious, so hot and savory against her tongue. The way it twitched and pulsed. The way she made Naruto moan and shudder with every suckle.

"Oh goood... S-Sakura..." Naruto was about to blow.

Sakura reached up to fondle Naruto's balls, rolling them in her hands to send him over the edge.

Naruto felt a sudden pressure he had never felt before, almost like he was holding back a waterfall. He tried hard to keep whatever it was inside, but it was no use.

"GAAAAH!" With that, he blew his load in Sakura's mouth, the first time he had ever done so and it felt out of this world.

Sakura felt something hot a sticky hitting the back of her throat. She knew exactly what it was, but she didn't think about it. She simply continued sucking, milking it for every last drop like a baby with its bottle.

When Naruto finally finished, Sakura pulled away, a trail of saliva and cum stretching from her lips as she downed his precious seed.

"Wow...you sure gave me a lot." Sakura smiled as she wiped her mouth off and licked up the excess.

Naruto had to do a double take. He must be delusional if he thought he saw Sakura-chan lick up his cum like it was syrup. It should be illegal for any one girl to act so sexy. His already cloudy mind from his own orgasm was sent into overdrive.

"Now..." Sakura said hesitantly. "It's time..."

Sakura took Naruto's member and gave it a few strokes to raise it up back into action.

"Naruto...I'm sure Master Jiraiya has told you, but the first time for a woman is very painful. I just want you to know that even though I'll be in pain, I'm fine..." Sakura informed.

"Really? But I don't want to hurt you. Isn't there a gentler way to do it?" Naruto asked.

"No there isn't. It's fine, Naruto. It will only hurt for a minute." Sakura said softly as she straddled Naruto, guiding his member to her opening. She felt it rub between her vaginal lips until the tip was in, but she stopped short for a moment and gulped. "Here we go then..." She did her best to brace up for the pain and with a swift motion, she jerked herself down all the way, his member punching through her hymen causing a burst of intense pain.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH! Ooooowwwww..."" Sakura hollered out in pain.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried out. He wanted to help her, to comfort her in some way, but the feeling of his member being squeezed through her tight entrance made his mind go blank. All he could do was hold onto Sakura's hips so much that he left claw marks. Sakura was in the same boat, having dug her nails into his sides as she guided her nether region on top of his. Holy shit she felt full.

"I-I'm okay...just...give me a moment..." Sakura said calmly.

Naruto held her close and began rubbing his hands up and down her back, trying to ease her pain anyway that he could. All while trying not to blow his load right there as she sat on him. But fuck it if even the tiniest movement sent vibrations through her body and right to his dick. It was so warm and wet and... fuck.

Without warning, Naruto slammed his hand against the car window to steady himself. His hand leaving an imprint against the fogged out glass.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked with concern.

"Nothing just...didn't want to disappoint you..." He said.

"You haven't so far...now come on, the pain has subsided."

Naruto nodded as his hands tentatively gripped Sakura's hips, holding her in place. She wordlessly draped her arms around his neck. She gave him a tiny smile of encouragement for him to claim his prize.

"Go ahead..." She said softly.

Naruto rocked his hips forward once as an experiment and heard the angels sing. He thrust his hips again and again, growing bolder with each pump.

Sakura's breathing was erratic and erotic, moans accompanying them with each thrust. She could hardly believe that she forced herself to wait this long! it was a pleasure that she could quite literally get drunk off of and she wanted more.

Naruto wasn't thinking anymore. The euphoria was overtaking his mind. It was all just instinct now. The thrusts, the pumping, the way Sakura's curves fit to his shape. This was nature and they were both doing what they were made for.

Their movements got so strong that they were actually rocking the old car side to side as their releases came closer and closer.

"Naruto...I'm so close..." Sakura gasped.

"M-me too..." Naruto gasped out as he continued thrusting.

Sakura took his hand into her own and intertwined their fingers. Their pulses synchronized.

"Oh god... I'm...I'm... AAAAHHHH! NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura screamed as she reached her climax.

"SAKURAAAA-CHAAAAANNN!" Naruto roared as he exploded inside her.

One the opposite side of the planet, Kiba was stirred awake.

"Did you guys feel that?"

"No... just go back to sleep..." Neji yawned.

Back in the car, the windows were impenetrable with fog. Sakura had collapsed on top of Naruto, felling so helpless, yet so content. Naruto had never felt so satisfied. He'd never admit it, but he had knocked out a few crafty ones on the road to some of the juicier scenes Pervy Sage had made him read from Make Out Tactics.

All of those moments combined couldn't match up to the real thing. Not even close.

"That was...amazing..." Sakura breathed out.

"Yeah..." Naruto replied. He wanted to say it was better than Ramen, but then he remembered all the times that he had claimed that Ramen was better than sex. What a naive little fool he used to be.

Right now he would burn down...well maybe not burn down Ichiraku's...but he would strongly consider reducing his usual quantity of consumption of Ramen if it meant getting to do THAT with Sakura all the time.

He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled her in closer.

Sakura sighed contently as she relaxed in her arms. But, something in the back of her head was nagging at her for some reason. Almost like she forgot something important, but she couldn't place what. It was at that moment that Naruto's member when slack and left her opening and she could feel fluids running out of her.

Then it hit her.

"SHIT!" She cursed loudly before sitting up. She looked down to see the mess flowing out of her and her eyes went wide. She scanned her abdomen and when nothing showed up, she went white as a sheet. "Oh god...no...no, no, no, noooo...this is bad..."

"What?! What?!" Naruto said frantically.

"Shit...Naruto, we didn't use protection! We were so into the moment I forgot my contraception jutsu!" Sakura said in a panic.

"Oh shit! ...what does that mean..?" Naruto asked. Really hating his own idiocy at times.

"It means its very likely you just knocked me up!" Sakura cried, she really wasn't ready for this.

"Oh shit!" Naruto cried. He was even less ready for this. "What are the odds?!"

"What?"

"What are the odds that I knocked you up?!"

"Pretty good right now, let's leave it at that. Fuck!"

"Damn..." Naruto sighed as his head hit the back of the seat cushion. "I'm gonna have to ask Granny for some extra missions. OH SHIT! Granny is gonna kill me!"

"Kill you?! I'm her student! I should've known better!"

"Well she'll still find a way to blame me, I'm certain." Naruto groaned.

Sakura sighed. "Well...at least your mom will be happy...can't say the same about mine..."

"What? Won't she be ecstatic to have grandkids?"

Sakura had to stop and think. In a lot of ways, her mother reminded her of Chichi. "You know...thinking about it, I think she would be." Then she turned to Naruto and smiled. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

"Heck no. Not if we do it together. I mean I'll probably have to put in a few D ranked mission to make up your half of the salary. But if Gohan and Videl can do it, why not us?" Naruto said.

"It would also be cheaper for us since we don't eat nearly as much as they do. Even if we end up with more than one, we'll still be in the clear."

"Seriously. How do they even get by on a Genin's salary? Before I left with Jiraiya I was living paycheck to paycheck for a while yet they both plan on raising a kid."

"Lady Tsunade pays them more for supplying the hospital with Senzu beans."

"Lucky. I've barely got pocket change at the end of the week, even with a chunin salary."

"What are you talking about? Any Shinobi salary, including chunin is supposed to pay a living wage." Sakura asked.

"Well my landlord charges 30,000 Ryo a month." Naruto said.

"What?! That's three times the amount my family pays for our apartment! No way that crappy little dump you call an apartment is worth that much! The second we get home were renegotiating with your landlord and then we're finding you a better apartment!" Sakura stated.

' _Then what would the point be in renegotiating a new price?'_ Inner thought.

"Or we can snag a capsule house from Gohan." Naruto mused.

"Wait...we...?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah we. As in the three of us." Naruto said as he touched Sakura's belly.

"Y-you...really want me to move in with you...?" Sakura gasped.

"Sure. I knocked you up, so I gotta take responsibility, right?" Naruto smiled.

Sakura smiled and happy tears flowed down her face. "I'd love to..."

Naruto kissed her and all their problems melted away.

"But we still don't know for sure. It will take a couple of weeks to know for sure." Sakura reminded him.

"So what? I still want you to live with me regardless." Naruto smiled.

Sakura sighed contently as she relaxed back into his arms. Even if it was a lot sooner than she expected, she was content with the knowing fact that Naruto would be there for her no matter what. Add to it that soon, she'll be moving in with him. After a whole month of being together, everything seemed to happen so fast, but if there was one thing she could take solace in, it was with him. Pretty soon, the two of them drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kushina was the first to wake up. She got up to fetch Sakura to make breakfast, but when she opened the door to hers and Naruto's room, they weren't there.

 _'That's odd...'_ Kushina thought. She looked around and saw that the bed was still made, but the window was wide open. She looked out the window and saw that King Kai's car was not in its usual spot. Then it all clicked together.

She jumped out of the window and dashed to the brick path. She ran down the path until she spotted the car sitting all by itself, the windows still partially fogged over.

Kushina felt so giddy. She couldn't stop herself from hopping up and down like a jacked up bunny rabbit. Her hands over her mouth to stop herself from shouting for joy. Her little boy had become a man and hopefully soon a father.

She cautiously made her way to the car and placed her hand on the window. The warmth of her hand clearing the fog to make a peep hole. She peered in and almost squealed with joy. There lay Sakura and Naruto, completely nude with Naruto's jacket covering them, still sound asleep.

Kushina ducked down to squeal behind the car, fighting the urge to do a double back flip. She could see it in her boy's sleeping face that he gave it to her good last night, just like with Minato.

This was too cute. She quickly channeled Chakra through the invisible seal that Minato had placed on her and her very own Yellow Flash appeared at her side.

She clamped her hand over his mouth to stop him from yelling, thinking that Kushina was in danger. She then dragged him back to down to the ground with her.

"The hell is this all about?" Minato whispered.

Kushina pointed furiously at the red car and Minato's eyes went wide when he remembered what he had helped his son do.

"Why are we here?" He hissed as Kushina.

"I was looking for Sakura to help make breakfast, not knowing about this!" She whispered giddily.

"Right, sorry, I gave Naruto the idea to try this out. I didn't tell you cause I wanted it to be a surprise for Sakura." Minato admitted shamefully.

"I don't care! Our boy is finally a man!" She whispered happily.

"Great, now let's get back to the house before they catch us."

"Aww...I wish I had a camera..." Kushina pouted.

"Kushina!" Minato hissed. "Why would you want to take a picture of their most private motive!?"

"Oh like you don't want to look." She countered.

Minato blushed. "Yea, kinda..." He admitted shamefully.

"Well, then take a peek. You won't see much of anything you ain't supposed to." Kushina smiled.

Employing all of his ninja stealth skills, Minato silently peaked into the window at the loving couple sleeping tightly together.

It was an adorable sight for sure. It really did warm his heart to see his son and Sakura so in love with each other that it made him crack a soft smile.

That was when Sakura's eyes started to flutter open and Minato ducked down quickly.

"We gotta go, right now." He whispered firmly.

"Right." Kushina nodded as the two of them began to crawl away, with Minato bringing up the rear.

Speaking of rear...

"Down boy." Kushina said just as they passed over the horizon.

"You know you want it." Minato smirked.

"Mmm...maybe later." Kushina cooed.

The two made it back to the house without waking anyone up and Kushina got to work cooking up a feast. With Minato helping in some places.

* * *

An hour later the guys were all up eating breakfast yet Naruto and Sakura were still nowhere to be found.

That's when King Kai emerged from his bedroom feeling rather chipper this morning.

"Good morning everyone." He said.

"Good morning." Kushina beamed.

"My, someone is also in a good mood." King Kai observed.

"Oh you bet! I couldn't be happier right now!"

"That's good." King Kai said as he made himself a cup of coffee. "I think I'm gonna take the car out for a while."

Minato and Kushina instantly went pale.

"Um, don't you want to spend the morning here? I mean we will all be leaving this morning as soon as the boys come back to life. Don't you want to spend time with them?" Kushina suggested.

"Nah... I gotta do some work to it."

"What work? We've never seen you do any work besides train us since we got here." Shikamaru said over his stack of strawberry fresh toast.

"It's got an electrical issue that if not taken care of, it could catch fire."

"WHAT!?" Kushina screamed.

"I know! I would hate to lose that car. Luckily the part is easy to replace. So long as it hasn't been driven it should be fine."

"Uh, I need to go, um, check on the grill!" Kushina said as she bolted out the door.

"Is she making steak and eggs?" King Kai wondered.

"I hope so." Choji drooled.

Kushina quickly made her way back to the car to see that it was still there and intact.

 **KA-BOOM!**

The car exploded into a mini fireball, engulfing everything in a 5-meter radius with shrapnel and burning gasoline.

"NO! NARUTO! SAKURA!" Kushina screamed out.

"OW, DAMN IT!" Naruto shouted. Kushina was dumbfounded as she witnessed her son and Sakura emerge from the flaming wreckage, running and rolling around to put out the flames. Yet as soon as the flames were out, Kushina noticed something odd. Except for a few patches of soot, neither of them had a scratch on them. Not even charred skin. Their clothes were burned away, but their actually bodies were completely unharmed.

"Are you two okay?!" Kushina exclaimed on worry.

"Ah, yeah. Real funny mom. You didn't have to wake us up with a firecracker." Naruto exclaimed.

"Firecracker? No, the damn car exploded! King Kai said it had an electrical issue!" Kushina exclaimed.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, but turned around to see the car in ruin. "Holy shit..."

Kushina just sighed. "Well, at least you two are okay. Under-dressed, but okay."

The both of them looked down and tried to cover themselves.

Kushina saw this and smirked. "So, you two had fun last night, eh?"

Sakura blushed furiously. She'd give anything to just sink into the ground and never return. At least the rest of her friends weren't here to see her.

"You have no idea how happy I am..." Kushina smiled.

"Yeah that's great Mom, but could you turn around please?" Naruto begged, trying to cover his shame.

Kushina just rolled her eyes before obliging with her son's request.

That's when she saw all the boys running towards them.

"What's going on? We heard an explosion." Shikamaru exclaimed.

 _'Shit!'_ "N-nothing! Just leave for now, please!" Kushina begged.

"But we heard-Oh...my...god..." Kiba went slack jawed when he saw Sakura and Naruto in the buff.

Sakura had scurried behind Naruto to avoid their gaze, but not before they all got a brief flash of her...everything.

Lee thought that his eyes were going to pop out of his skull.

"Thank you." Lee, Neji, and Choji all bowed, blood dripping from their noses.

"Alright! You had your peep show, now BEAT IT!" Kushina yelled.

"Yea, come on guys. Leave them alone." Shikamaru added.

"MY CAR!" King Kai cried.

It was at that moment Whis appeared. "Good morning everyone. I... Oh my...what happened here?"

"My poor car..." King Kai sniffed.

"Oh don't worry. I'll fix it right up." Whis smiled. He snapped his fingers and King Kai's old Chevy was as good as new.

"Now then, is everyone...Oh my!" Whis blushed as he spotted Naruto and Sakura without clothes. "Seems you two need something." He pointed his index finger at the couple and fired a beam. They didn't feel anything, but when he was finished, they appeared in their normal clothes. "There, is that better?"

Sakura sniffed. "Yes, thank you."

"Now then. I hope you are all ready for an interesting show." Whis smiled as he created a small Descry Sphere that showed Goku and his friends gathered around 7 glowing, orange orbs. "We're all ready here, Goku. You can begin."

"Alright then." Goku replied. "Eternal Dragon! By your name I summon you forth; Shenron!"

The sky in their area turned black with storm clouds and the Balls glowed brightly. Then, a massive bolt of energy erupted from them and shot into the sky, curving and twisting with each moment as it started to take the form of a large dragon.

"Woah...Gohan wasn't bullshitting..." Kiba breathed out.

The form now became a gigantic dragon that hovered above the group. **"YOU WHO HAVE SUMMONED ME. STATE YOUR WISHES AND I WILL GRANT THEM."**

"Hey Shenron! Good to see you again!" Goku greeted.

 **"OH GREAT...ITS YOU PEOPLE AGAIN...WHO DIED THIS TIME."** Shenron grumbled.

"Some friends of ours from another Universe died while fighting in Hell. Can you restore their lives so they can return home?!" Goku asked.

 **"THEY ARE FROM A DIMENSION NOT OUR OWN. IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT I CANNOT RETURN THEM TO THEIR OWN DIMENSION."**

"We already have that covered, all you need to do is restore their lives." Goku replied.

 **"(SWEAR TO KAMI YOU PEOPLE GET OFF ON BRINGING PEOPLE BACK TO LIFE.)"** The Eternal Dragon muttered. **"VERY WELL. SPEAK THEIR NAMES AND I SHALL MAKE IT SO."**

"Sure...uh..." Goku tried to remember all of their names, but Piccolo stepped in.

"I'll take care of this. Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akamichi, and Rock Lee." Piccolo listed off. "They are from Universe 24."

"Currently located on King Kai's planet." Goku added.

 **"AND WHAT MAKES THESE PEOPLE SO IMPORTANT THAT I HAVE TO WISH THEM BACK?"**

"It was requested by King Kai and Whis, caretaker to Lord Beerus." Piccolo informed.

Shenron noticeably gulped at the mention of that last name. **"R-RIGHT AWAY!"**

Shenron's eyes glowed a bright red as he began to grant the wish.

On King Kai's planet, one by one the dead Shinobi lost their halos and were among the living again.

"I don't feel any different." Choji said.

"But our halos are gone..." Shikamaru pointed out.

"You're right. We're alive!" Kiba cheered.

"Good." Sakura said sweetly before punching each one in the nuts, save for Shikamaru. "THATS FOR STARING AT ME!"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he tried to light up his first cigarette of his new life and Sakura slapped it out of his mouth.

"The fuck was that for?!" Shikamaru protested.

"Quit smoking!"

"Hey, if I wanna pollute my lungs that's my choice!"

"I'm a medic and your friend so I just made it MY CHOICE." Sakura said firmly.

Shikamaru just glared at her before turning to leave. He hated being told to stop smoking. He was so sick of hearing that and now it was just pissing him off.

"Right, now that you're all alive and well, I believe it is time to go home." Whis said, gathering everyone's attention.

"Yes, I've been away too long." Sakura agreed, but she stopped when Naruto had a somber look on his face. "Naruto? What's wrong?" She asked.

Naruto sighed. "It just isn't fair, ya know...? I finally get to meet and spend time with my parents and... now, I'm going home and they have to stay here...I won't be able to see them again until I make my way here..." He said sadly.

Both Minato and Kushina felt heartbroken to hear their only son say those words. In truth it had always been in the back of their minds that they only had a brief window of time with their son. Hell, the two weeks they spent with him and his friends were more than a blessing. Those 16 days spent with their son were more precious than the 16 years they spent in Heaven. It was almost crueler that they would be torn apart once more by the thin veil of life and death.

They both walked up behind Naruto and hugged him tight.

"Naruto...son...your mother and I love you...more than words can ever say." Minato spoke.

"It doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye..." Naruto sobbed.

"When we died... all we could hope for that you would have a happy life. I'm sorry it didn't work out perfectly like that, but we're both so proud of the man that you have become."

"Me too." Sakura said as she put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"But now we have spent two weeks with you. Which is more than we could have ever dreamed of. Myself getting to teach you woodcarving and jutsus, your mother getting to cook for you and watch you fall in love. It's everything we always wanted. So don't let our absence hold you back son. Remember the time we spent together and we will meet again one day. For the rest of time..." Minato said as he held his son tight.

"Okay..." Naruto sniffed shakily.

"We love you Naruto. Never forget that. Cherish your friends, love your family, eat your veggies, don't stay up too late, save a little bit of your money from each of your missions, don't drink too much and gamble away your money like Lady Tsunade, be respectful to women unlike Jiraiya, and listen to Sakura." Kushina instructed.

"Oh, don't you worry. He'll listen to me." Sakura assured, cracking her knuckles in assurance.

"Good. He really does need a strong woman in his life or he'd just fall into ruin." Kushina smiled at her and Sakura's understanding.

"Naruto...listen to what your mother says." Minato smiled.

"Oh come on Minato, you can do better than that." Kushina teased. Earning an amused sigh from the blond father.

"Yeah okay...here's what my dad said to me before he died. Don't spend it all in one place..."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly what it means. Don't throw all your eggs into one basket. Don't go all in on any one investment or deal without so spare Ryo in the bank. Never go in without a backup plan." Minato listed off.

"Didn't your father spend a lot of time at the whorehouse?" Kushina pointed out.

"I... don't really know..."

"Anyway, thanks dad. I will." Naruto smiled.

"And I hope you two have a nice, big family. Judging from last night, that could happen real soon." Kushina smiled happily.

Sakura blushed. "Yea, well...that's not gonna happen since we used..." Sakura stopped mid-sentence when she remembered every moment that transpired last night. Not once did she recall a moment that either one of them used any form of protection. _'Oh...SHIT!'_

When she looked up, they we're all back outside of the Leaf village gates.

"Wait. What happened to the grey gate we passed through to go to Hell?" Shikamaru asked.

"Showmanship." Whis answered. "Once again, congratulations on winning the Tournament. Don't be afraid to call myself or Lord Beerus for some more of that tasty ramen." He added with a smile.

"Sure thing. Thank you for everything. Next time you come to our planet, Ichiraku's is on me." Naruto said as he shook Whis's hand.

"Splendid. I shall inform Lord Beerus when he wakes up from his nap, in 30 years." Whis smiled before phasing away.

And with that, the 7 of them plus Akamaru and Bluebell were left alone on the road leading into the village. As if they had all simply returned from a long mission.

Without any ceremony, they walked along the road towards the gates, where an uninterested guard signed them in.

They looked over to see their entire village exactly how they left it. With shops open for business, people bustling about on their business, and ninjas leaping from rooftop to rooftop on one mission or another.

"We're home." Naruto declared.

"NARUTO! SAKURA!" A scared voice shouted at them.

They all looked up and saw two figures descending from the clouds, both of them a welcome sight for sore eyes.

"Videl! Gohan!" Naruto shouted back. The guys all cheered at the sight of their friends. Specifically, the two that made their adventure possible in the first place.

The two half Saiyans landed in front of the group, yet looked extremely worried about something.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Naruto smiled, trying to keep things nonchalant.

"We need to get you guys out of here!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked just before an entire platoon of ANBU descended upon them.

"Shit..." Gohan cursed as the chunin all tensed up at the sudden appearance of so many ANBU agents. That never spelt good news.

"I take it Granny Tsunade is really pissed at us." Naruto chuckled, trying to play it off.

"Lady Tsunade didn't send these men." Gohan said grimly.

On cue, the wall of white masked shinobi parted to make way for an old war hawk.

"Danzo..." Sakura growled.

The crooked old man just gave a smile that never failed to make his recipients feel the need to take a shower.

"Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. On behalf of the citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village. I place you all under arrest." Danzo smirked evilly as his ANBU agents closed in on the seven heroes.


	29. Chapter 29: Trial of Root Part 1

"Seize them!" Danzo ordered as the ANBU agents encircled the 7 shinobi recently returned from Hell. The agents all had their short swords drawn and their kunai at the ready in case the suspects tried anything. They all had on the ANBU's trademark white porcelain masks decorated to look like animals, meant to conceal their identity while disturbing those that looked upon their soulless black eyes.

Gohan and Videl stood helplessly nearby as the ANBU descended upon the Heroes from Hell.

Naruto looked along the faces of his friends, all showing confusion and worry.

"Grrr…WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS, DANZO?! WHERE'S GRANNY TSUNADE?!" Naruto shouted.

"Princess Tsunade is currently predisposed with other matters. As such I took it upon myself to personally oversee your arrest." Danzo spoke.

"Arrest?! Granny would never give such orders!" Naruto barked.

"She did not give the order for your arrest. I did." Danzo spoke, making everyone's stomachs drop. "As commander of all Konoha ANBU forces, I gave the decree that you seven would be arrested upon your return to the Leaf village or any of the Land of Fire territories…"

"On what charges?" Sakura demanded. Knowing full well what those charges might be.

"Desertion, dereliction of duty, unknowingly compromising the security of the Leaf village, unknowingly compromising Leaf intelligence to civilians and enemies, and public indecency." Danzo listed off. That last one confusing the boys, until they all remembered running half naked along Snake Way while the Descry Sphere was broadcasting their entire adventure to the Leaf village.

Neji in particular coughed.

"Well this is all unnecessary. We'll just surrender to Lady Tsunade and get this whole mess sorted out." Kiba said.

"She...knows of the situation and wants you all to surrender to Danzo..." Videl stated sadly.

"HUH?!" Naruto exclaimed for the group. Surrender? To Danzo?!

"You just have to trust her on this." Gohan pleaded.

"It's to appease the civilian council...I know it sucks and is completely unfair, but we'll get through this." Videl said sadly.

"N-no! No I won't do it!" Sakura shuddered. Her one of many fears was going to jail. The horror stories she has heard all of her life were now flashing before her.

"Sakura please. You have to..." Gohan said bitterly. He hated this more than anything. He was getting ready to welcome his friends back home when he was summoned to Tsunade's office and told the horrible news. "Please..."

"No... I can't..." Sakura cried. She was honestly showing petrifying fear that Naruto hadn't seen since they first became Genin.

"Sakura." Naruto said, forcing her to focus on him. Him and his stern face giving her just a little bit of confidence.

Danzo looked side to side when he noticed that a crowd was starting to gather. No more than 6 civilians, but it was 6 more witnesses than he wanted.

"I've had enough stalling. ANBU, take them." Danzo ordered. The ANBU all immediately descended upon the 7 shinobi and violently forced their hands behind their backs.

"Naruto...I'm scared..." Sakura whimpered as cuffs were binding her wrists. She could stare death in the face with a confident smirk, but when it came to jail, she felt just as helpless as she did when she was younger.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. Just look at me." Naruto said as he kept up his foxy grin while the ANBU forced him onto his knees and then shoved them all flat on their bellies in the middle of the dirt road.

"Hey, watch it!" Kiba cried out, only to get his face shoved into the dirt for his deviance.

"You could treat them a little kinder, you know." Videl growled at Danzo.

"This is how we treat all criminals here in the Leaf..." Danzo stated without facing Videl. "You'd do well to remember that."

Videl just glared at the old man, thinking that this was nothing but barbaric. "I could understand that if they were criminals...not just branded as such with outlandish and bogus charges..." She muttered.

"These are all hardly bogus charges. Then again I wouldn't expect an outsider such as yourself to understand how we do things here." Danzo said as he turned to leave. The ANBU meanwhile were finished stripping the shinobi of their weapons and had moved on to their hidden weapons.

"Lord Danzo!" One of the ANBU hovering over Naruto called out.

"What is it?" Danzo asked.

The ANBU held up a special three-pronged kunai with runes etched into the handle.

 _'The Fourth Hokage's kunai used in this Flying Thunder God technique.'_ Danzo thought with a smirk as he took the knife.

"Hey that's mine! Give it back!" Naruto shouted.

"No, this is something I'm going to keep safe, demon." Danzo sneered.

"You bastard!" Kiba shouted. Knowing personally how valuable a father's memento was to a son.

"Silence, all of you!" Danzo barked. "Captain, take the prisoners to the ANBU jail. Make sure they are all in separate cells and double the guards posted." Danzo ordered.

Then Danzo remembered something. "Oh, and put chakra seals on them. We don't want them breaking out now, do we?"

"Yes, my Lord." The Captain nodded before turning towards his men to give them the non-verbal order.

The shinobi could all hear the sound of rapid fire hand signs being used. The ANBU then slapped their palms against the nape of their prisoners' neck.

Naruto felt a burning sensation as the runes from the seal began to spread around his neck like a ring. As quickly as the pain spread, it subsided, and the ninjas were left only with the sensation of being branded.

Gohan and Videl looked on in horror, making Danzo smirk.

"For those of you who don't know, let me explain. Those chakra collars are specially designed seals to be given to prisoners of the Leaf. They may not be removed or altered without killing the wearer. Their primary function is to amplify the wearer's chakra signature, making it impossible for them to conceal and terribly easy for our forces to locate them." Danzo explained. "On top of all of that. The seals are designed so that if the prisoners leave a pre-approved area (say, the Leaf village or the jail itself) the seals with halt the electrical signals sent from the brain to the body. Your limbs will become useless, your heart will stop beating, and your lungs will stop working."

"That's...that's just cruel..." Videl gasped out. Even the most serious of criminals in her world weren't treated in such a manner

"It is our way to protect the citizens of the Leaf and the Land of Fire." Danzo stated.

"And when I become Hokage, that's the first thing I'm going to change." Naruto snarled.

"You apparently don't quite grasp the gravity of your situation. After these trials are complete, you won't be seeing the light of day again. And I alone will become the Hokage this village rightfully deserves. Far greater than you could ever hope to be." Danzo sneered.

"Pfft...Naruto is 11 times the Hokage you could ever be." Videl scoffed, earning a backhand from Danzo, only to earn a smug smirk from Videl. "And you hit like a preschooler."

Danzo sneered. "Take them away."

One by one, each of the accused were taken away to the ANBU jail. All Gohan and Videl could hear were their dragging footsteps and light sobs coming from Sakura.

"This is utter bullshit..." Videl spat.

"This is how it has to be. Come on, we should report this to Lady Tsunade." Gohan said, trying to keep his cool.

Videl sighed. "Fine...lets go..." She said before glaring at Danzo. "Know this you sonofabitch...this is far from over." She growled before she and Gohan took to the air.

Danzo watched them as they flew away towards the Hokage Tower. He then looked down at the Fourth's kunai in his hand and snapped it in two with his wind chakra.

"No. This is where it all ends." Danzo said as he walked down the alleyway and threw the two pieces of the broken kunai into the trash.

* * *

Over with the newly returned heroes, they were quickly brought underground to where one of the secret jails was located. Almost immediately they were spirited inside to a hallway with cells on either side arranged in rows.

"In you go." One ANBU pushed Lee into one of the nearby cells. The Shikamaru got pushed into his own cell. Then Neji, Choji, Kiba, and finally Naruto was pushed into his own cell, yet Sakura was still bring taken farther away by the ANBU.

"Hey! Where are you taking Sakura-chan!" Naruto demanded.

"Quiet, prisoner!" One of the ANBU guards shouted as he banged his baton against the cell bars.

Naruto punched a hole into the stone wall. "I said where are you taking her..." Naruto growled.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted to get the blonde's attention. He snapped his head towards Shikamaru's adjacent cell and the Nara heir swore he could see bloody fox slit eyes.

"They are most likely taking Sakura to the female section of the prison. Please calm down so you don't make this any worse." Shikamaru pleaded.

Naruto spat at the guard before taking his bed frame and snapping it in two and tossing it against his cell bars in anger before flopping down on his thin mattress. "FUCK!" He cried out in frustration.

The guard then keyed his radio.

"Prisoner in cell block D is acting highly aggressively. Has assaulted a guard." The ANBU said as he wiped the spit off his mask. "Request T-2 Riot response."

"Don't bother. None of your guards are strong enough to handle him." Neji stated.

"We'll see about that." The guard said as he kept an eye on the prisoners.

Shikamaru felt himself shake with rage on how out of control this was becoming.

"Naruto...listen to me..." He pleaded again. "Do not resist."

Naruto didn't answer. He just laid on his mattress and stared at the ceiling. "I should've never gone to Hell...we wouldn't be in this situation if we all just stayed here..."

"Naruto! Focus!" Shikamaru shouted, making Naruto snap his head towards his friend. "If you resist the guards in any way. If you spit, kick back, or give them a dirty look, they can write that off as aggressive behavior and that won't help any of us. Especially not Sakura."

"Let them do what they want to me...it's not like it's anything I haven't gone through..."

"And what if they beat Sakura in retaliation?" Shikamaru stated.

"Oh, rest assured, that will happen if your friend doesn't smarten up." The ANBU guard sneered.

"You leave Sakura-chan alone!" Naruto barked as he ran up to grab the bars. "She's never done anything to anyone!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the women's section of the prison.

"NO! NO! NO!" Sakura screamed as she kicked guards into walls and bent the cell bars with her massive Ki and Chakra enhanced strength. She would NOT go into that or any cell.

"Arguh! Tase that bitch!" The ranking guard barked at his subordinates through 5 missing teeth.

"Yes, sir!" One of the guards shouted as he charged his lightning jutsu before sending an electric shock through Sakura's arm, the electric current making her crumple to the ground for the remaining guards still standing to swarm around her.

* * *

Back with the guys, the T-2 Riot guards had arrived to deal with the actively violent prisoner. They were equipped with full body armor, including face masks, batons, taser jutsus, and riot shields.

"Prisoner! Face away from the cell door and put your hands through the slot. Do it now!" The guard captain barked.

Naruto saw nothing but red with rage, but complied regardless.

He stuck his hands out of the slot and felt handcuffs being put around his wrists.

"Back away from the cell door, turn around to face the cell door, and adopt a kneeling position." The Captain ordered.

Naruto did as he was instructed and kneeled on the floor, facing the cell door. His frustration turned to depression from feeling so helpless that tears streamed down his face.

He heard the clang of the cell door being unlocked before the door swung open and a guard broke formation to run up and jab Naruto right in the gut with his baton.

But because of his training, he practically didn't even feel it, nor did he even feel the countless batons striking him everywhere else.

"Naruto! Stop resisting!" Shikamaru pleaded.

"I'm not! They're just really weak..." Naruto defended.

"Tase him!" The Captain shouted.

"Hey! He's cooperating! There's no need for that!" Kiba protested.

But Kiba's protest went unheard as one of the guards sent a wave of electricity through Naruto's body.

Naruto's body went limp and he was hoisted up by four guards to be taken out of the cell and down the hall.

"Where are they taking him?" Lee asked with concern.

"Probably some place to discipline him." Neji said with his arms crossed.

"Correct. He will be placed in solitary confinement for 12 hours." The ANBU guard confirmed. "So will his girlfriend. Seems she injured several guards while trying to put her in her cell."

"Great." Kiba said as he slumped against the wall of his cell.

Shikamaru just sighed. This was bad.

"Now all of you shut up. Your trial will begin in a couple of days." The guard said before turning to leave.

As the guard was leaving the others decided to slump down against their walls in frustration.

"Well... I guess we can do some image training while we wait." Kiba suggested.

"Yosh! That sounds like a youthful idea, Kiba!" Lee declared.

"Yea, why not..." Neji sighed.

"Beats sitting around with nothing to do." Shikamaru shrugged before they all took a meditative position.

As the boys began their meditative training, the two lovers were left in solitary confinement cells for the night. Each of them screaming in frustration and fear, yet neither one of them knew of the other being so near to them.

* * *

By the evening of the next day, Naruto was finally returned to his cell with the other guys.

"How you holding up, buddy?" Shikamaru asked.

"Terrible. They left me in a dark, cold, concrete box for what felt like days. How long was I even in there?"

"Only 12 hours, buddy. You and Sakura both." Shikamaru informed.

"Sakura was there!?" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped at his bars.

"Now just relax. I spoke to her telepathically she's upset but she's ok."

"Since when can you speak to her telepathically?" Naruto asked.

"A lot of us learned that during our training with King Kai. Including image training."

"I didn't." Naruto said.

"Cause you were too busy having father-son moments on the other side of the planet." Kiba said.

"Even Sakura learned how." Shikamaru said.

"Well I also learned how to teleport to my father's seals." Naruto defended.

"And Lee learned Instant Transmission. Your point?" Kiba shot back.

"Alright, knock it off you guys." Neji sighed.

"Naruto, if you want, I can link you to Sakura." Lee offered.

"Hold off on that." A woman's voice spoke as she came down the hallway.

"G-granny?" Naruto stammered.

"I'd wish you'd stop calling me that." Tsunade grumbled as she made her presence known.

"Man I've never been so glad to see you. Why the hell are we here?"

"You're all here because you broke the law." Tsunade stated grimly.

"But that's bullshit! We saved Sasuke's soul!" Naruto defended.

"I'm afraid it's out of my hands, Naruto. The Civilian council are the ones who are pressing charges." Tsunade sighed.

"Yeah. Under Danzo's encouragement I'll bet." Shikamaru said. Knowing full well that the Civilian Council rarely got involved in shinobi affairs.

"Yes, unfortunately. Given my close ties to many of you, and that fact that 4 out of 7 of the rest of you are closely related to members on the Clan Council. Our two other bodies of government have been overturned. So there will be a trial tomorrow."

"Dammit..." Naruto sighed in defeat. "Can you see about moving Sakura-chan closer? She's an emotional wreck right now."

"I was just about to." Tsunade said as a pair of guards came into the hallway, flanking Sakura who was in chains.

Naruto looked in horror at what they had done to her. She was cut up, bruised, in grey prison clothes and no shoes. She was sobbing hard as she was practically dragged to her new cell.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he tried to stick his head out of the bars, just as Sakura was being forced into the cell next to him.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried as her cell door was closed and locked.

She reached through her bars and grabbed Naruto's hands. "I'm so scared...and humiliated...they're treating me like a damn terrorist..." She sobbed.

"I know Sakura-chan... I know..." Naruto said as he squeezed Sakura's hand.

"I don't...know if I can...make it..."

Naruto reached through the bars separating their cells and stroked her hair. "Shhhh...it's all going to be okay..." He soothed.

"Yes, it will be." Tsunade assured. "As we speak, I'm digging up all the evidence I can to turn this around on Danzo. Worst case scenario, it will be nothing more than a mistrial provided that the evidence we can get is sustainable. At best, we'll have Danzo finally taken down."

"What are the odds of taking him down?" Shikamaru asked.

"Slim, but I'll be cold in the ground before I let you kids get executed for this. Believe that." Tsunade stated.

Sakura calmed down after that. If there was one thing she could trust, it was the word of her master and her boyfriend.

"In the meantime, Naruto, Sakura, I don't want to hear the two of you being put in solitary confinement. Already I had to calm everyone down after your episode, Sakura." Tsunade said sternly.

Sakura just looked down, ashamed. Naruto couldn't see her, but her silence spoke volumes.

"Naruto, that goes double for you too. Being the ringleader behind this fiasco."

"To be fair, we pushed him to take us." Neji stated.

"It doesn't matter. All of you need to keep your noses clean on this. Any ammo you give them will be used against you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, M'lady..." They all replied shamefully.

"Very good. Now keep your noses clean till tomorrow morning. And whatever you do, don't cause a scene in court. Let me handle this." Tsunade said.

"Right." They all responded.

"Are you feeling any better, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"A little bit..." Sakura said quietly. Naruto smiled while tracing circles on her hand with his thumb. "Can you...keep holding my hand?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Naruto smiled.

"Yea, especially after your alone time in King Kai's car." Kiba snickered.

"Hey Kiba. Could you come here a second?" Tsunade asked.

"I kinda can't so..."

"Just over to the bars, as close as you can." Tsunade requested.

"Uh...okay..." Kiba said in confusion.

He leaned his face out of the bars, just enough for Tsunade to smack him.

"SHUT UP!"

"OW! Okay...geez...was just trying to lighten the mood." Kiba grumbled.

"Do it without making quips about my apprentice's sex life." Tsunade ordered.

"Wait...you knew?" Sakura asked in awe.

"I assumed." Tsunade clarified.

Sakura blushed as Tsunade grinned widely.

"And you just confirmed it!" She squealed. Sakura felt like merging with the floor to sink low enough to escape her embarrassment.

"But now is not the time to tease Sakura about having sex with Naruto. Instead we need to focus on getting you all out of this alive and enlisted." Tsunade said.

"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.

"Just remain calm and try to get some sleep. I'll make sure they feed you properly, but don't step on any toes." Tsunade said.

"I'll make sure of that." Shikamaru said.

Tsunade nodded as she stepped out to leave her ninjas. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Have a pleasant sleep." She said.

"Oh, but before I go. Sakura, I trust you remembered to use your contraceptive jutsu, right?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura immediately turned pale. "Uhhhh..."

Tsunade froze when Sakura was hesitant to answer. "Sakura...please tell me you remembered."

"Ummm...we were... kinda...really in the moment and...it slipped my mind..." Sakura stammered.

"What about a condom?" Tsunade asked.

"N-no..." Sakura stuttered.

"Did he pull out?"

Sakura turned beet red. "N-no..."

Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is the last fucking thing I need...I know I've trained you better, Sakura. Once this is all over, you are seeing me in a week."

"Okay..." Sakura said sheepishly. _'If I don't go to prison for the rest of my life or get executed...'_

"And Naruto. If she is pregnant, you best take responsibility for it because I will pound you into the ground otherwise." Tsunade said sternly.

"I promise." Naruto said hastily.

"You better."

"He will if he knows what's good for him." Sakura said before crushing Naruto's hand.

"Please stop crushing my hand, Sakura-chan, I need it to comfort you." Naruto pleaded.

Sakura relaxed her grip. "Just consider that an incentive."

"I promised you that night that I would be there no matter what and I intend to keep that promise." Naruto stated seriously.

"Very good. Now I gotta go oversee your legal defense." Tsunade waved.

"Alright...we'll be here." Naruto waved back.

The next thing they heard was the sound of a metal door closing.

"You know, we could easily bust out of here and end all of this." Kiba said.

"To what end? We'd officially brand ourselves as criminals and have to go on the run." Shikamaru said.

"Fine by me." Kiba shrugged.

"Well that means that they'd put your ninja dog down." Neji pointed out.

Kiba shut his mouth right then and there, flopping down on his bed in frustration.

Then a thought occurred to him.

"Hey where is Akamaru?" He asked. "Do you guys remember him and Bluebell coming back with us?"

"Yea, they were right there with us before we were taken here." Naruto confirmed.

"But I don't remember them coming through the gate with us." Choji pointed out.

"Oh shit. Did we leave them both on King Kai's planet...?" Shikamaru asked.

 _'You didn't. They managed to run off as you were being arrested and made it back to your clan compound, Kiba.'_ King Kai told him.

"Oh thank the sage..." Kiba breathed out in relief.

 _'On a more important note. You kids are right screwed.'_ King Kai thought.

 _'Yeah, any advice on that?'_ Shikamaru asked.

 _'What am I? The god of laws and justice?'_ King Kai asked sarcastically.

 _'Come on. This is serious!'_ Naruto exclaimed.

 _'I'm sorry kids. But I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you on this one.'_ King Kai sighed.

Naruto and the other's sighed heavily. They had hoped that they could bypass this whole situation, but it seemed that they had to hope Tsunade could find the evidence they need.

 _'Do not lose hope, kids.'_ Minato said to them.

 _'I'm about too...'_ Sakura replied.

 _'Is that anyway for a kick ass kunoichi to talk?'_ Kushina demanded.

 _'She's afraid of Jail, mom. She's in the cell next to me and I'm doing everything I can to comfort her.'_ Naruto informed.

 _'That's no excuse. Kunoichi do not cower beneath fear. We embrace it. We overcome it. This is the woman who leapt straight into Hell to save your life and you're telling me she can't handle a tiny concrete box?'_

Sakura was taken aback. _'W-what are you saying?'_

 _'I'm saying it's okay to be scared. But you are stronger than this. I know you are.'_ Kushina said. _'And if you can't be, then maybe I was wrong in trusting you with my son...'_

 _'No! You're wrong!'_ Sakura snapped from out of nowhere.

Kushina smirked. _'That's what I thought...'_

Sakura gasped when she realized what she said. _'I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap like that.'_

 _'It's okay, I'm not mad. I'm relieved that you still have your backbone.'_

 _'Same here.'_ Minato smiled.

Sakura smiled as Naruto squeezed her hand to let her know that he agreed.

 _'Thank you.'_

 _'So, do we have any hope of turning this around on Danzo?'_ Shikamaru asked the all-important question.

 _'I've got nothing. You all technically did leave the village without telling your Hokage. While on active duty no less. That is desertion. All these other charges that King Kai has told us about are just nonsense to pile on to your actual crime.'_ Minato said.

 _'And desertion is the big one, punishable up to execution.'_ Shikamaru mused.

 _'Hopefully, your judge is lenient. If I were still there, I would just put a black mark on your records and demote you all back to Genin. Considering the crime, that's just a slap on the wrist.'_ Minato said.

 _'Can we offer that to him or her?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'You can, but knowing the civilian council, they'd want the harshest punishment possible.'_ Minato stated.

 _'Which is death...'_ Shikamaru mused.

 _'Actually, the punishment I had in mind would be worse than death for a seasoned Shinobi.'_ Minato countered.

 _'Enlighten us.'_ Neji thought.

 _'Permanent decommission.'_

 _'What's that?'_ Naruto asked, while the others felt the temperature drop 100 degrees.

 _'You would be permanently removed from the Shinobi forces, your chakra networks permanently sealed off. You would be forced to live the life of civilians for the remainder of your lives. That would mean, Naruto, that you would be forever barred from being Hokage.'_ Minato said grimly.

"Oh..." Naruto said aloud. "Wow...that would be...that would be worse than death..."

 _'That's what I mean. They couldn't risk executing Naruto because of the 9 tails. However, they would have no qualms on executing Sakura or Lee. Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji are all part of important clans so they can't really execute them.'_

 _'But...'_ Minato continued. _'Given the fact that Sakura is possibly pregnant with Naruto's child, if proven right, they can't execute her. But there wouldn't be a way to prove that for another few weeks.'_

 _'Don't they just wait until right after the woman gives birth to her baby, take the baby away, and then execute the woman?'_ Kushina asked.

 _'They would, yes. That's what I meant. Sakura would be placed under house arrest until she gave birth 10 months later. Then, she would be executed.'_ Minato clarified.

 _'And I'd be left alone to raise our kid as a civilian?'_ Naruto clarified.

 _'Essentially, yes.'_ Minato confirmed.

 _'Holy shit. Yeah, we will break out of this and go rogue if it comes to that.'_ Naruto stated.

 _'I mean, if you even got custody.'_ Kushina pointed out.

 _'W-what?'_ Naruto stammered.

 _'Why wouldn't he?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'He'd be a criminal. A male one at that. Courts don't tend to view them as good parental figures.'_ Kushina said sadly.

 _'Shit...'_ Naruto and Sakura cursed.

 _'Wait a minute!'_ Sakura exclaimed in realization. _'If it came down to that, Gohan and Videl would be more than willing to adopt our child and Naruto could see him or her anytime he wanted.'_

 _'I'm not doing that while Sakura-chan is executed.'_ Naruto stated firmly. _'We will figure something else out.'_

 _'Well, my parents could as well if it came down to it.'_ Sakura added.

 _'I meant I won't let our child be raised by anyone other than us.'_ Naruto said.

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly as she squeezed his hand lovingly.

 _'Knowing you guys, I'm sure you'll find a way.'_ Minato smiled.

 _'And if you don't...well, it'll be nice to see you both again.'_ Kushina said morbidly.

 _'And I'm done.'_ Shikamaru said before leaning back into his cot for a well-deserved sleep.

They would all need it for the trial tomorrow.

* * *

The morning came quicker than anyone would have liked. The seven heroes were awoken by the ANBU guards and given a meager breakfast of miso soup and rice. Once they were finished, they were handcuffed and led out of the jail in a single file line. Through a series of tunnels, they reached a brightly lit room designed like an Amphitheater. With one large desk in the front looking down upon the tables of the accused and the prosecutors. There sat the war hawk himself, Danzo, looking to be in a fine mood this morning. His gaze made the seven defendants narrow their eyes in disgust.

Behind him were the accused's family, friends, and teammates. Naruto could see Shikamaru's parents, plus Choji's, Ino and her parents, Asuma-sensei with Kurenai-sensei; Kiba's mom, his sister, and all their ninja dogs plus Bluebell, Hinata and her father, Shino and his father, Tenten, Bushy Brow-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura's parents, and even Gohan and Videl. All of them here to witness their loved one's fate.

The seven accused were led to the defendant's table and forced to sit down while their handcuffs were secured to the table.

"All rise!" One of the ANBU guards shouted, signaling for all of those present to stand up as the Hokage entered the court room and took a seat at the judges table.

"Be seated." Tsunade said, allowing all the members of the court to sit down.

At that, everyone took their seats.

"As Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, I hereby remove myself from the position of judge in this trial to serve as the defense attorney of the defendants. I now release my power to the prosecution's chosen judge..." Tsunade said as she looked down at the paper with the name of who was to be acting judge. _'Oh you have got to be kidding me...'_ She thought. "All rise for the honorable Fire Daimyo." She stated.

 _'W-what...?'_ Sakura thought in horror.

 _'Oh this is bad...'_ Ino thought.

Everyone rose from their seats to welcome the Daimyo.

* * *

On King Kai's planet, Kushina and Minato sweat dropped.

"It had to be him..." Kushina said sadly.

"Damn that Danzo..." Minato growled.

"What, what?" King Kai asked, being completely out of the loop.

"Danzo somehow manipulated the fire Daimyo to be the judge of this trial..."

"The Fire Daimyo? Isn't he the ruler of your country. How is that bad?" King Kai asked.

"Because he's a spoiled idiot." Kushina grumbled.

"So then why would he...?" King Kai asked.

"Because the Fire Daimyo can be easily manipulated. And Danzo is an expert in taking advantage of that." Minato explained.

"Oh...that's not good..." King Kai mused.

* * *

The courtroom meanwhile stood at attention as the "honorable" Fire Daimyo swaggered into the room. He was a thin man, not even his lavish red and golden robes couldn't hide that. His head was adorned with a large crown that looked like a fan with the fire symbol of the country on its front. He had a smug look on his face like he was a parent come to act as the judge in his children's imaginary courtroom.

"Alright, let's get this over with. I have things to do." The Daimyo said in a bored tone.

The Daimyo sat down and began reading over the paperwork on the desk to figure out what exactly he was supposed to be judging. The crowd grew uneasy when he didn't tell them they could sit down, so they all just slowly sat back down as the Daimyo continued to read the indictment.

Everyone was just left to twiddle their thumbs as the Daimyo flipped through the paperwork. Naruto began to sweat, Kiba yawned, until finally the Daimyo looked up at defendants.

"Seven counts of desertion?" He asked at them. "I assume one for each of you." He pointed out. "Alright then, execute the lot of them." The Daimyo decreed before slamming down the gavel and flinching at the loud noise.

The crowd was in a small uproar at the hasty decision. Many parents cried out, "no," and the young ninjas all felt their stomachs fall to their feet.

"Wait, sire!" An aide cried out. "You haven't even asked the defendants if they plead guilty or not!"

"Oh, right. My mistake." The Daimyo said sheepishly. "Alright then, how do you lot plead?"

"NOT GUILTY!" They all bellowed. Seeing that the alternative was straight execution.

"Oh? Is that so?" The Daimyo questioned before recognizing two of them. "Wait a minute...the one with pink hair and the one with blond hair...I recognize those two..." He mused.

"Sir?" An aide asked.

"Yes...in fact, I believe it was them who escorted me and my family to lightning country a few years back." He looked back at the paper before looking at them again. "You two were charged with desertion? Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

"Well...we had good reason..." Naruto said sheepishly as he tried to rub the back of his head only to be reminded that his hands were cuffed to the table.

"And what would you classify as a good reason for desertion?" The Daimyo asked seriously.

"Um...would you believe me if I said that I had to go to the Afterlife to save my late teammate's immortal soul and these guys all followed me out of camaraderie?" Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Um...what?" The Daimyo asked in confusion.

"Uh, he means we left to save a friend and teammate who was in trouble." Sakura clarified.

"Oh, Afterlife must be a codename for someplace. I know how much you ninjas like your codes." The Daimyo laughed good naturedly.

"However, unless it was a mission given to you by your superiors, I don't see that as a good excuse to leave your village without notice. I know you ninja are deeply devoted to helping your comrades and friends, but it doesn't give you the right to just up and leave. I trust you lot were taught this." the Daimyo said sternly.

"Yes, sir." They all replied like naughty children.

"Don't get me wrong, I would do the same if it were my wife and children and I would face the consequences of my actions later. Which is exactly what you 7 are going to go through." He said sternly before going back to the list of charges. " Looking at the rest of these charges, I can simply fine you for those with a black mark on your records, but the desertion is something I cannot dismiss."

"Sire." Danzo spoke up. "I would argue that all these charges placed against the defendants are equal and should amount to at the very least a life sentence. We cannot allow such blatant disregard for the laws of shinobi to be ignored. No matter what their intentions." Danzo stated before looking the Fire Daimyo directly in the eye.

"Wouldn't you agree...my Lord?" Danzo asked.

"You're absolutely right, Lord Danzo." The Fire Daimyo replied.

The Fire Daimyo shook his head for a moment to regain his focus.

"Alright then. The prosecution may make an opening statement." The Daimyo decreed.

"Thank you, my Lord." Danzo said as he stood up to begin his speech. All eyes turned on him.

"Despite what the defendants tried to play off, they did in fact travel to the Afterlife to save the soul of a deceased rogue ninja. The former teammate of Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha." Danzo began.

"Okay, wait a minute." The Daimyo spoke up. "How is that even possible?"

"I shall get to that later, my Lord. With the evidence I shall use to convict these ninjas. It is, however, irrelevant where they went. Be it actually the Afterlife or an elaborate ruse. What I am here to prove today is that they knowingly and deliberately left the village against the will of their superiors, and in doing so opened the Leaf village and her allies up to avoidable security threats. Their actions are clearly the acts of treason and if you allow such criminal acts to go unpunished, you only invite further acts of treason in the future."

"Objection." Tsunade spoke up.

"What for?" The Fire Daimyo asked.

"There was no compromise in security. We had a descry sphere in our village that was only limited to be viewed inside the village. It was not visible outside of the village walls."

"A Descry Sphere?" The Daimyo asked in confusion. He had never heard of such a thing.

"A type of crystal ball, sire." An aide clarified.

"Ah." The Daimyo said.

"But Lady Tsunade's objection was unwarranted. This being the prosecutor's opening statement. " The aide added.

"So I should...overrule her?" The Daimyo asked.

"Yes, sire."

"Overruled." The Daimyo banged his gavel.

Tsunade sat back down reluctantly. ' _Damn him...'_ She thought with anger.

Danzo just smirked.

"Right, so, I guess we should move on to evidence since I believe what the blond one said to me was an opening statement...do either of you have any evidence to support your claims?" The Daimyo asked.

"I do, my Lord." Danzo said.

"Proceed." The Daimyo said.

Danzo stood up again and gestured towards a flat screen television that was marked exhibit A.

"If it pleases the court, I would like to give the prosecution's account of the events that led to this trial. Including video surveillance to as proof of their statement." Danzo said as he turned on the TV and the screen changed from black to an aerial view of the Leaf village during the early morning hours. Those who knew about the security measures in the Leaf recognized that it was security cam footage from the top of the Hokage Mountain. Useful for getting a general view of the village.

When the on screen clock turned to 9:00 AM, the sunlight disappeared and you could see the edge of a large black sphere appear above the city.

The video switched to a different camera. One that was clearly shot with a home video camcorder, most likely by a civilian on the streets looking up at the Sphere, which had changed to show a blue skinned man with white hair talking in a rather booming voice.

"At 0900 hours, a gigantic sphere appeared over the village and a blue skinned man by the name of Whis appeared to inform the villagers that the sphere was his doing and the whereabouts of six of the seven accused. I should point out that testimony from their parents revealed that they had all not returned home the previous evening." Danzo said.

"The man identified himself as a god and went on about a tournament in Hell that six of the seven defendants would participate in. The sphere then showed the six ninjas running along a white stone pathway for three days." Danzo said as the screen changed to show just that.

"I-is that...a giant snake?" The Daimyo asked.

"It is an intricately designed pathway my Lord."

"Called snake way..." Naruto muttered.

"Fascinating." The Daimyo said. Making Danzo give him the stink eye without the Daimyo realizing it.

"Yes, however this sphere remained floating in the air for nearly 6 days. It was a significant distraction for our forces stationed inside the village. Jounin Captains in charge of guarding the city walls reported subordinates distracted from their duty as they watched the sphere."

"Objection. I had since ordered those shinobi to concentrate on their work rather than focus on the sphere, which they did." Tsunade interjected.

"I am referring to the reports made by Jounin Captains after you had issue the order. Reports stated that the problem still persisted throughout the shinobi forces for the entire 6 days, especially from the 4th day onwards, when the actual tournament began." Danzo stated. "Even Lady Tsunade was seen distracted by the sphere."

"Oh, and like you weren't..." Tsunade spat.

"I was, in fact." Danzo stated. "Which emphasizes my point of the scale of a security threat this sphere created. The problem was rampant across all arms of our military forces."

"I object to that as well. I recently employed two people who are stronger than every shinobi on our planet combined and can detect threats before they come near us." Tsunade countered.

"Um..." The Daimyo sputtered.

"Irrelevant. This distraction affected not only our home front security, but our intelligence offices, medical staff, R&D department, food production, and our day to day patrols including squads sent out on missions used to generate income for the village. None of which your two powerhouses could make a difference on." Danzo countered.

"Actually they could have if I ordered them to. But I had them training our forces AND if you were paying attention, I sent them after members of the Akatsuki." Tsunade countered.

"Yet they did not. They are two people, not 20,000 like we have employed in our day to day workforce. Which this sphere slowed to a crawl in its 6-day duration." Danzo countered back.

"Need I also remind you that they provided us with the means of a drug that puts all our other medicines to shame? Or the fact that the same drug also staves off hunger for 10 days?"

"That doesn't change the fact that this was a major disruption in the day to day activities of the Leaf. Costing us time and millions of Ryo lost."

"Millions?" The Daimyo gasped. If there was one way to attack him personally it was through his wallet.

Tsunade sighed heavily. Danzo had her there. "Yes...millions..." She said before sitting back down.

"My word..." The Daimyo said as he fanned himself. "Could I get an accurate figure to how much was lost?"

Danzo smiled, he knew that he had gotten under his skin now.

"Certainly, my Lord." Danzo said as he produced a thick file and pulled out the last page at the bottom of the pile.

The Daimyo took it and felt faint.

"64 million Ryo?! I could buy a summer house with that amount of money. Are you telling me I cannot buy my 5th son his own summer home this year because of the actions of these ninjas?"

"That would be correct, my Lord." Danzo nodded.

The Fire Daimyo looked over at the defendants with great annoyance. "And are you seven willing to explain to him why he cannot get his own summer home for Christmas after he so kindly let my 6th son have his summer home last year?"

 _'THAT's his greatest concern?! A fucking summer home for his son?!'_ Videl thought with fury.

 _'Gotta love the stupidly rich.'_ Gohan thought.

Videl just gave him a deadly look.

 _'Oh...sorry...'_ Gohan replied sheepishly.

 _'I could just give him my capsule mansion. That would shut him up.'_

 _'I think it has less to do with the house and more to do with the money. Then again, he did say that his 5th son gave up his summer home for another son who probably wouldn't have gotten one last year. It's probably like if one sibling gives up half their toys for Christmas so that the younger sibling can get what they want.'_ Gohan thought.

 _'I'm an only child, remember? I never experienced that.'_

 _'Well I did. I was 16 and my mom couldn't quite make the bills that year. We didn't starve, but we'd have to settle for 4 Christmas presents each. Goten wanted 6 items. He was young and couldn't have known any better, but my mom still wanted to make him happy and I wanted to make them both happy. So I told her to return two of my gifts and get Goten all the ones he wanted. His smile made it worth losing those two Christmas gifts. But there was still a part of me that expected to get rewarded next year when the harvest would be better. Just a tiny, selfish part.'_

 _'So... what you're saying is...it's something he was really looking forward to as a gift from his father?'_ Videl asked.

 _'Possible. If you substitute summer home for a regular old toy. He gave it up for his brother and was promised another one next year.'_

 _'Oh now I get it...'_ Videl said, now feeling almost as guilty as her friends. _'I could still offer him my mansion. At least it's something.'_

 _'It's hardly the point. Naruto's actions are what caused this loss of money in the first place. Just being given another home won't make things right.'_

 _'It's not so much that as it is just a gesture of kindness.'_

 _'I've got a feeling that he's got enough money to still buy his 5th son that summer home.'_ Gohan thought.

Videl sighed. She just wanted to do a good deed. _'If you say so...'_

"I appreciate the offer, but building him a home isn't the point. The point is the massive loss of money involved because of your reckless actions." The Daimyo barked when Gohan and Videl jumped back into the trial from their thoughts.

"I was sympathetic before, but now you are trying my patience." The Daimyo said.

"As it stands, this evidence is all I need to see to it that you are all executed. Save for Naruto, who Danzo was kind enough to inform me of his Jinchuriki status." The Daimyo spat.

 _'Oh god no...'_ Videl thought in horror.

"Objection, sir. There is the possibility that Sakura is pregnant with Naruto's child." Tsunade informed, making Mebuki and Kizashi gasp.

"Can you prove it?" The Daimyo asked.

"Not at this time. The act was committed a few nights ago. It will take two weeks to know for certain." Tsunade informed.

"Oh dear. We can't execute a pregnant woman... Can we?" The Daimyo asked his aide.

"No sire. However, the law states that she is to be imprisoned until the pregnancy comes to term and then executed. The baby is then immediately taken to the village orphanage to await adoption from a family member or some other couple." The aide explained.

"Oh, well that's alright then." The Daimyo said.

Naruto's rage began to boil, but one look from Tsunade was enough for him to keep his cool...for now.

"In fact, sire. Sakura's parents are present with us at this moment." Tsunade added.

"So this is looking pretty cut and dry to me. Does the defense have anything to say in their...defense?"

"Yes, we had no knowledge of the Descry Sphere over the village or Whis'es intentions until after Sakura arrived in Hell. In fact, she was allowed by Lady Tsunade to come to Hell to heal Naruto after he was gravely injured." Shikamaru said, making Tsunade look at him in confusion. _'Just play along.'_ he thought to her, making her jump.

 _'Since when did you learn how to do that?'_ Tsunade asked.

 _'We'll tell you later. just play along if you want her to live.'_ Shikamaru replied.

"Is this true, Lady Tsunade?" The Daimyo asked.

"Yes, sire. That is true." Tsunade confirmed.

"And where is the paperwork for this impromptu mission?" Danzo asked.

"There is none. I simply gave Sakura Haruno verbal permission to leave the village for an extended amount of time." Tsunade countered.

"Is that allowed?" The Daimyo asked his aide.

"It is, sire. In times of emergency the Hokage may send out no more than 10 shinobi wherever they choose without authorizing it through the proper channels." The aide explained. "During wartime this limit is expanded to three platoons, but the paperwork must always be filled out afterwards.

"You said that you sent her out two weeks ago?" The aide asked Tsunade.

"That...is correct..." Tsunade said hesitantly. She never thought to do up paperwork for Sakura on this. "However...I never did the paperwork. I had witnesses who can confirm my orders."

Hearing that, Gohan and Videl knew she was lying, but they knew enough to play along when Sakura's life was on the line.

"I will take responsibility for my negligence." Tsunade bowed.

"Very well. I've heard many a tales about the biblical amount of paperwork a Kage deals with on a daily basis. I see no reason why I cannot acquit Sakura Haruno of all charges against her." The Daimyo decreed.

He slammed his gavel down and Sakura and her parents were immediately washed with a wave of relief.

"You are hereby free to go." The Daimyo said.

The guards were going to remove her cuffs, but she pulled them off in pieces like they were made of paper.

"My word..." The Daimyo gasped.

"I'm sorry, my Lord. I just couldn't take being in those any longer." Sakura said sheepishly as an ANBU removed her collar seal.

"Alright...I... suppose I can accept that. But, where did you get such strength young lady? I don't remember you being this strong a few years ago."

Sakura smiled. "I have 3 people to thank for that, sire." She said before pointing to Tsunade, Gohan and Videl.

"Fascinating. I should have you as one of my 12 Guardians..." The Fire Daimyo said before he noticed Danzo's gaze.

"But none of that matters right now. Leave the defendant's desk and return to the back rows. The trial will still continue."

"Thank you, sire." Sakura smiled before leaving to join her parents, who wrapped her up in a very emotional hug.

"Oh my poor baby...I'm so happy you're going to be okay..." Mebuki whimpered softly.

 _'Me too, mom.'_ She thought to them, also making them jump. _'I learned telepathy from King Kai while we were training on his planet. I'll tell you all about it later.'_

 _'I-I see...well that's...rather amazing, dear...'_ Mebuki thought, but then remembered what Tsunade said about her current health and twisted her ear. _'Maybe you should tell me now about you having unprotected sex!'_

 _'OWOWOWOWWW!'_ Sakura cried out in thought.

Naruto looked on and just smiled. At least she was safe.

"Now then. Do the rest of you have any defense?" The Daimyo asked.

"Um...the Will of Fire?" Choji said hopefully, but the Fire Daimyo's face did not show that he was buying that one.

The boys were starting to grow nervous. They were obviously guilty, there was no question about that. They had committed treason, but it had been justified to help a friend. Apparently though, that wasn't rewarded as much as obedience was.

All eyes turned on to Naruto, the ring leader of this whole ordeal. They were waiting on him to make some big heroic speech like he always does. Something that would reach the heart of the Daimyo and get them all off Scott free.

They were surprised to find a look on Naruto's face that wasn't of determination, but of a devious and conniving nature.

"Sire, I can explain everything..." Naruto said.

"You can? Well let's hear it then." The Daimyo said.

"Now Granny Tsunade is going to hate me for this, since it was super top secret, but I've got no choice now..." Naruto began.

 _'What the heck are you doing, Naruto?'_ Shikamaru thought.

 _'Pulling perhaps the biggest prank of my career. Now patch me through to Tsunade.'_ Naruto thought back.

Shikamaru thought about it for a second before obliging the prankster.

 _'What is it brat?'_

 _'Just follow along, no matter what.'_

"You see, sire, my entire trip to the Afterlife wasn't just motivated to save my teammate's soul. It was actually an elaborate ruse to interview my former teammate on the night of the Uchiha massacre."

The whole room gasped. Understandable, considering that the wiping out of the Uchiha clan was regarded as the 2nd largest catastrophe in recent memory. Everyone had more the death of the infamous Uchiha, most of all the Fire Daimyo, who saw them as the most powerful clan employed to defend his lands.

"What we found out confirmed Lady Tsunade's suspicions..." Naruto stated.

"And those suspicions were...?" The Daimyo asked.

"That Itachi Uchiha did not act out of pure craziness. He was ordered to kill his family...by that war hawk over there, Danzo!" Naruto pointed his finger at Danzo as best he could with his hands bound to the desk. "Danzo acted against the wishes of the 3rd Hokage and ordered the entire Uchiha clan to be wiped out."

Danzo's eyes narrowed but he knew any outburst from him would do him no good.

"Why on Element would you seek out such information?" The Daimyo asked.

"Because sire, we believe that including the running of the regular ANBU forces, Danzo also runs a secret black ops organization right under our noses loyal only to him, called Root."

"Root?" The Daimyo asked.

"That's right." Tsunade spoke up. "We believe it is in reference to Danzo seeing himself as the dark foundation of the Leaf village. This trial is nothing more than a sham he's pulling to exercise control over these young men."

"That's quite an accusation, but do you have any proof?" The Daimyo asked.

"I do." Gohan spoke up.

"And you are...?" The Daimyo asked.

"Gohan Son. Leader of the Neo Z-fighters." Tsunade said.

"The what?" The Daimyo asked. His aide came up to him and whispered in his ear.

"Oh that...I gave money to that didn't I?"

"No, sir. It was requested as non-profit for him and his team." The aide replied.

"Non-profits need money." The Daimyo said.

"I thank you, but my organization is still in its fledgling stage. We have no need for money at the moment." Gohan said.

"Yes, moving right along. You said you have proof of the defendant's statement?"

"Yes, sir." Gohan said before he pulled out a capsule. "This may come as a bit of a shock, but I assure you, what this does will not harm anyone."

The Daimyo was confused, but nodded.

Gohan hit the plunged down the top and tossed it on the table. It exploded into smoke, but once it cleared, a portable boom box was in its place.

"My word..." The Daimyo gasped. "What kind of technology is that?"

"Tech that is over 100 years ahead of your time, Sire." Gohan said as he plugged in his flash drive.

"I must acquire some of that." The Daimyo grinned like a kid in a candy store.

"The Leaf R&D are studying them and working on replicating them as well as a lot of other tech we brought with us." Gohan said.

Gohan pressed play on the recording.

 _"An impressive home you have. A same you hoard its luxuries from the people of the Leaf..." Danzo complimented over the recordings._

 _"I don't. The majority of the technology has been sent to the Leaf's R &D team to recreate It. Is that why you came over here? To inspect my house?" Recording Gohan replied_

 _"Hmmm, not at all, I came simply for a friendly visit."_

 _"Forgive me if I don't trust your motives, Danzo. Not to be disrespectful."_

 _"So quick to disregard me. Did it never occur to you that the two of us are on the same side?"_

 _"How is that?" PAUSE "Would you like some herbal tea? the least I can do is be a proper host."_

 _"Thank you, I would love some. Do you have any clover?" Danzo asked._

 _"Yes, it's in my mom's special blend." Gohan said with a hint of sadness._

 _"Lovely. As I was saying, you treat me like an enemy, yet you forget that we both have only the Leaf Village's best intentions in heart." Danzo took another sip._

 _"I have the whole world's best intentions at heart. In case you missed the memo, I lead a team of global protectors appointed by all of the Kage's."_

 _"So I have heard, but we both know that is not entirely true. Your loyalties being spread evenly amongst the world. I could not help but imagine that if tragedy were to befall our world, your thoughts would turn to the Leaf first and foremost."_

 _"Well, see, that's where you're not entirely correct. Once my team is fully assembled and trained up, it will consist of members from each of the 5 major ninja villages. They will be in charge of protecting and securing their own village while I inspect the potential danger and gauge it accordingly. I would have concern for the Leaf, sure. It is where my friends and family are."_

 _"I am not talking about your merry band of do-gooders. I am talking about you, the most powerful individual to ever grace this world. The young man people claim could destroy this entire planet if the thought ever occurred to him. What can your so called team do in comparison to you? Even with all the training you could give them, it would amount to nothing in the face of the overwhelming power of your saiyan blood."_

 _"Even my power pales in comparison to my fathers. I'm nowhere near as strong as I was 7 years ago. But, what's your point?"_

 _"Yet you still stand mountains above the denizens of this world. My point is that your power makes you revered. People might even see you as a god, some already do. And humanity has always had reactions to dealing with gods. They will either try to worship you, or try to tear you down by whatever means they can."_

 _"That is why I try not to reveal too much of my power. I don't want them to worship me or fear me. But, you underestimate the power of the people of this world. Just since I came here, Naruto and Sakura have increased their power by leaps and bounds through my training. Given time and more training, the shinobi of this world could one day surpass me, especially Naruto and Sakura."_

 _"Hmph, so naively optimistic, you don't even realize the whispers being traded amongst the lower class citizens of this village. You have heard about how your friend Naruto was treated as a child. That was out of fear of the power of the Nine Tails, how do you think they feel about you who dwarfs the Demon Fox in terms of power. Or your lover? Or her unborn children?"_

 _Gohan was taken aback at Danzo's information about Videl._

 _"How did you know about Videl?"_

 _"A little birdy told me." Danzo said. "It is the same way I knew of five separate instances of cowardly men parading towards your home in the dead of night with intent to do you and your lover harm. I sent my agents to intervene just in time though, sparing you from unwanted attention."_

 _"And that is where I don't believe you." Gohan said sternly. "I am aware of my surroundings 24/7. I can sense the life force of every living being on this planet, no matter how insignificant, and not once did I sense a single soul approach my house during the time we've been here, save for those we invite or know."_

 _There was a moment of silence in the recording._

 _"You take me for a fool, Danzo. I know what your true motives are. I was there the day after Team 7 got their specs and you came into Tsunade's office. I heard every word you said. I will not be some pawn in your attempt to take over the Leaf."_

 _"You misunderstand; I do not wish to take over the Leaf. I wish to protect it, by any means necessary..."_

 _"Yea, I get your meaning of protecting it. By changing it to your own image. turning the Leaf into a merciless military power that controls with brute force and fear. I can sense the nature of one's energy when I sense a person. Your energy sends chills down my spine every moment I am near you." Gohan said darkly. "I am nowhere near as foolish enough as others to believe you are what is best for this village. Tsunade is doing a fine job as Hokage and I firmly believe that Naruto will do just as good if not better when he becomes of age to take the chair. With my help, Naruto will bring about world peace. That is the ultimate goal."_

 _Danzo put down his cup and stood up to leave. "You will regret this Son. There is more to world than black and white, there are shades of grey that you will need someone like me to traverse."_

 _"The day I need someone like you is the day I forsake everyone I care for just for some selfish agenda. Now get out of my house before I rip you to pieces..." Gohan growled. "And if you so much as look at my friends or family, I'll kill you."_

 _"At some level, even the foolish Uzumaki understands this. This is why he took all the major clan heirs to the Afterlife to save the soul of that damned Uchiha."_

 _"Yea, you know about them going to Hell. You gonna try to blackmail me to get what you want? Who's going to believe you? Tsunade certainly won't. You may have the council, but even they have little influence when it comes to matters like this."_

 _"You would be surprised how far a little influence can go. The heads of the major clans will also be interested in learning why our Hokage let the demon boy drag their sons down to Hell with him."_

 _"She doesn't even know about it. I was there when they left. They went on their own accord," Gohan spat. "And Naruto isn't the demon of this village, you are. One that, if given the order, will be more than happy to rid the world of."_

 _"That is not what my agents heard. Nor is it what they will spread amongst the general population until even the clan heads will have doubts. Unless you start considering my offer more carefully." Danzo replied casually._

 _"You can take your offer and blow it out your ass. I already have the support of the Hyuuga and Akamichi clans and the trust of the Aburame and Yamanaka clans. Hiashi already knows of my past and of my intentions and so does Inoichi. I know full well they would come to me for answers if they needed them. You overestimate the power you have here."_

 _"I'm sure we shall see who has overestimated whom in due time." Danzo opened the door to leave. "Tell your wife I hope she feels better. It was a shame too; the clover tea was lovely." Danzo closed the door behind him._

Gohan pressed the stop button on the player and turned to the jury and audience.

"Well, I don't see that as incriminating, but it does make me suspicious." The Daimyo said.

 _'Gohan...what the fuck was that...'_ Tsunade growled in thought.

 _'Umm...my evidence?'_ Gohan said sheepishly.

Tsunade sighed. _'I'm glad I have my own recording from a few months back.'_

 _'From when?'_

 _'From when I sent Videl with Team 7 to Tenchi Bridge.'_ Tsunade replied before she pulled out a tape. "Allow me to present my own recording."

"Please, proceed." The Daimyo nodded.

"This thing plays tapes, right?" Tsunade asked.

"Um..." Gohan said while he looked it over and found the tape deck. "Yup." He responded and opened the door.

"What do you want Danzo?" Tsunade said with venom in her tone as the recording began to play.

"I would like to offer my suggestion for a replacement chunin for Team 7's upcoming mission." Danzo said smugly.

"I'm afraid you're a day late and a Ryo short on that one. I just sent Team 7 out on their mission with Videl Satan."

"The newly appointed kunoichi? The so called half breed alien from another dimension?" Danzo said with mild shock

"The very same."

"I see. So you are content to add any foreigners to our military forces if they present you an outlandish enough story? Should I look forward to the Shinigami samurai being integrated into our border patrol? Or young pirates made of rubber joining our interrogation department?" Danzo spat heatedly.

"Their stories check out, Ibiki and Inoichi have seen to that. And even if they didn't, the one called Gohan has made his intentions as a protector of this entire planet quite clear."

"Your foolishness astonishes me, Princess Tsunade. That you would even consider leaving such a powerful weapon free to its own devices when it could be harnessed for the benefit to the entire village." Danzo said darkly.

"Did you not hear me? What he wants to do will benefit the entire world! Also, what makes you think that Gohan would blindingly accept anything you would have to offer him and what makes you think you can control someone who can level a solar system?!" Tsunade shouted.

"He will listen or he will pay. A boy with that much power has no right to have freedom, his only place is to destroy our enemies and lead the Leaf into glory."

"You talk about him as if he is your property. You are sick and twisted if you think Gohan would take that from you. He can sense your intentions a lightyear away and will never accept any proposal you have." Tsunade spat venomously

"And you expect him to not show favoritism? Or to pass his own judgment upon a planet that is not his own?" Danzo spat.

"Oh so now you believe his story. I may not know Gohan very well, but if his past is any indication, we would do no harm to this planet so long as he chooses to call it his home. He and Videl have nowhere else to go and have made a lot of friends here. He will do what is right for the sake of our people and our planet. His heart is pure and so are his intentions, which is more than I can say for you."

"You will pay for that, slug bitch. I believe in considering every possibility less our enemies not do the same. You watch, Princess Tsunade, your blind trust will lead to the downfall of this village yet." Danzo growled

"Oh you don't have to worry about my trust, you old war hawk."

Tsunade stopped the recording to see a now nervous Danzo and an angry looking Daimyo.

"Well this has got me suspicious. But I don't see how this proves his actions were against the benefit of the country." The Daimyo said.

"By using Gohan as a weapon, he would have brought forth the next Shinobi war. Only with this one, the casualties would be in the billions with quadrillions of Ryo lost in the process." Tsunade added.

"Where does he say that he wants to start a war?" The Daimyo asked.

"I'm saying that if he had manipulated Gohan to be used as a weapon, that is what would have happened. It would make the past 3 wars look like a lover's spat in comparison." Tsunade said grimly.

"She's right, sire." Gohan confirmed. "I can sense his intentions and his aura. He puts off such an evil presence that it makes me sick to my stomach."

"Yet all I have to go is your feelings and your opinions. I believe as judge I need actual facts before I can pass a verdict." The Daimyo said.

Tsunade sighed. "I have further evidence, but it will take me another day or so to gather it all up."

"Then do so. I need to see actual proof of Danzo planning to overthrow the Leaf or start a war before I can consider him to be a threat. Should he be found guilty of conspiring against the Leaf, I shall believe these six are innocent and were merely following orders from their Hokage to overthrow a usurper. If not, I shall find them guilty for desertion and sentence them all to life imprisonment." The Daimyo declared as he slammed down his gavel.

 _'Do you really have the evidence?'_ Gohan asked Tsunade.

 _'I have a bunch of old testimonies from former Root agents and a few other eye-witnesses. I can scrounge them together to make a complete story. So no, I don't have any evidence. Nothing damning.'_ Tsunade grumbled.

Gohan sighed. _'Have Videl help you. She was an ace detective before we came here.'_

 _'Fine, I could use all the help I can get. Have her meet me in the evidence room in the Hokage Tower.'_ Tsunade thought as the boys were released from their table and being led back to their cells.

"Naruto..." Sakura called out softly as she quickly made her way to him.

Naruto looked up from his feet and saw a worried looking Sakura running up to him. He put on a smile for her sake.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, looks like you got off Scott free. That's great." He smiled.

"And you will too and so will the rest of you. Just...hang in a little longer, okay?"

"I will." Naruto smiled.

Sakura smashed her lips against his and wrapped her arms around him for a few moments before parting. "No matter what happens...I will always love you..."

"Same." Naruto smiled before one of the guards forcibly pulled his tongue out.

"No contraband." He reported before forcibly shoving Naruto forward.

Sakura watched sadly as Naruto disappeared behind the doors. It was then that she felt a soft hand on her shoulder that belonged to her mother.

"He'll be okay, sweetie..." Mebuki said softly.

"You don't know..." Sakura sniffed.

"Naruto's a strong lad." Kizashi said. "He'll make it out of this. He has to if you're gonna have a baby."

That made Mebuki see red. "That reminds me..." She growled before twisting Sakura's ear. "We're going home to have a nice little chat." She ordered as she dragged Sakura by her ear.

Sakura gulped, now she wished she had stayed in jail.

They marched out of the court house and down the street, Mebuki absolutely livid over her daughter's carelessness.

"How could you be so reckless?!" She spat.

"W-we were in the heat of the moment and we kinda forgot about-OOOW! THAT HURTS!" Sakura cried as Mebuki twisted her ear harder.

"NO EXCUSE!" She barked as they continued walking.

"You best hope your husband comes out of this clean for your sake." Mebuki spat.

"H-husband? But, we're not married!" Sakura defended.

"Oh ho... you will be if he comes out of this. I'll make sure of that. No daughter of mine is gonna carry a child without being married." Mebuki said sternly.

* * *

As the Haruno family was making their way back home, Videl had just arrived with Tsunade at the evidence room.

"I've had the code crackers work overtime the past few days to piece together evidence to create a comprehensive case against Danzo. They're good at finding patterns." Tsunade explained as she opened the door to reveal a room with a series of tables surrounded by piles of files and books stacked floor to ceiling.

Hunched over the center table was a short, dull blond haired woman in a lab coat with think spiral glasses and looked on desperate need of a comb.

"Hello Shiho." Tsunade said, making the young woman jump.

"Aah! Lady Hokage!" She cried.

"Relax. I'm here to check on your progress and to lend you a hand. What have you got so far?" Tsunade asked.

"I've managed to link some eye witness testimonies to what some former Root members have told us. Unfortunately, if you're looking to discredit Danzo, it's a dead end. The agent in question saved a poor village from loan sharks."

"Hmm...let me have a crack at it." Videl said.

"And you are?" Shiho asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"Videl Son. Nice to meet you." Videl greeted.

Shiho seemed hesitant, like she was unfamiliar with warm greetings.

"She's one of my star shinobi. She's one of the half aliens that came from another dimension I told you about. The ones with the advanced technology that you lot are researching." Tsunade clarified.

"Really? Fascinating. I've been in charge of decoding your computers. They have proven to be an exuberant challenge." Shiho said.

"I can give you a hand with that later if you want. But let's focus on this." Videl said.

"Yes, let's, Shikamaru-kun's life is on the line." Shiho said as she grabbed another stack of files and began searching through them.

* * *

After 8 hours straight, Tsunade came back to see an exhausted looking Videl.

"Anything?" Tsunade asked.

"Ugh..." Videl groaned. "A little more, but nothing incriminating..."

"What?" Tsunade demanded.

"There's just...not enough here to be considered real evidence..." Videl groaned.

"I'll say this for Danzo. He knows how to cover up his tracks." Shiho said.

"Shit..." Tsunade cursed under her breath before snapping up to catch a falling Videl.

"Oh man...these kids are really draining me..." Videl groaned weakly.

"Alright, I think it's time to get you home." Tsunade ordered.

"No complaints here..." Videl said. She was too tired to argue.

"Shiho, will you get me a chair for her? And then will you go fetch Shizune?" Tsunade asked.

"It's alright. I think I'll head home anyway."

"I'm having Shizune escort you so you don't pass out on the way home." Tsunade clarified.

"It's fine, really. I'm tougher than that." Videl waved off.

"Yea, that's why you almost fainted just now. Don't make me make it an order." Tsunade said sternly.

"Sigh, fine." Videl said, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her.

After a short while. Shizune arrived.

"I'm here." She said upon arriving to see the women all hunched over the table looking frustrated.

"Videl is exhausted. Can you escort her home? She almost passed out on us a little bit ago." Tsunade informed.

"Yes Ma'am." Shizune said as she stood by to help Videl stand.

Videl tried to stand, but her left leg gave out on her. Thankfully Shizune was right there.

"I've got you." She said as she hoisted Videl's arm over her shoulder.

"Thanks...I just feel really weak all of a sudden..." Videl sighed.

"Your pregnancy no doubt. You just need to rest."

"Right..." Videl mumbled as they made their way out of the evidence room.

"Soooo..." Shizune said as they made their way out to the streets. "Did you guys find anything?"

Videl sighed in defeat. "Nothing incriminating I'm afraid..."

"Oh no..." Shizune said. "Well don't worry. Naruto is with them. He has a knack for getting out of sticky situations."

"that's true, he does." Videl smiled softly. _'I hope...'_

 _'What's up, babe?'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Nothing...Shizune is helping me home. Over exerted myself.'_

 _'I see. You want me to make you some dinner before you arrive?'_

 _'Yes, please. lots of it.'_ Videl replied.

 _'I'm on it. Does Shizune want some?'_

 _'I'll ask.'_ "Would you like to stay for dinner? Gohan asked." Videl inquired.

"Oh no, I couldn't impose. I should be getting home myself. But thank you." Shizune said.

"Very well." Videl said as the two ladies walked down the street.

* * *

In the realm of the gods in Universe 7, Whis was walking around Beerus' palace before he came to a stop in the dining room. There, standing in front of the glass to his own private aquarium, was the God of Destruction himself.

"Lord Beerus? I thought you would have gone to sleep by now." Whis said.

"There are a few things bothering me, Whis." Beerus stated simply.

"Is that so? And what could possibly be bothering you, M'Lord?" Whis asked, intrigued that his master showed interest in anything that wasn't food, fighting, destruction, or napping.

"It's that girl with the pink hair from earlier...that transformation she displayed before we took her to hell...does it not remind you of someone?" Beerus asked.

"Well the girl herself is familiar if you ask me." Whis replied.

"Yes...I consulted with the Kai's and Baal in that universe, but they couldn't quite make heads or tails about it either."

"Honestly my Lord. How can you not recognize her? You dated her a few millennia ago." Whis sighed. His boss could be so thick headed sometimes.

Now Beerus was starting to grow annoyed. "Bah, out with it already."

Whis sighed. "That pink haired young woman is the reincarnation of Chimera, the handmaiden of Asura and Indra, the sons of the Sage of Six Paths, who was the son of that Rabbit Goddess Kaguya. Stop me if any of this starts to ring any bells."

Beerus went wide eyed as everything started to make sense. "You might be right, Whis. Actually, you are right...how could I not see it before? She's the spitting image of Chimera..." He mused.

"Yes, best of luck to Naruto. Even if he is the reincarnation of Asura." Whis stated.

"Wait, wasn't Chimera the wife of Asura as well?" Beerus asked.

"Eh, depends on what universe you are talking about." Whis shrugged.

"Yes, but in this one I believe the latter is true." Beerus said. "I will have to confirm this with Baal. Now comes the other thing..."

"Which is?" Whis asked.

"My dream I've been having...about a Super Saiyan God..." Beerus mused.

"Isn't Baal a Super Saiyan God?" Whis asked.

"Yes...however, he is not the one I've been envisioning in my dreams...I think we need to pay that Gohan a visit to confirm." Beerus mused.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I can have some more of that delicacy they call Ramen." Whis smiled.

"Ramen you say...?" Beerus said with interest.

"Oh yes, it's quite the odd type of food, but it tastes so divine."

"Alright. Take me there in 10 hours. I assume it's night there now, correct?" Beerus inquired.

* * *

Back in universe 24, specifically in the main building of the Yamanaka compound, a certain beautiful blond haired girl was up to her elbows in cake batter. Her nose powdered with flour.

Just then, her father walked into the kitchen to find his daughter cooking up a storm.

Wait...cook?

Since when does Ino Yamanaka cook?

"Ino? My little lilac. What are you doing?" Inoichi asked.

"Baking a cake." Ino said simply.

"At 10 in the evening?"

Ino sighed. "Dad...it's the only thing keeping me calm right now."

"But you hate to cook." Inoichi pointed out.

"Well I wanted to practice." Ino defended.

"Already? How come?"

"Apparently, Sakura learned to cook while she was in Otherworld. So, I need to get better." Ino stated.

"That's a lie." Inoichi said.

Ino started to shake and snapped the spoon she was holding in half. "I'm doing it for Choji, okay..." She sobbed.

Inoichi was shocked. He didn't mean to offend his daughter. It was supposed to just be some playful father-daughter banter. But seeing his daughter cry made his fatherly instincts kick in and he rushed forward to hug his daughter.

"This...isn't fair...that bastard Danzo is forcing this...He's a hero dammit...he helped take down enemies that even Gohan struggled with..." She cried in her father's arms.

"I know baby girl...I know..." Inoichi said as he petted his daughter's long hair.

"And Shikamaru...that lazy idiot...he helped too...they're both my teammates and I don't want to lose them...I love them both..." Ino sobbed.

"Shhhh...I know sweetie..." Inoichi comforted.

"I just...wanted to make something nice for them when they get out...and if I do that...then they definitely will get out..." Ino tried to rationalize herself.

"I know dear..." Inoichi said softly. He didn't have the heart to tell her that it would do no good. So instead, he decided to do something else. "How about I give you a hand?"

"I was actually hoping that mom would come help me with cooking. You being atrocious at it." Ino said bluntly, breaking her father's heart.

"I'll have you know that I was an excellent cook back before I met your mother." Inoichi defended.

"So... then mom is the reason why you suck at cooking?" Ino teased.

Inoichi smiled when he felt his daughter smile into his chest.

"Yup, your mother led me to ruin alright, and that led me to focus on more important things." Inoichi smiled.

"Like what?" Ino asked.

"Like taking care of the two most important women in my life. Namely, you and your mother." Inoichi smiled.

"Aaaahhh..." Ino blushed.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Haruno house.

"-and that's everything that happened over the last two weeks..." Sakura sighed, having just explained everything that transpired while at King Kai's, even her last night spent with Naruto.

"Oh my..." Kizashi gasped.

"K-Kushina...taught you to cook?" Mebuki asked in awe. She had all but given up hope of her daughter ever learning to cook.

"Yes. I still need a little work, but I can make a good tasting meal without blowing up the kitchen." Sakura confirmed.

"That's all I ever wished for." Kizashi cried tears of joy.

"While I still don't approve...your first night with Naruto sounded so romantic..." Mebuki said dreamily. It reminded her of her first night with Kizashi.

"It was definitely...something...and I wouldn't give it up for anything." Sakura smiled.

"But you should have been more careful, Sakura. You are supposed to know better than to have unprotected sex, especially when you're so close to your next time of the month, which would make you very fertile now." Mebuki scolded.

Sakura just looked down at the table in shame. "I'm...I'm sorry...we were just so caught up in the moment that...we..."

Mebuki placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now, now sweetheart...it's okay. sometimes...these things happen. How do you think I had you?"

Sakura felt the room grow colder. "I don't think I want to know."

Mebuki sighed. "Look...I know you're probably not ready for this-"

"No I'm not." Sakura said firmly, cutting off her mother.

"Right...but we'll be there to help you through this. Besides, I kinda wanna be a grandmother anyway." Mebuki smiled.

"Just don't expect us to babysit our grandchild every waking moment, young lady." Kizashi warned, one of the rare moments he was actually acting like a parent. "This is a huge responsibility for the both of you and even more so if, Log forbid, you are left to care for it alone."

"Right..." Sakura said as she subconsciously placed her hand on her belly.

"Good. In the meantime," Mebuki started before handing Sakura a parenting book. "Study it hard. You're going to need it. If you have any questions, come to me."

"What? But I was hoping to relax. I haven't been home in over 2 weeks." Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, you should have thought about that when you two had sex." Mebuki said firmly.

Sakura just groaned as she felt her social life fly out the window.

"I'm such an idiot..." Sakura groaned as she took the book in her hands. Then she sighed heavily. "Might as well get started..."

* * *

Meanwhile at the Hyuga compound.

"This is outrageous." Hiashi snapped at the Hyuga Elders. The leader of the clan and his advisors had been in session since Hiashi's return from the federal trial.

"I'm sorry, Lord Hiashi. But we do not see it fit to allow you to bring Neji into the main clan. He is a member of the branch clan and he shall remain as such." An elder spoke up.

"Not anymore he's not. Or did you not see him die in Hell and lose his Birdcage Seal?

"This is a unique situation; we concur with you. But that does not wash away his birthright." Another elder spoke.

"So, you would really risk losing our prodigy because of some... BIRTHRIGHT?!" Hiashi snapped.

"This has been our clan's way since the beginning, Hiashi. You know this better than anyone."

"And I think now is a time for change. In case you didn't know, Hinata has set her heart not on the Uzumaki boy any longer, but on the Inuzuka heir."

"I fail to see how the misplaced feelings of your daughter correlate to the clan changing over a thousand years of tradition." An elder pointed out.

As Hiashi continued to argue, Hinata herself passed by the meeting room. She did not care for what they were talking about. Instead she made her way over to her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Hinata sighed as she was allowed a true moment of privacy in her own home.

She threw herself onto the bed and cuddled up to her comforters.

Her eyes inevitably drifted towards the photo of her squad, Team Kurenai, perhaps the only true family she had ever known.

There in the center of the three pictured genin was Kiba, smirking that mischievous smirk of his. With Akamaru sitting on top of his head and looking adorable.

Hinata smiled as she remembered that photo. Shino was being his usual stoic self and Kurenai-sensei was occupied with other thoughts. But Kiba wanted everyone to show a little enthusiasm in the photo, which was such a foreign concept to Hinata, whose upbringing was of more of the sit down and shut up variety.

For some reason, Hinata's eyes could not leave Kiba's grinning face.

"Kiba..." Hinata whispered softly

Hinata's head suddenly felt like a million bees were stinging her brain all at once. Something was happening to her that she never thought would happen. She was losing her feelings for Naruto and they were being replaced by Kiba.

She quickly reached down below her bed and pulled out the secret photo she had of Naruto. A rare one of him smiling from back during the Chunin Exams when his and the other examinees had their faces in the local paper to let everyone know who would be fighting in the finals.

It was the same smile he always gave her. So bright and warm, and those feelings didn't simply disappear. They were just...further away...

When she looked at that photo, her emotions just...didn't quite feel the same. She looked back at Kiba's photo and she felt her chest warm up. She looked back to Naruto's picture and she felt like she was just looking at a very important friend.

"W-what's...happening to me...?" Hinata breathed out.

She put Naruto's photo backed where it belonged and placed her team photo flat on her night stand.

She needed to sleep. Think about this in the morning...

* * *

Meanwhile back at Tenten's family smith shop...

"GrrrrRAGH!" Tenten shouted as she pounded the ever loving crap out of the super-heated lumps of metal.

Her constant training with Videl had made her a lot stronger. She made weights of her own to train with and Gohan infused them with Ki to make them heavier anytime she wanted. She had taken them off and was forging a weapon with her bare hands, but it felt cold to the touch to her.

"You keep this up and I'll never have to spend money on tools again." Tenten's father chuckled.

"It's part of my training, dad." Tenten responded.

"Is part of your training being so disgruntled?" He asked.

"I'm also venting my frustrations." Tenten said.

"I figured. What about?" He asked.

"What do you think?" Tenten grumbled as she pounded a sword into shape.

Her father sighed. "It's about the trials, isn't it?"

Tenten stopped pounding but clenched her fists in rage. "It makes no sense! Lee sacrificed his LIFE to take down Cell! The same enemy Gohan had so much trouble in taking down! And Neji...he was sucker punched by that dildo looking freak...they just got a new lease on life and now they're lives are in jeopardy all because of the actions of that crooked war hawk!" She ranted.

"I get you, sweet pea. You can never trust those crooked politicians and their schemes." Tenten's father said as he put away his daughter's latest project. "But you don't need to worry too much about your teammates."

"Why is that?" Tenten asked ad she threw her fireproof sleeves down in frustration.

"Lady Tsunade is helping them. And she's one of the good ones."

"I hope she can do something for them..." Tenten sighed.

"If she can, she will. They aren't the first boys who have gotten away with a little desertion." Tenten's father chuckled, remembering his own little romps through the woods.

Tenten let out a sigh of slight relief. "That's...not my only issue..." She said hesitantly.

"It's that you still love the Hyuga boy, is that right?"

Tenten sighed. "I... don't know anymore. Neji is more mature and handsome...but Lee...he's...so full of spirit and confidence...almost to a fault...yet...I feel myself leaning more towards Lee than Neji."

"That's not a bad thing is it?" He chuckled.

"I... I don't know...I just feel conflicted, ya know?"

"And if Lee was here now and asked you out in his typical fashion, would you accept?"

"I..." Tenten paused. She could only imagine the way Lee would ask her out. Probably in his most "Youthful" way. But thinking about it, she couldn't help but smile. "I think I would."

"Good. Then when he walks out of that courtroom free tomorrow and asks you out, I promise not to give him a hard time."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't anyway." Tenten grumbled, her cheeks puffed out.

Her father just laughed. "Come on, I think it's time for bed."

"Dad, I'm 17. You don't have to tell me when to go to bed." Tenten stated.

"Don't you want to be rested up for the trial?"

"I..." Tenten said before she realized how tired she was.

Her dad smiled. "Come on, to bed with you. I'll make ya your favorite for breakfast in the morning."

Tenten yawned and nodded before making her way to bed.

* * *

Over at the Son's house, Videl had woken up from her brief sleep. She had come home and the day's activities just seemed to all register with her at that very moment and she collapsed. Gohan had furiously thanked Shizune for walking Videl home and was disappointed that she still wouldn't accept their offer of dinner as a reward. Shizune seemed nervous at Gohan's hospitality, but was insistent that she had to leave. Soon Gohan accepted it and the medic ninja departed.

Gohan had taken that as his opportunity to take his fiancé back to their bedroom and snuggled up close to her. Videl sighed when she felt Gohan's warm presence enveloping her. She felt so safe and carefree. The two of them nodded off after a few minutes for a late night nap.

All of that changed when she had sensed someone near her house and was coming closer.

"Gohan..." Videl said quietly.

"I know... I feel it too." Gohan said as he got up out of bed and put on some sweatpants. "Stay here. I'm going to see who it is."

"Alright." Videl said as she slipped on a night gown that Kurenai had given her.

Gohan walked confidently into his living room. Knowing he could easily take on any idiotic burglar who stumbled upon their home. He turned the corner and saw nothing where he was certain he sensed a presence.

 _'There is someone here... He must be using a camouflage jutsu.'_ Gohan thought. "I know you're in here. Show yourself." Gohan said sternly.

He heard the unmistakable clink of a short blade and felt the ice cold metal touch his throat.

"Hello." Said a polite voice from behind Gohan.

"Hello. And you are?" Gohan said in an equally polite voice, knowing that a blade would do little if any harm to him.

"A messenger bird, here to deliver a message." The voice said again in a some kind of overly done cheery tone. Like the would be burglar had only ever heard about the concept of a speaking politely, but never quite grasped the subtleties.

"And that would be?" Gohan asked.

"To leave it be and learn your place." He said simply.

"Danzo sent you, didn't he? And if I refused, what then?"

"He didn't say. Usually when I deliver these messages, the knife to the recipient's throat makes the alternative quite clear." Gohan could have sworn his attacker was making a joke if his emotions didn't sound so fake.

"Well, it would be if a blade could hurt me with someone of your strength." Gohan said as he grasped the knife and snapped it in two.

The attacker quickly jumped back to gain some distance from Gohan. Before he landed he drew another blade.

The half Saiyan turned around to see this so called messenger. Unfortunately, all his features were covered by a black hood and cloak set. Even his hands wore gloves to conceal his skin.

The attacker then recomposed himself. "Well that was rude."

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. All I want to do is talk. I'm sorry for breaking your blade, but I wanted to make a point." Gohan reasoned.

"Well you could have simply disarmed me, you didn't need to be such a dick and break my favorite weapon." The hooded intruder said in a cheerful voice that didn't fit the situation.

"I'll get you a new one. Listen, we are trying to put Danzo away. He is trying to-"

"I know." the figure said.

"Right, but we don't have sufficient evidence to take him down."

"Yes, and I don't believe you will succeed. You have nothing to convince anyone that my master's work is not in the best interest of the Leaf." The messenger said.

"Then what can we do? I know for a fact that his plans would be detrimental to the survival of the Leaf."

"You could stop being a little crybaby bitch and just accept it." The messenger deadpanned.

"So, I'm supposed to accept a madman bent on world domination to destroy everything the Leaf stands for? Peace brought by conquest and bloodshed? I have seen far too much of that to let that happen anywhere else." Gohan sternly said. Unknown to the man before him, there was another figure in the dark that had the intruder dead in its sights.

"Can you tell your brute whore not to be so obvious when she tries to sneak up on people?" Said the messenger's voice from behind Gohan. Who turned around to see a similar figure standing behind him.

 _'Damn it I hate Shadow Clones.'_ Gohan thought.

"She's a Genin. She'll get the hang of it." Gohan said as Videl took out the clone, only for it to be ink.

"The hell?" Videl asked in shock.

Gohan attacked the other figure, only for it to be a blob of ink as well. "Okay, not shadow clones."

"Ink clones." A third presence corrected him.

The Sons looked over at their living room cabinets, where all their family photos were kept. There was the exact same figure (hopefully the original this time) leaning against their wall and holding one of their framed photos as he closely observed it.

"What are you doing with that?" Gohan asked.

The man looked up at Gohan, who unfortunately still couldn't make out any of his features in the midnight darkness.

"I'm looking at it, dumbass. Can't you tell?" He said in a sweet voice like they were two best friends making idle chitchat.

"Why are you insulting me like that? I know you don't mean any ill will to me or Videl, so why the rouse?"

"Gohan, what the hell are you talking about? This guy is obviously being sarcastic when he insults you." Videl stated.

"I know that. but there must be a reason to all of this." Gohan said back.

"I'm just trying to think up nicknames for the both of you." The man simply explained.

"Nicknames?" Videl asked. "Who are you really... You break into our house, threaten us and now you act as if we're friends. What's the deal?"

"Oh, no real reason. I had this one crazy idea, but after seeing the two of you, I decided not to go through with it." The man said and Gohan could have sworn he saw a smile in the darkness.

"Enlighten me..." Videl stated.

"I wasn't talking to you, Brute." The man smiled.

"Grrr... I'll show you who's a brute, coward!" Videl shouted as she phased out.

The man splattered into a huge pile of ink as Videl reappeared where he once stood.

"Yes, I definitely like the nickname Brute, it suits you." The man said as he stood over by the corner near the window. The picture frame still tucked in his arm.

"You should never anger a pregnant woman. Didn't your parents ever tell you that?!" Videl shouted.

"No. Anyway, I'm going to take this." He said as he held up the picture frame.

"Like Hell you-" Videl screamed before the lights to the living room suddenly flicked on. The Sons had gotten so accustomed to the inky blackness inside their house late at night that the sudden bright light source blinded them for half a second. Which was all the time the intruder needed to scurry out the window and into the forest.

"Damn him..." Videl growled.

"I'll catch him." Gohan said as she flew out of the window, using his senses to track the intruder.

Videl flew out of the window to conduct her own search. Like Hell she was going to just sit by as Gohan got to beat the crap out of that asshole by himself.

Gohan meanwhile had tracked the man quicker than he had inspected. For all the hype surrounding Root operatives, this joker had decided to run away from the Son's house in a straight line.

Gohan quickly flashed in front of the man just as he landed atop his latest branch.

"Found you." Gohan smirked.

The man lunged at him with his knife, but Gohan was too quick and sidestepped the man, hoping to grab him and take him in for questioning.

However, when he tried to grab the intruder, he untangled himself from his cloak and kicked himself away from Gohan and landed in an open field of grass.

Before he could take a step in any direction, two ki blasts shot out on either side of him. Creating walls of fire to box the man in.

"Nowhere to run." Gohan smirked at the now cloak - less robber.

The man, as it turns out, was not a man at all. He was a teenage boy. Younger than Gohan, but older than Naruto. What Gohan thought was most striking about the boy however was how pale his skin was, almost sickeningly so.

He wore long black pants and a matching black midriff. To top it all off, his facial features that Gohan had been so curious to see were in fact the plainest looking features ever seen on a human face.

"So there isn't..." The boy admitted.

"Isn't what?"

"A way for me to escape, you're too quick and good at sensing chakra it seems."

"Ki actually. I'm a Ki user. But enough about that. Why did you take that photo?"

The boy looked down at the photo. A vacant expression plastered on his face.

"I was curious."

"What about?"

The boy turned around the frame to show Gohan.

"Why are you two smiling in this one?" He asked. From the fires illuminating the background, Gohan could just barely recognize the picture the Root agent had stolen. It was a picture of Gohan training together with Goten out in their front yard. One of the last photos he ever took with his brother before the accident.

Gohan looked down sadly at seeing the photo. "That is a picture of me and... my little brother..." Gohan said sadly.

"Brother?" The boy asked, as if he was unfamiliar with the term.

"Yes... My little brother Goten... I don't think I'll ever see him again..."

"Ok...but why are you smiling in this photograph?" He asked again, this time pointing directly at the two people in the shot.

"We were posing for my mother after I had just got done training him. We were very happy that day because I had just got accepted into a school with people my own age. So it was a bit of a celebration."

"Happy? I do not understand; why would you be happy about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I had been home schooled all of my life with no one my own age to relate to. This was a big deal for me."

The boy just looked at Gohan in confusion. Gohan realized that he would have to simply his explanation, while going deeper.

"...I do not understand. Why these things, this person, would make you so happy?" The boy said.

"Haven't you ever had a family? a brother or a sister?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, I did. I had a brother. But still, I don't know why you are smiling."

"Because my little brother meant everything to me. He reminded me so much of my father that anytime I was around him, I would just feel happy, with or without a reason. My dad died 7 years ago and Goten is almost exactly like him..." Gohan said fondly.

"So you only love your brother because he reminds you of your father?"

"Of course not. It's just hard to describe I guess. He's someone I can relate to, someone who I look after and I can always trust him to have my back. Sure we might argue sometimes, but I'd still do anything for him. So please...won't you give me his picture back?" Gohan pleaded, out stretching his arm.

Surprisingly, the boy complied and threw Gohan back the picture frame, completely intact.

"I've made up my mind." He declared.

"You have? About what?"

"About helping you and Naruto take down Danzo." The boy said.

"What? Hold on, when did Naruto become involved with this?" Gohan asked.

"Since Naruto became a household name with the Descry Sphere as the one called Whis called it. I witnessed Naruto's speech about his brother Sasuke and it intrigued me. How one ninja was willing to go so far for a dead man astounded me. Yet, deep inside myself, I realized I agreed with much of what he was saying. It was only when I broke into your house earlier today and saw that picture did I seriously consider helping you. But you have convinced me." The boy gave a fake smile.

"Seriously? This would be a major help for all of us!" Gohan exclaimed in joy.

Just then, Videl landed right next Gohan.

"Found you, ya bastard!" Videl shouted at her unknown new ally.

"Hello, Brute." He smiled. Causing Videl to snap.

"I'LL KILL YA!" She screeched before charging at the pale boy with bloodlust in her eyes. Only to be held back by Gohan.

"Videl, enough." Gohan ordered.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"He's going to help us take down Danzo."

"Bullshit he is! If anything, this is obviously a trick by Danzo. He broke into our house and put a knife to your throat, remember?" Videl shouted.

"It's true, that was my original mission." The boy admitted. "But I gave myself a secondary objective. One where I see if you two would be worthy allies."

Videl looked for anything that would show deception, but found none. Not that there was any emotion on his face to begin with.

"You two passed, and I decided to move forward with my secondary mission after I had completed my primary Root mission." The boy said.

"Which was?" Gohan asked.

"To deliver you this message..." The boy said as he held up two fingers to his face and flashed his chakra.

 **KA-BOOOOOOM!**

The two saiyans felt their teeth rattle as a massive explosion went off behind them a ways away. Exactly where their house was located.

They turned to see a giant fireball illuminate the night sky as debris flew everywhere.

"OUR HOUSE!" Videl shrieked as she flew up into the sky and charged towards it.

"Why did you do that..." Gohan growled.

"Apologizes. It was my original mission. Of course now I must unfortunately report to Danzo that you two managed to sense my chakra in time and were able to flee before being caught in the explosion." The boy said without any hint of sadness or regret.

"It wouldn't have hurt us anyway. But you tell him this... If he wants to butt heads, he's messed with the bull's pen and he's going to get the horns. His time is coming and I will see to it that he pays for his crimes..." Gohan hissed.

"Really? You are not at all concerned that your pregnant wife was nearly caught in an explosion?"

"She's almost as strong as I am. It would have been a flea bite to her."

"Well then, perhaps I shouldn't have bothered with luring the two of you out here to safety. Although I doubt that would have helped convincing Brute to trust me. You however, seem to have no difficulty trusting me: an enemy you have just met."

"Because, while Videl is still learning how to do this, I can sense someone's true intent. It goes along with Ki sensing. I knew right from the beginning that you meant us no harm. And Videl is... very high strung right now. And calling her 'brute' is a good way to end up getting killed."

"Why? It is a good nickname for her. Just like you, Daddy's Boy." The boy smiled his fake smile.

"No, they're not. They are insulting and mean and you could get hurt calling someone something like that."

"Really? I read in a book that insulting nicknames are a way to build camaraderie between friends. Which is what I believe we are to become if we are to work together."

"And there is a major flaw in that. Said friend has to be okay with a name like that. Books are not always right."

If the Root agent could still express emotions, he would probably express something like "Blasphemy!"

"It does not matter. Time is of the essence. I must return to base for debriefing. And you must inform no one but the Hokage that you saw me."

"Already done. She knows of you through my mental link. She looks forward to hearing what you have to offer."

"About that. I can never directly say what goes on with Root operations."

"Why is that?"

"Even that, I cannot say. However, I will see to bringing you personally hard evidence against Danzo. I will meet you again tomorrow night. Don't look for me, I will find you."

"The trial continues tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes, the Hokage will have to delay showing all of the evidence against Danzo at once. Have her spread it out for as many days as she can. We already know that she has nothing concrete against Root or Danzo, but the sheer amount of evidence and the time it takes to prosecute the evidence could be your only advantage for now."

Gohan nodded. "She got the message and will do her best."

"Good, then I will see you tomorrow, Gohan." The boy said before turning to leave.

"Wait, What's your name?" Gohan called out.

This made the boy stop in his tracks. For the first time that night, Gohan thought he saw a genuine look of surprise on the mysterious boy's face.

"I do not have a name. We are all just tools at Danzo's disposal. However, I found the last codename I was assigned for a scrubbed mission rather amusing..."

The Root ANBU then pulled out an ink pen and a blank scroll to begin drawing a stylized bird at an unheard of pace to Gohan. What's more surprising was that the drawing quickly leapt from the paper and became a real black and white bird, large enough for a man to ride a top. Which the boy proved by leaping onto its back.

"Call me, Sai." The boy stated rather smugly.

"Alright, Sai. I'll see you later. Come by when Videl isn't around. Chances are, she'll try to kill you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Also, Daddy's Boy? One more thing."

" Could, you not call me that, please? And what is it?"

"For your sake and the baby's, stay away from densely populated areas of the village." Sai said as off in the distance, two massive explosions sounded off, coming from the urban center of the village.

As Gohan looked on in horror, Sai quietly slipped away into the night.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Hey everybody. Hoped you enjoyed that chapter and the inclusion of Sai in the story.**

 **A quick announcement. The one-year anniversary of Legacy of Heroes is coming up. To celebrate, me and cmartin are going to bust our asses getting out two more chapters by September 25** **th** **(oh hey, that's my sister's birthday) so look forward to that. Be sure to review all three chapters to keep that tingling feeling we authors get from getting reviews going. Thanks to everyone who reviewed us so far and will review us in the future. We love you all. Platonically.**


	30. Chapter 30: Trial of Root Part 2

It had been several months since Gohan and Videl had fallen into their portal to another universe. This had taken a heavy hit to Bulma and many others when it happened. She had learned that no matter what, she couldn't get the materials needed to make another machine and her drive to invent anything was completely gone. Bulma, the world's richest woman and smartest one as well, had fallen into a deep depression. While, yes she would contact Gohan and Videl via their mental link, it still wasn't enough.

 _'I'm so sorry you two, really I am.'_ Bulma said to Gohan.

 _'For the last time, Bulma. It's okay. We have long since forgiven you. Besides, Videl and I are having a great time here! You know she's pregnant, right?'_ Gohan responded back.

 _'Of course I know, and I'm happy for the both of you. I'm also happy for Videl that she has done so much since you two arrived there, but that's not the point. We all miss you and wish for you to return...'_ Bulma thought sadly.

 _'Well, if you can't find a way for us to come home, it's not a big deal. We've basically established our own life here and to be honest, if the opportunity to return home was presented to us right here and now, we'd be torn whether to stay or go home.'_ Gohan replied.

 _'The least I can do is give you the choice. Whether you choose to come home or stay there would always be available to you...'_

 _'In some ways, Bulma, I feel we should be thanking you for chance just to be here on this adventure.'_ Videl thought.

 _'Regardless, I still want to bring you guys home.' That was when Bulma had an idea. 'And I think I know how to do just that.'_ Bulma said with renewed energy. _'I had been tinkering around with a version of the time machine future Trunks used to her here. If I make some adjustments to the programming, I can make it so that it can travel between dimensions. It would take me a few years, but I think I can make it work.'_

 _'Are you sure? Because I think I remember that time machine only going back to an alternate timeline. It was a miracle that Trunks made it back to his own timeline at all.'_ Gohan stated.

 _'That's why I said it would take a few years to make it successful. Plus, I need to think of a new design so that it can fit more than one person. This isn't going to happen overnight, but I'll do the best I can.'_

Gohan sighed. No wondered she befriended Goku and married Vegeta. She could be just as stubborn as any Saiyan.

 _'Ok Bulma, just don't work yourself to death in the process.'_ Gohan smiled, even if only his voice was carried through the mental plane.

 _'Oh, don't you worry about that, kid.'_ Bulma said with confidence. _'If my future self can make a time machine, I can make it better.'_

 _'Wouldn't your future self be better than you though? Since she is older and has more experience?'_ Videl chimed in.

 _'You may not know this, but my son came from a future where it had been ravaged by the androids, so scientists and supplies were few and far between. Besides, I have Trunks and many other scientists here from all over the world to find a way to bring you home. We'll find a way; you can bet on that.'_

 _'I'll hold you to that.'_ Gohan said. _'But, we have to go. We still have to get out of this trial situation I told you about. We're hoping to prolong this as long as possible to get that bastard behind bars once and for all.'_

 _'You do that and give him a swift kick in the ass from all of us here. I'm going to get my team started on this right now. Good luck, you two.'_ Bulma said before she cot off her mental link.

Bulma then looked to her team. Several scientists from all corners of the Earth, plus her future son and her father were among them.

"Alright people! I just got off the mental link to Gohan and Videl. We're going to bring them back and I have an idea how." Bulma announced proudly.

"What is it, Mother?" Trunks asked.

"We're going to use a variation of your time machine and improve upon it, making so that it can travel between dimensions. This will be very time consuming, so the sooner we start, the sooner we can get this working."

"Impossible." One of the scientists call out.

"Nothing is impossible." Trunks said. "I was able to come here from a different timeline with my time machine. If done right, we could make this work."

"I had been working on a few projects on a navigational array for deep space travel." A female scientist chimed in.

"Perhaps we could use an array like that to open a stable dimensional wormhole. It would be tricky, but it is possible." Bulma theorized.

"I could help with that..." Vegeta said from the corner of the room, making all eyes turn to him. "Freeza's scientists had been working on something similar so they could conquer other dimensional plains. I still have some of their schematics that we could apply here."

"And you didn't bother to tell me this until now?!" Bulma exclaimed in indignation.

Just then, a smaller more childlike Trunks came into the lab in his feety pajamas.

"(Yawn) G'morning Mom..." He said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He then looked up and saw his teenage self from an alternative timeline.

"Did Grandpa try to clone me again?"

"No son. this is you from a future timeline." Bulma said.

Trunks blinked a few times to make sure he had heard that right.

"This is the me that you told me help you guys fight Cell, right?"

Bulma nodded.

"Huh, he doesn't look so tough. I could take him." Trunks puffed out his 8-year-old chest at Future Trunks.

"Heh. Son, your future self is a lot stronger than you give him credit for." Vegeta stated with a smirk.

Future Trunks stood up to look at his younger self. "You really think you can?"

"Oh yeah?" Trunks sassed, it wasn't every day that his father complimented anyone.

Trunks then transformed into his super saiyan form.

"Come at me, bro!"

"Not in here!" Bulma scolded. "Take it to the gravity room."

The boys hesitated as they were already in their fighting stances and the mood was right.

"NOW!"

"Ah, Moooom..." Both Trunks whined.

"Do what your mother says. There is far too many sensitive equipment in here to bring Gohan and his mate home." Vegeta added.

Both Trunks' nodded and made a Beeline to the gravity room.

"Good, maybe now we can focus." Bulma said.

"Please do. The sooner you get this done, the sooner you go back to normal, Kakarot takes him training seriously again, and his wife stops pestering me about every time you invite her over." Vegeta grumbled.

"Noted. Can you bring me those schematics?" Bulma asked sweetly.

"What do I look like? Your damn..." Vegeta began before he looked up at his wife, who was giving him the look wives only give their husbands to tasks they REALLY ought to do.

For their sake…

"Do it..." Bulma stated seriously.

"R-right..." Vegeta said before scurrying off.

* * *

After the bombings from last night, the village was on lock down. Civilians were encouraged to say in their homes. ANBU had made their presence known on every room top and every street corner. Jounin led Chunin patrols were sent along every street and searches of raids made of every home recently occupied in the last 6 months were conducted. This was during a visit from the Fire Daimyo after all. Lady Tsunade could not afford to not pull out all the stops in finding the true culprit behind the attacks last night. Even if she and the rest of the Konoha 11 already knew the truth. That it was Danzo who had ordered the attacks. Because of this, Tsunade ordered a meeting in her office involving the accused still in chains from being led there from the prison and their teammates before they head tot he courtroom to continue the trial.

"...and that is the skinny of it." Tsunade finished.

"If it ain't one thing, it's another..." Naruto commented.

"How do we convince the Daimyo?" Sakura asked.

"We don't. The Daimyo is, and if any of you ever repeat this I will kill you, an idiot without his advisors. His duties are largely ceremonial and having him being chosen as our judge was a brilliant move by that bastard Danzo." Tsunade admitted.

"So, without the evidence needed, they're fucked in other words..." Videl stated sourly. She was still pissed that her house got blown up last night.

"Not necessarily. Gohan here tells me that he made a new friend last night who plans on giving us the evidence we need." Tsunade said.

"Yea that's what he says, but he's the one that blew up our house..."

"Yeah, about that. What did he say his motives for helping us take down Danzo? What does he gain out of this?" Shikamaru weighed in.

"The loss of his youth? His missing brother? He wasn't really clear on that." Gohan stated.

"So how do we know this isn't all a trap sent by Danzo to make us look like traitors by snooping around?" Shikamaru added.

"I'm convinced that his claims are genuine. He knows that Danzo is a traitor and is willing to help us put him away. He never said what he really wanted out of it."

"Well if Gohan says so, then that's good enough for me." Naruto stated.

"The short version of it is, we don't know for certain if we can trust him. But given the circumstances, we really don't have a choice." Tsunade said.

"So then what do we do until we have his evidence." Videl asked.

"Until we get the real damning evidence, I'm going to have to delay the hell out of this trial. I've already got the boys in the legal department doing everything they can to stretch the descriptions on the evidence we do have. Until then, I need you all to show up on time and keep to yourselves. Speak only when spoken to, never talk back, and above all don't piss off the Daimyo. If we get you all through today, we may have a chance."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Wait, what about the bombings?" Naruto spoke up.

"What about them?" Tsunade asked.

"We all know Danzo is behind them. Gohan said this Sai guy all buy said so himself, do why aren't we arresting Danzo right now?"

"And do what? Put him on trial? We don't have any sufficient evidence linking him to the bombings say for the testimony of one mysterious stranger Gohan met with. Believe me if it comes down to it, that'll be our trump card, but for now we play it by ear." Tsunade explained.

"Fine..." Naruto grumbled.

"Alright. Let's get going. Remember you all... Don't. Piss off. The Daimyo."

The all nodded as they followed Tsunade to the courtroom.

* * *

The morning could best be summarized by Shikamaru as a drag. The young adults all got a treat at watching the slow methodical hand of justice play out in the Leaf courts. Tsunade presented all her evidence with a mind numbing level of detail. To the point where Naruto was ready to plead guilty just to end his suffering.

Finally, FINALLY, the Daimyo sought fit to grant everyone mercy by breaking for lunch.

Naruto nearly cheered when the guard came to unlock his shackles from the table and lead them back to the prison cafeteria for lunch.

The girls, plus Gohan and Shino, had to watch as their male teammates were once again led into the underground labyrinth of tunnels leading from the courtroom to the underground ANBU jail.

"The sooner this ends the better." Videl sighed.

"I was hoping beyond hope this would all end today...but it only delayed it further..." Tenten sighed.

The Daimyo sighed. "Well, I suppose that's a wrap for today." He said as he gathered up his papers.

Just as everyone was about to leave, two figures suddenly appeared in a brief flash of light.

"W-who are they...?" The Daimyo gasped.

"L-lord Whis...? Lord Beerus? Why are you here?" Tsuande stammered.

"To get that delicacy Whis keeps telling me about. Erm...what was it again?" Beerus asked.

"Ramen?" Whis answered.

"Ah, right. Yes, we came here to acquire ramen. You any of you have it?" Beerus asked.

At that moment, Sakura heard her inner self gulp. _'Something wrong?'_ She asked.

 _'O-of course! Everything is fine!'_ Inner replied quickly.

 _'Doesn't sound like it.'_ Sakura replied.

Inner went quiet, making Sakura even more curious. What did her inner self have to be nervous about? What did Sakura have to be nervous about? It was just Beerus and Whis.

"Who are these two?!" The Daimyo demanded.

"My, my...so rude of you." Beerus said.

"I beg your pardon?" The Daimyo demanded.

"Honestly, is that anyway to speak to a deity?" Beerus smirked.

"L-Lord Daimyo, sire! Please show these two with utmost respect. They are the ones known as Beerus and Whis that I told you about." Tsuande said nervously, hoping that the Daimyo won't do something to inadvertently piss of the God of Destruction.

"Respect? They appear before the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. I would see them bow before me first." The Daimyo decreed.

"Bow to a mortal? That's amusing..." Beerus snickered. His laugh made the Daimyo's face grow red. With a flick of his wrist he summoned his guards who all appeared before him in a V formation.

"Bow." The Daimyo ordered.

Now Beerus wasn't laughing anymore. His amused expression turned nasty. He stepped forward ready to wipe out the mortal's puny guards when he felt his spine unwillingly bend forward. He could feel a warm tingly sensation, the same sensation he felt whenever Whis used his magic on him.

"I apologize my Lord. My Lord Beerus meant no disrespect." Whis said as he too bowed before the Daimyo of Fire.

"That's better." The Daimyo said smugly.

"You...do know that if he felt like it, he could destroy our entire world with everyone on it, sire." Sakura informed.

"Nonsense, no one is that powerful." The Daimyo stated.

"Yes of course, my Lord." Whis smiled in order to satisfy the mortal ruler. The Daimyo nodded before exiting the court room.

Gohan and Videl wanted to protest that, but they knew better.

"So, wait, you're just here to have ramen?" Videl asked.

"Yes, and if my Lord went any further it would only delay us or result in the destruction of this planet and therefore the ramen." Whis explained as he released Beerus from his spell.

Beerus growled. "That's the only reason why I wouldn't destroy this planet..."He grumbled before looking at Gohan and Videl and remembered the other reason. "Oh, and I require information from you two."

"Can it wait until after we get out of the courtroom? People are staring." Videl asked as all eyes fell upon them.

"Let them." Beerus scoffed.

"Why don't we talk about this over a meal?" Whis suggested.

Beerus grumbled. "Fine..."

"Come on, we'll take you to Ichiraku's. They've got the best ramen in town, or so we've heard." Gohan said as he led the group out of the courthouse.

They made it all the way to the street before Gohan had to stop in his tracks.

"Um, does anyone know where Ichiraku's is?" He asked sheepishly.

"I've got this." Sakura said.

"Really?" Gohan asked.

"Naruto has taken our team there enough times that I know exactly where it is." Sakura waved off before leading them in the right direction.

"So, anyway..." Beerus started, addressing the Saiyan's. "Do either of you know about the existence of a Super Saiyan God?" He asked.

"A what?" Gohan asked as they navigated the crowded village streets.

"I take that as a no then..." Beerus sighed.

"Are you seriously saying there is another level of Super Saiyan? Aren't they overpowered enough?" Sakura deadpanned.

"No. I don't have any transformations and I'm more powerful than any Saiyan could ever hope to be." Beerus stated.

"So I guess this universes God of Destruction doesn't count?" Whis countered.

"He is a peace-loving fool that hates to fight. But the Super Saiyan God transformation is supposed to finally bridge the gap and turn a lucky Saiyan into my equal." Beerus stated.

"Wait, wait, wait...back up a bit." Sakura said, stopping in her tracks. "The God of Destruction of this universe is a Saiyan?"

"One of the last surviving of this universe." Whis confirmed.

"And... he's...this Super Saiyan God?" Videl asked.

"That's correct." Whis smiled.

"And... just how strong is he?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Strong enough to match Lord Beerus." Whis said simply.

Sakura gulped hard. "A-and... does he...pose a threat...to us...?" She squeaked.

"No, like my Lord said, he's too peace-loving to be a threat to anyone." Whis stated.

Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief, as did Gohan and Videl. "That's good to hear..."

"If anything, he would label this world as a sanctuary." Beerus stated.

"Why would he do that?" Tsunade asked.

"To put it simply, Gohan and Videl are Saiyan's, albeit, half Saiyan's. He would consider you part of his kin." Whis stated

"Thus protecting them like they were his own family..." Sakura realized in awe.

"Precisely." Beerus said.

"So we now have a massively overpowered Saiyan that outmatches our own on our side." Tsunade mused.

"Don't misunderstand. Baal prefers to avoid conflict as does his aide, Nayru. He, too, is a Saiyan, but not as strong as Baal." Beerus corrected.

The conversation lulled to a pause as they arrived at the small roadside stand with the sign written on it: **ICHIRAKU'S RAMEN.**

Inside a father and daughter team were finishing up preparations for the lunch rush. Broth was being boiled, counters were wiped down, and everything was as it should be.

 _'Just in time.'_ Ayame thought as the flaps were pushed open to reveal her third favorite customer.

"Hey Sakura." Ayame greeted as pink haired medic entered her family's establishment.

"Hey, Ayame! Brought some friends as well as a few very important people." Sakura smiled.

"Who's that?" Ayame asked with excitement at the thought of meeting new customers.

Sakura pointed out Whis and Beerus, making Ayame drop and break a few bowls in shock. She had seen them on the Descry Sphere.

"Ayame! What did I tell you about gripping the bowls-" Teuchi exclaimed before noticing the beehive haired blue man and a purple cat man standing inside his restaurant. Followed by the kunoichi of the Konoha 11 and the Lady Hokage herself.

"Greetings. I'm Beerus." Beerus greeted kindly.

"Please, call me Whis." Whis bowed in respect.

"H-hello..." Ayame gave a small wave. These two were supposed to be gods right? Was she supposed to bow or plead for her life?

"I was told that this establishment has the best tasting ramen on this planet. I wish to have some if you would be so kind." Beerus smiled slightly.

"You heard right. Best ramen in the world. Our number 1 customer proved that." Teuchi boosted.

"Splendid. I will take a bowl for myself and one for Whis here." Beerus requested.

"I'll cover the cost." Tsunade said.

"In that case, I'll take a steak bowl." Tenten said as she sat down.

"Give me Naruto's usual." Sakura said.

"No vegetable ramen today?" Ayame asked, knowing that it was Sakura's favorite.

"No, not today. Don't need to worry so much about my figure with all the training I'm doing." Sakura waved off.

"You kunoichi, I don't know how you do it." Ayame said cheerfully as she prepared Sakura and Tenten's order. Teuchi was handling the gods' order personally.

Beerus sniffed the aroma in the air. "My, my...that does smell wonderful."

"I wonder if Lord Baal would like to join us." Whis mused before summoning his cane.

"That pansy can eat his own damn food. I'm going to have this ramen all to myself." Beerus said.

"Now, now my lord. Be respectful. You even said yourself that you prefer his company over Lord Champa's." Whis scolded.

Beerus sighed. "Yes...I did say that, didn't I? Very well..."

Whis tapped a finger on his cane to open a call. "Lord Baal. Are you around?"

For a moment there was no answer. Then his orb shifted to show a muscular man with crimson red hair and beard along with crimson red eyes.

"Yes, Whis. What can I do for you?" Baal asked.

"Lord Beerus and I are in your neck of the woods as it were. We're on a quaint little planet called Element and wondered if you'd like to join us for some delicacy they call ramen?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't feel like being in Beerus's presence today." Baal rejected. "Some other time perhaps."

"Perhaps you would like to know that Element has two half Saiyan's taking residence here."

Baal instantly froze. "You lie..."

"Not about this."

Baal look like a deer caught in the Headlights. He thought that he and his subordinate were the only Saiyans Left Alive. To learn that there were two more on the world that he had never been to was like a dream come true. "Nayru and myself will be leaving immediately." Baal said before closing the channel.

"We look forward to your arrival." Whis said as Teuchi placed his ramen in front of him.

"Oh my...this looks quite appetizing." Beerus said as his own bowl was placed in front of him.

Everyone there waited on bated breath as Beerus took his first bite.

 _'Please let him like it...'_ They all begged to the other gods.

Beerus ate his mouthful of food with scrutiny, savoring every bit of it before swallowing. Immediately, his face lit up as he seemingly sang to the heavens with joy.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" He exclaimed before proceeding to devour his ramen. "The flavor, the texture, the precision, it's like a rambunctious waltz on my taste buds!" He exclaimed with every bite. "Ramen! Even the NAME is resplendent in flowing deliciousness!"

 _'Phew...'_ Everyone collectively thought.

For Ayame and Teuchi, it was a praise beyond praise. To have their ramen given such credit from a freaking God surely meant that they were the best in the multiverse. Bar none.

Just then, two new figures appeared behind them, making them turn around.

"Mmm...Baal, you gotta try this." Beerus said with a mouth full of food.

"In a moment, I want to meet my kin." Baal said simply.

"Oh them...they're right over there." Beerus said as he pointed a thumb to the two half Saiyan's who were looking in awe at the supposed Super Saiyan God. He was built like a Greek god. He was at least 7 feet tall, crimson red hair and beard, a red tail wrapped around his waist with a soft smile on his face.

"Greetings...my brother and sister..." He said softly.

"G-greetings..." Gohan said.

"Uh...h-hello..." Videl said nervously.

Baal then placed his hands on their heads and closed his eyes. He searched out their feelings, their hearts, their powers. He smiled before retracting. "You are both pure of heart...talented and strong for your age...your memories, however, are clouding your minds from furthering your training. Also, it seems you have some memories sealed away..."

"W-we do...?" Videl asked.

"Yes...let me see here..." Baal said as he searched out their long sealed memories and tried to access them, but to no avail. He did, however, sense something that made a smile creep to his face. "Seems whomever sealed them away was adept with sealing techniques. These could be crucial to your training...however..." He said before resting a palm on Videl's belly. He smiled at what he sensed. "Healthy and growing well...I'm glad to see our race wasn't completely wiped out after all."

"Well technically we are from another dimension originally." Gohan said.

"I know. I read your minds." Baal said seriously. "You, my brother, have gone through far more than even a seasoned Saiyan warrior could possibly imagine."

"Yea, we kinda gathered that much. He never stops talking about it." Ino said in annoyed tone.

"I see..." Baal mused. "Gohan...you must learn to keep these memories buried. They are clouding your mind with self-doubt and shame. There is nothing shameful of your accomplishments. You must focus on the here and now, especially when you have two little warriors of your own on the way. You need to be strong for them and for your mate."

"I try...but I'm so nervous...and with everything else going on..."

"You have nothing to be nervous about. You worry about the power you have and the harm you could cause if you lost control. Proper control comes from believing in yourself. doubting yourself will only lead you to succeed in losing control. You have so much power yet untapped, the likes of which the Saiyan race hasn't seen in thousands of years. I know you don't like hurting. Neither do I... but the pain you deal to your enemies is the pain your friends and loved ones will never have to experience if you work harder on it. You too, Videl."

"Uh...m-me? Oh no... I'm nowhere near as strong as Gohan." Videl waved off.

"Because of your attitude is why." Baal stated.

"My...attitude...?" Videl asked in confusion.

"You are too overconfident. I saw your memories where your overconfidence and pride had gotten you into a lot of trouble. The latest incident with the one called Orochimaru is case and point." Baal stated.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Tsunade chimed in.

"You need to keep your emotions in check. They are making your power unstable. Your main flaw is that you let every little thing get under your skin. That's Saiyan pride at its worst. This pride we have was ultimately the downfall of our race in this universe. Never think that you alone can take on any opponent that may cross paths with you. This will ultimately lead you down a path of darkness and lead you to your demise. For the sake of your mate and the future of your kin, restrain your pride. Train to suppress your emotions, especially during battle." Baal lectured.

He then looked at both of them. "You two have the potential to become this universes greatest warriors. Your hearts are in the right place, but you still have a long road ahead of you. Meditate on this and work to better yourselves in order to better those around you. Do you understand?"

Both Gohan and Videl nodded. "We'll try." Gohan said.

"No..." Baal shook his head. "I don't want you to try. I want you to commit to bettering yourselves."

Videl nodded and smiled. "We will sir. I promise you this."

Baal smiled. "Good..."

Baal then turned to Tsunade. "Lady Hokage...make it known that your planet now serves as a sacred place for my race. Should a threat arise that these two cannot handle, feel free to ask for my assistance. I will come to your aid without hesitation."

"Will do." Tsunade said.

"Baal, I don't think you're allowed to do that." Nayru spoke.

"I appreciate your concern my friend, but this is the last of our race. I'll be damned if I'm going to let anything happen to them." Baal said firmly.

"No, I mean you are a Lord of Destruction. You don't prevent catastrophe, you cause it."

"And I never wanted to become the God of Destruction. You know this better than anyone. I was chosen simply because I was stronger than the previous one...besides, I think leaving one world under our protection will be okay since we couldn't save Earth."

"It is against the rules. Failure to abide by the rules will result in the revoking of your immortality. Which, give your age, will result in your death."

Baal snarled. "This is our own kind, Nayru! You want to forsake the rest of our race just for some stupid rule?!"

"Our race is already extinct. These two are just outsiders from Lord Beerus's dimension." Nayru pointed out

"And they are now bound to this universe as far as the other gods are concerned." Baal reminded him. "Nayru...we have known each other for a long time...need I also remind you that I was granted Immortality by the Namekian Dragon Balls over 800 years ago. It was never granted to me by the gods. We've fought on the front lines against the Borg and the Empire. We've traveled through space and time to keep the peace."

Naryu sighed. "I know...you don't have to remind me...but by order of the Gods, we can't sanction one world based on our personal feelings. Plus, despite your immortality being a wish granted to you, they can still revoke it."

"Then the least we can do is train them. Need I remind you that the Frost Empire is still thriving. What if they were to come here?" Baal pointed out.

 _'Frost empire...'_ Sakura thought. that sounded too familiar. Then it hit her. "Oh my god, I completely forgot!" She exclaimed.

"Sir, you are against violence. The Frost Empire wouldn't have thrived if you had done your job." Nayru stated.

"Hold that thought." Tsunade chimed in to listen to her student. "Sakura...what do you know about this?"

"King Kai told us that there is a frost demon approaching our planet but he couldn't say when. Only that he made Cell and Freeza look like a joke." Sakura informed.

Just that alone made everyone feel the temperature drop 100 degrees.

"All the more reason why we should train them." Baal growled before looking to his comrade. "That can be allowed at least. I know that for a fact."

"Perhaps you should teach them to become Super Saiyan Gods." Beerus commented.

"I cannot..." Baal sighed.

"Why is that?" Ino asked.

"Simple. They are not ready yet for one. 2, there are not enough of our kind to get them to ascend to that level." Nayru informed.

"Not enough? How many do you need?" Tenten asked.

"As the legend goes, you need 5 Saiyan's with righteous hearts who must instill their strength into another. After which, a Super Saiyan God was born. Nayru and myself cannot grant them this transformation. However, we can help them get stronger with the levels they already have." Baal informed.

Tsunade sighed. "As if things weren't bad enough..."

"What makes you say that, M'lady?" Whis asked.

"Right now we are in the middle of a trial to determine the fate of six of our most promising young ninjas. The same six you sent to Hell and broadcasted their adventure." Tsunade snapped at Whis, who chuckled nervously.

"And we don't have enough evidence to ensure them getting off."

"As valiantly as they fought, that hardly seems fair." Beerus said.

"The one who is prosecuting them doesn't care about fair play." Sakura stated.

"And who might this man be?" Whis asked.

"Danzo..." Tsunade spat. His name was enough to anger her.

"Hmm...Whis, wasn't this man responsible for that Uchiha debacle?" Nayru asked.

"I believe you are correct." Whis mused.

"You...know about that?" Tsunade asked with hope in her tone.

"Yes, we are aware of the fact that Danzo ordered the execution of the Uchiha clan by means of Itachi Uchiha." Nayru stated.

"Do you have proof of that?" Sakura asked.

"Why yes I do." Whis stated as he held up his staff.

"Can you prove it in court?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, I could, but..."

"Please...their lives are on the line. If we can't prove that Danzo is a crook, then Naruto and the others will die..." Sakura pleaded. Whis looked upon the faces of Tenten, Ino, Hinata and Tsunade. All with pleading looks on their faces.

"Just do it, Whis..." Beerus sighed.

Whis sighed deeply. "Oh...fine..."

The Kunoichi all breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they had renewed hope in delivering justice to Danzo.

"We have another trump card in the works and we're hoping that it would be enough. If not, I want you to present your evidence about the Uchiha massacre to the court." Tsunade said.

"Does that mean you won't be needing me, Daddy's Boy?" A pale man asked Gohan, scaring the crap out of him.

"Geez, man! Don't do that..."

"No, we do need you. This is just in case your testimony isn't enough to convince the Daimyo." Tsunade stated.

"Wait, who is this?" Sakura asked.

"Our trump card." Tsunade smirked.

 _'This is Sai. A member of Danzo's ROOT.'_ Gohan thought to her.

A wide smirked appeared on Sakura's face. "This is perfect..."

"Here, I brought this for you." Sai said before handing Tsunade a green folder that was two inches thick.

Tsunade took the folder and began looking at the documents.

Meanwhile, Gohan was deep in thought.

"Something wrong?" Videl asked.

"No... not really...just thinking things over is all." Gohan said.

"About what?"

"Mostly about what Baal said...and he's right. We're letting our past get in the way of our future."

"Yea...I agree." Videl mused.

"So... we need to focus on the here and now, like he said, as well as our future."

"Sounds like a solid plan if you ask me." Sakura said as she finished off her ramen.

"HAHA! YES!" Tsunade shouted with joy, startling the entire gang.

"What? What is it?" Sakura asked.

"This is golden! Jewel encrusted, diamond coated, served on a silver platter golden!" Tsunade declared. Looking like, she had just been handed the winning lottery numbers for the next month.

"You mean...they're saved?" Videl asked with hope.

"Well, there really isn't enough to convince that Root is for Danzo's benefit instead of the Leaf, but it does tie him to Root. That will be enough to sway the court to focus more on Danzo than the boys." Tsunade clarified.

"This is all sounding too good to be true." Tenten stated.

"Then next thing we need is evidence stating that Root is without a doubt...for Danzo's benefit only." Tsunade said before turning to Sai. "Can you get me that?"

The emotionless young man stared blankly at Tsunade for a good 5 seconds.

"...evidence like that will be tricky. It would be kept in someone's personal office. Agents like myself are restricted from entering. It is tricky, but possible."

Tsunade nodded. "Do what you can. Worse comes to worst, I'll have you testify in court."

"I'm afraid I can't." Sai informed.

"You can't, or you won't?" Tsunade asked seriously.

"I cannot." He stated clearly.

"Why..." Tsunade glared.

Sai gave Tsunade a quick hand gesture. A sign every shinobi in the Leaf knew, from the highest officials to the greenest genin. 'Are we secure?'

Tsunade sent out a chakra pulse and the ANBU stationed around her sent a pulse back. Letting her know that the building was secured. No stray eyes or ears would notice them.

Tsunade nodded to Sai and he struck out his tongue to reveal the black markings of a seal tattooed on his tongue.

"Ooohh...shit..." Tsunade said grimly.

"What?" Videl asked.

"Danzo...your crafty bastard..." Tsunade cursed as she pointed out the seal. "This seal is designed to kill the bearer of it should he or she say something that the creator doesn't want him to say."

"Oh...not good..." Videl said in horror.

"Allow me to take a look." Whis said as he studied the seal. Once he got a good look at it, he scoffed. "A simple design really."

"You can remove it?" Nayru asked.

"I could...if I was allowed to." Whis said simply.

"Allowed to?"

"Technically, Lord Beerus and myself are from Universe 7 and are not allowed to interfere with affairs in this universe." Whis explained.

"And... who could give you that permission?" Videl asked.

"Lord Zeno. The God of all the universes." Whis said, making Beerus and Baal sweat profusely.

"But you just offered to give us proof of Danzo conspiring with Itachi." Videl pointed out.

"I did, yes. I'm allowed to do one favor for another universe every 100 years. Therefore, its either me providing the information about Danzo's affiliation with the Uchiha Massacre, or removing the seal. I cannot to both." Whis informed.

"Sadly...he's right." Baal confirmed.

"Wait, if you're allowed to do one favor in 100 years, then what was you helping Naruto get to the Get Out of Hell Tournament?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yea, I did forget about that didn't I? Well then I guess I can't help you at all." Whis smiled. Making all the mortal present sweat drop.

"Fuck." Videl said.

"Whatever, we still have Sai's proof. The Uchiha angle was more of a fib on Naruto's part to divert attention away from his crimes. A brilliant one." Tsunade stated.

"Let me have a look at that..." Baal said as he got a better look at the seal. "I could remove this...but...it would mean that I can't train Videl or Gohan." Baal informed.

"All of you just relax. We mortals aren't so helpless." Tsunade stated as she gave the seal another once over.

"I'll call back Jiraiya. If needed be he can remove a seal like this. In the meantime, all of you just please don't destroy my village." Tsunade said.

"I had no intentions of it." Baal stated.

"Keep paying for my meals and I'll behave." Beerus said.

"You'll do so anyway." Baal ordered. "This planet is out of your jurisdiction and you are not allowed to destroy it or its people."

"Don't tell me what to do, Baal." Beerus spat.

"I can and I will. Or should I have Lord Zeno involved in this?" Baal spat back.

Beerus instantly turned pale and started sweating heavily in fear.

Baal smirked. "That's what I thought."

"Um...Lord Baal." Videl started, but Baal cut her off.

"Just call me Baal." He requested.

"Right, sorry. Would you like some ramen?" She asked.

"Sure. I haven't had ramen since Earth was destroyed." Baal smiled.

"Coming right up!" Teuchi said.

* * *

After lunch was over, Beerus and Whis decided to head back to Universe 7, Tsunade went to her office while Baal and Nayru followed the sons along with the Kunoichi to the Son residence so he can gauge the power of his kin.

"Alright. How about you two power up as much as you can so I can see where you two stand." Baal instructed while Nayru and the other girls watched.

Within an instant, Gohan and Videl let out a powerful roar before powering up to their max.

 _'I'll never get used to that...'_ Ino thought.

"Hmm..." Baal mused as he eyes both Super Saiyans with scrutiny. "Is this as far as you two can go?"

"Um...yea for the moment." Gohan answered.

"Well that's a shame..." Baal sighed.

"What do you mean?" Videl asked.

"You two are capable of so much more. Honestly, this level of power you two are putting out is pathetic." Baal said harshly.

"What? You call THIS pathetic?!" Sakura gaped.

"It may not be to the likes of you who have not had known about this kind of power until recently. But by Saiyan standards, it is pathetic. Nayru, show them." Baal said.

Without hesitation, Nayru transformed into the first level of Super Saiyan effortlessly. What was astonishing to everyone, was that his power dwarfed Gohan and Videl's completely, making them seem like civilians in comparison.

"Holy shit..." Sakura gasped out.

"H-how...are you...so strong?" Videl asked in awe.

"Over the course of centuries worth of training. However, even 700 years ago, I was still stronger than your forms." Nayru explained. "Balancing your minds and your bodies energies are what gets you to a level like this."

"You see, you two do not have your minds and bodies in balance. Your bodies are strong, but your minds are clouded with doubt, insecurity, shame, and worst of all...fear." Baal listed off.

The two half Saiyan's looked down in shame.

"Do you two not meditate? What's going on here?" Baal asked.

"Well over half our friends have their heads on the chopping block. Some kind of Super Freeza could be arriving at our planet any day now. And on top of it all, I'm still pregnant!" Videl snapped.

"That shouldn't be any excuse. No matter how tough things get, you must learn to calm your mind." Baal stated.

"Actually...that's partly our fault..." Ino said shamefully.

Baal looked at the blonde in question. "What do you mean."

"From the get-go, we grew annoyed of Gohan's constant meditation. We thought he was just secluding himself off from the rest of us." Ino informed to which the other girls nodded.

Baal let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's probably the worst thing you could have possibly done to them..."

Baal looked up in disappointment. "A Saiyan NEEDS to meditate in order to keep their minds and bodies balanced. the fact that you only allowed them to train physically has inadvertently caused more harm than good. This leads to overconfidence and a swollen pride. This is how my race lost their way and became consumed with power, thus leading them to their own extinction."

"W-we thought that... only training our bodies mattered so we thought that it was just a waste of time." Ino said shamefully.

"It's not." Sakura responded.

"And how would you know? You were in on it, too, Forehead." Ino spat.

"I'll admit; I was skeptical of it. however, since I've been training with King Kai, I learned a great deal of techniques." Sakura boasted.

Baal raised an eyebrow. "You were trained by a Kai? Show me."

"Um, sure..." Sakura replied. _'Inner, some help here?'_

 _'You can use the Kaioken, remember?'_ Inner pointed out.

 _'Oh right.'_

Sakura channeled her energy until she exploded into a violent white aura as she continued to power up.

"Forehead...?" Ino said in awe.

Sakura smirked. "Hold onto your butts." She said as she dug down deep into the core of her being until she found that familiar energy. "KAIOKEN TIMES 3!" She yelled out before exploding into a pale red aura.

All the mortals dug their heels into the dirt, the Ki pressure Sakura was putting up was tremendous.

"THIS IS INSANE! HOW DID SHE GET THIS STRONG?!" Ino shouted as she struggled to stay standing.

Sakura's energy output calmed down and she was left surrounded by a violently pulsating magenta colored aura, making her body tinted in the same color.

"Holy shit..." Videl gasped out.

Sakura held her hand up in front of her face, still not used to this new form. She looked over at the group of onlookers being dumbfounded and smirked.

"How's this?" She asked Baal.

"Impressive for an Elementian." Baal praised.

Sakura cocked her hips, feeling sassy. "Thank you sir."

"H-how...?" Ino gasped out. "How...did you get...so strong...?"

"Push-ups, sits ups, and plenty of juice." Sakura replied as she cocked her hip, feeling confident in her new form.

"Plus two weeks' worth of training from King Kai. I wasn't just making out and having sex with Naruto the whole time, ya know." She added.

"You had sex with Naruto?" Ino echoed.

"Were you not there in court the first day when Lady Tsunade said I could be pregnant? Whose kid do you think it could've been?"

"I honestly wasn't paying attention." Ino said.

"Well, I did. And we did it in King Kai's car, on his planet, in otherworld. Top that one, Pig." Sakura smirked.

Ino didn't say anything. Hinata on the other hand looked like a cherry bomb ready to explode.

"Woah, Sakura...someone is wearing her ovaries on the outside today." Videl commented with pride.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a Saiyan." Nayru said.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just this transformation. I feel more...confident..." Sakura replied.

"The Kaioken shouldn't do that..." Gohan mused. Videl could use it as well and she never acted like that.

"Well, I don't know then."

 _'Surprise!'_ Inner exclaimed suddenly.

 _'What surprise?'_ Sakura thought.

 _'I overrode your Kaioken with the second level of your Kami Mode.'_ Inner announced.

 _'Second level...?'_

 _'Yup, as a reward for finally popping your cherry.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'Is there...more levels?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'There is a third level, but you're not ready for that yet.'_ Inner waved off.

Sakura's aura dimmed and that's when everyone was able to get a good look at her. Her entire body was all the same shade of magenta and her eyes were crimson red. This was something entirely new.

"Wait a minute...that's not the Kaioken." Videl mused.

"It's my Kami mode, level 2." Sakura said.

"Kami mode..." Ino repeated. "God mode...has anyone ever told you how narcissistic that name sounds?"

"I wasn't the one who chose the name, Lady Tsunade did." Sakura responded.

"It's still pretty silly." Ino said, always ready to bring her friend back down to Element.

"Well, do you have a better name for it?" Sakura asked.

"How about calling it by its actual name; Sage Mode." Baal spoke up.

 _'Oh no...'_ Inner said in fear.

 _'Inner...what does he mean by that?'_ Sakura asked.

"For that surge of energy you are feeling comes from nature itself. The energy that surrounds you." Baal explained.

"It... does?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. It is a power to draw in natural energy that all animals possess but many beings lose the ability to do once they evolve to become sentient. Only a handful of sentient individuals ever regain that ability. You would call them Sages."

"So... you mean I'm...wait a minute, I thought you only became a Sage after training with certain summons." Sakura said in confusion. She was having a hard time putting all of this together. Then she remembered where this power actually came from. _'Wait, my power comes from you...is this really Sage power? And if it is, how do you have this kind of power?'_

 _'You have this power. I'm a part of you, remember? I'm your subconscious, so if I know how to draw natural energy it just means that you subconsciously know how to draw in natural energy.'_

 _'What? No! That's not how that works Inner and you know it. Come to think of it, you've been acting kinda weird today, especially when Lord Beerus showed up.'_

 _'Wow, you are moody today. I think I'll go check up on your emotions. See what's got them on the fritz.'_ Inner said before running upstairs.

 _'Dammit Inner! I know you're hiding something!'_ Sakura shouted to her.

 _'WHAT WAS THAT? SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF ME IGNORING YOU!'_

Sakura grumbled. _'Ass...'_

"That's not always true. Anyone can draw in nature energy if properly trained to do so." Baal informed.

"But...I was never trained to do that." Sakura informed.

"Some beings can do it naturally. Evidently you are one of them."

"So, where is she in terms of strength here?" Tenten asked, being that she was the only one out of the group who couldn't sense energy levels...yet.

"In comparative terms...she has surpassed Videl's power." Baal informed.

"What?!" Videl snapped.

"Surely you can sense her power." Baal said.

"I can, it's just infuriating."

"Oh? And why is that?" Sakura snapped.

"I'm a half Saiyan. I'm supposed to be stronger."

"Oooh is that it is it? Well, hate to break it to you, honey, but how many times in your universe have Saiyan's been bested by other races? Or how about how Lee beat Cell or how Naruto defeated Freeza?"

"Why you..." Videl growled as she was about to lunge for her, but Gohan stopped her.

"Videl...don't." Gohan said sternly.

"But she's lying! She knows hardly anything about us-"

"And you know just as much as she does. We've had this conversation before. Just because we're Saiyan's, doesn't make us the strongest race in the multiverse. There is always someone stronger." Gohan lectured.

"But..."

"He's right." Baal informed. "Our race here was destroyed by the Frost Demons, and judging by Gohan's memories, so were they in your universe. That's why there are so few of us in a lot of other universes. Our race, in multiple universes, are blinded by pride that they scoff at someone being stronger than they are, until they learn they were wrong the hard way. What scares me, is that you are already letting your pride consume you. If you continue to let your pride get out of hand, you will end up just like our kin."

Videl wanted to argue further, but she knew that she couldn't. She sighed, and Sakura powered down.

"I think that's enough for today. You all should be with your friends during their trial. We can continue this in a few days' time when the matter has been sorted."

"Agreed." Sakura said before turning on her heel and leaving. Videl had pissed her off and she wanted to deck her hard, but she didn't want to do something that would injure her babies. So, she left without saying another word.

"Hold up Forehead!" Ino called out as she ran to join her, followed by Hinata and Tenten, leaving the two half saiyans alone.

"Man...I really fucked up..." Videl said sadly.

"You went a little off the rails, yes." Gohan said as he placed a hand on Videl's shoulder.

"I... I don't even know where to begin with making this right..." Videl choked out.

"Just apologize before we get inside the courtroom. Sakura is dealing with enough stress right now that she could use all her friends beside her." Gohan said. "You both could."

Without warning, Videl blasted off to land in front of Sakura, who was in no mood to deal with a cocky Saiyan.

"What do you want?" Sakura spat.

"To apologize."

"Well, then out with it. I don't have all-oof!" Sakura was cut off when Videl pulled her into a sisterly hug.

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap like that..." Videl cried.

"Um...Videl?" Sakura asked as she just withstood Videl's hug. Mostly because her arms were pinned.

"Sniff...what?"

"You okay?"

"Man... pregnancy hormones are real bitch..." Ino mused.

"I just love you so much! You're the sister I never had!" Videl wailed.

"Videl..." Sakura said softly as she forced her arms up to hug her back. "I forgive you...and I'm sorry too..."

"R-really?" Videl cried hopefully.

"Yes...you're like my second sister..."

"Second?" Videl asked.

"The first is Ino." Sakura said, earning a smirk from the Yamanaka heiress.

"Ha!" Ino laughed as she stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eyelid at Videl.

"Be nice, Ino." Sakura scolded

"Sure thing, sis." Ino smirked.

Videl pulled away from Sakura and wiped her tears. "Thank you..."

"For what?" Sakura asked.

"For...being there for us. You know, just...everything you've done for us."

"Nonsense, you'd have done the same for us." Sakura waved off.

Meanwhile in Universe 6, Gohan and Videl both sneezed in their English class.

"I guess..." Videl sniffed.

"Bitch, you would." Sakura smirked.

That got Videl to laugh a little. "Yea you're right."

Sakura smiled, now that the hard feelings were gone.

"Alright, now let's get back to the court room. See if my boyfriend can avoid being executed for another day."

"Oh, that reminds me." Ino smirked. "You're giving me every detail about your night with our favorite idiot."

"What? Do you get off on hearing about my romps?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe I do. Now spill!" Ino demanded.

"Yea I'm curious too. Details." Videl chimed in.

"Later. Let's see how the trial goes." Sakura said as they passed a squad of Chunin on patrol.

"Oh come on, Forehead! I'm dying to know." Ino protested.

"Fine. I didn't need to be in Heaven to hear angels sing." Sakura said as they passed another patrol before making it to the courthouse.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ino asked.

"It means she got screwed so good that she heard angels singing." Tenten whispered in Ino's ear for Hinata's sake.

"Woah...forehead..." Ino said in awe.

"Oh yea. It was...a completely new level of feelings I've never felt before. I couldn't believe how amazing it felt..." Sakura said dreamily. "I was like a musical instrument that only he could play..."

"Sounds familiar..." Videl gushed as she remembered her first time with Gohan.

"Man this sucks! I wanna have an experience like that!" Ino grumbled.

"W-was it...really that...g-g-good?" Hinata asked meekly.

"Oh, it was, Hinata...it really was..." Sakura said dreamily.

Hinata bit her lip, imagining herself experiencing something like that. Only...she couldn't picture the face of the man she would do it with.

"Maaaan...I was supposed to be the first to make love like that to an awesome guy..." Ino grumbled.

"Wait a minute...as much as you flaunt your body and fool around, you've never actually did it?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"Of course not. I'm not so easy that I'd give it up to the first jerk who asked. I was saving it for someone special."

"And who might that be?" Videl asked.

"We had this conversation 2 weeks ago, if you'll remember." Ino said.

"Well, I wasn't here so how about you tell me." Sakura said.

"Oh right, cause you were busy crying in the other room." Ino said.

"Yea...don't remind me..." Sakura grumbled.

"Didn't we tell you afterwards?" Ino asked, certain that she did.

"Yea, I remember now...a lot's been going on lately that it slipped my mind."

"Then your question is answered. Although...as dumb as he is, that Sai is kinda cute." Ino mused.

"Oh come on now...after everything Choji went through, you'll break his heart if he heard you say that." Videl said.

"I know...I was just-"

"GAAAAAH!" They heard a scream as a blur flew right past them and into a wall. The girls ran up to check on who it was and was amazed to see it was Baal. "Damn...that kid can throw a punch. I wasn't expecting that."

"What kid? Baal, are you okay?" Sakura asked as the medic in her kicked in."

"Oh I'm...oww...fine." Baal said as he rubbed his jaw. "I kinda...pissed Gohan off." He chuckled sheepishly.

"By doing what? Flirting at me?" Videl laughed.

"Um..." Baal started before Gohan flashed in front of them with complete fury etched into his face. "I uh...made a crack about his dad..."

"Woah, I have never seen him that pissed." Ino said in awe.

"You take back what you said..." Gohan growled demonically. It was one thing to insult him, but you go after his family, the gloves are off.

"You pressed the dad button...ya shouldn't have done that." Videl sighed.

Gohan grabbed Baal by the collar of his red and black uniform. "Take back what you said or I'll rip your world a fucking sunder..."

"Holy shit..." Sakura gasped. She had never seen the kind hearted Gohan this pissed. "The hell did you say?"

"MY father was a great man...and STILL is! how DARE you say his sacrifice for our lives was a joke?!" Gohan barked.

"Well...it looks like I found your trigger." Baal said before shrugging off Gohan. "Listen...I apologize for what I said. But it seems you have a lot more power still lying dormant."

"So you insult my father to bring that out?!" Gohan snapped.

"Yes. Do you see the result?" Baal asked seriously.

"No!" Gohan snapped.

"You just sent a Super Saiyan God flying through the air and into a wall. And you actually hurt me." Baal said, much to Gohan's shock.

"I... I did...?" Gohan asked in awe as he powered down.

"You have a lot more power lying dormant than I thought..." Baal mused as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his uniform. "You could end up being stronger than Nayru."

"I see..." Gohan said.

"But we'll focus on that more tomorrow. For now, go support your friends. They need you." Baal said.

"Right." Gohan smiled before leaving with his friends.

Baal watched them all walk away as Nayru joined him.

"You're going to do for him what you did for the other Gohan you met, aren't you?" Nayru asked.

"This one has far more potential than his counterpart. So does this Videl. I can sense that they both possess strong wills and even stronger hidden powers." Baal replied.

"Just so long as this Videl doesn't end up being as unstable as the last one." Nayru warned.

"She doesn't possess the same energy the last one did. I remember back to what you're referring to. I can assure you, she does not have the same energy."

"Let's hope not." Nayru sighed.

"This isn't the Galactic Civil War and we're no longer part of Starfleet, my old friend. The worst they would have to worry about would be this dimensions Frost Demons." Baal pointed out.

"I know...it's just..."

"I know..." Baal interrupted as Videl was the last one to enter the courthouse. "There is always that chance..."

* * *

The girls and Gohan entered the courtroom where the afternoon portion of the trial was already underway.

The boys were secured to their table, Tsunade was sitting next to them with a smug look on her face, and Danzo was seated at the prosecution desk without any trace of emotions given off by his body.

The Daimyo meanwhile was going over the file Sai had given Tsunade with an aide. He spoke in hushed tones and would occasionally tense up whenever he reached a critical point in the file.

 _'This might turn the tides of this trial.'_ Gohan thought to all of his friends.

 _'I hope so...'_ Sakura thought back before the Daimyo shot up from his chair.

 _'This is it...'_ They all thought collectively.

The Daimyo cleared his throat. "Danzo Shimura, it seems that with the evidence presented to me now by Lady Tsunade, you are most definitely involved with Root. A secondary ANBU faction not under the jurisdiction of myself or the Hokage. How do you plead?"

"Guilty as charged. But you must understand. My Root agents are vital to protecting the safety of the Leaf." Danzo pleaded.

"Well, that is just hearsay. Without physical proof to show what you are saying is true, then I'm not going to take your word for that." The Daimyo stated.

"You misunderstand. It is because there is no physical proof that makes my Root agents so invaluable. We are the unseen hand that protects this village. Without us, enemies unseen by even the Hokage's ANBU forces would slip in and cause chaos."

"And completely unseen by those before me that can sense any presences from any location on the planet? Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Do you really expect them to be able to intercept every threat that makes it attempt against our village? Even now they let enemies slip through our borders and bomb our village while we all slept. Not even their own home was safe from invaders last night." Danzo declared.

A hushed silence came over the court room.

"What are you talking about Danzo?" The Fire Daimyo asked, fear evident in his voice.

"The bombings from last night. My agents have already identified their masterminds. It was Rock ninjas. Lone agents meant to spread panic and chaos in our village." Danzo stated.

"Many more had slipped through our walls and fortunately, my agents were able to apprehend a majority of them. But clearly, and tragically, we did not halt all of them. Yet we prevented 7 more bombings that night while the so called saviors of this world slept in their own beds." Danzo spat. "Including one attempt on your own life, my Lord."

The Daimyo then turned to Gohan and the others.

"Is this true? Was my life threatened and you could do nothing to stop it?"

"No sir." Gohan stated. "He had one of his agents attack us and bomb our house during the night. After that, we went about the village to help as much as we could."

"And what of the one who threatened me?"

"We sensed no one around or near your residence with ill intent." Gohan informed.

"Just like your sensed no one who would bomb the village before it happened?" The Daimyo asked.

"My ANBU were posted around your residence, my lord. They detected no one either." Tsunade stepped in.

The Daimyo sighed before addressing both Danzo and Tsunade. "I need additional proof. Either one of you proves that Root is for Danzo's benefit or if he indeed protecting the Leaf. As of right now, I'm placing Danzo into custody under suspicion of conspiring against the Leaf."

"I gladly accept these terms." Danzo stated.

"Guards, place Danzo into custody." The Daimyo ordered.

Danzo eased up from his seat and held out his hands to allow them to be cuffed. The ANBU gently secured him without a fuss.

"As for you, Princess Tsunade. I would like to see the source of this information you have brought me." The Daimyo stated with a dazed look in his eyes.

 _'He's being mind-controlled...'_ Gohan thought to Tsunade.

 _'Did you think I didn't notice?'_ Tsunade thought.

 _'Wait...you did? How come you haven't said anything?'_

 _'Please, this whole trial has just been one big farce. But we need to keep playing his game for a bit. Or at least let Danzo think that we are.'_

Gohan nodded. _'Alright.'_

"Well, Tsunade?" The Daimyo pressed.

 _'This however is a wrench.'_ Tsunade thought. "Yes of course."

"Good. You have till tomorrow morning." The Daimyo said before adjourning the court.

 _'Shit...'_ Tsunade cursed.

 _'What is it?'_ Gohan thought.

 _'The old pervert is supposed to be at the boarder of the Rain country to ours. He'll never make it back home in time, let alone be able to undo the seal.'_ Tsunade thought.

 _'I'll take care of that.'_ Gohan replied.

 _'Please. Get him back here, and find that Root boy.'_

 _'On it.'_ Gohan said before making his way to the door. _'Sakura, Videl, go look for Sai.'_

 _'Done.'_ Sakura thought.

Once Gohan was outside, he immediately found Jiraiya's energy and blasted off into the air towards him.

Sakura and Videl meanwhile took to the streets, followed closely behind by Ino, Hinata, and Tenten.

"What's the plan here?" Ino asked.

"We need to find Sai and fast." Sakura replied.

"That pale kid we know nothing about? Easy enough." Tenten said.

"Split up and search for him. Videl and I will keep in mental contact." Sakura said.

"Right!" The girls all cried.

Without any talking between them, the girls all headed in different directions. Ino took off towards the east, Tenten to the west, Sakura to the north, Videl to the south, and Hinata leapt up to the highest point she could find to use her Byakugan.

* * *

Shortly after the girls split up, Gohan caught up with Jiraiya and landed in front of him, startling the poor man.

"Gohan! Geez kid, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Sorry about that, but you're needed back at the Leaf. High priority." Gohan informed.

"I figured that if Tsunade sent you. I'm also guessing that the timetable on removing whatever seal she was talking about moved up."

"It needs to be done by tomorrow morning."

"Might telling me what kind of a seal it is? It'll give me something to think about on the flight home." Jiraiya said.

Gohan projected a mental image of the seal in question into Jiraiya's mind.

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"Oh boy. I know exactly what kind of seal that is."

"Really, what is it?" Gohan asked out of curiosity.

"It's a special type of seal the ANBU used to use back during its inception. It would be used on every agent so they would never spill state secrets to the enemy or to the public. Unfortunately, this led to many agents being tortured to death for information they could never give. And if they ever did, the seal would inflate their tongues and their throat muscles until they suffocated to death. It's a brutal jutsu."

"Sweet...Jesus..." Gohan gasped out.

"Yes, so I'm going to take another wild guess and say you need some information out of a former Root agent."

"We need him to appear in court and possibly testify."

That made Jiraiya do a double take. "You brought Danzo to court?"

"Because he accused the others of desertion for going to Hell. They're sitting in prison now, save for Sakura. Her charges were dropped. They're facing execution if we can't prove that Danzo is guilty of using Root for his own agenda."

"So their entire defense is based on his guilt?" Jiraiya asked.

"Pretty much, yes."

"Who is the judge anyway? No self-respecting judge would let that kind of circle continue."

"The...Fire Daimyo..."

"Crap baskets..." Jiraiya cursed.

"Yea, I said the same thing..."

"Here's the other thing, Danzo is controlling his mind." Gohan added.

"Well that's a given." Jiraiya sighed. "How fast can you get us back to Tsunade's office?"

"Less than 5 minutes if I go full power."

"Not good enough, I've got a faster method." Jiraiya said as he bit his thumb and slammed down his palm. The ground exploded with smoke which dispersed to reveal a wizardly looking old toad with a grey cloak.

"Ah, Jiraiya-boy. It's been too long." The toad spoke.

"Hm? Can he teleport?" Gohan asked curiously.

"No, he can however reverse summon me once to Mount Myoboku and then send a scout Toad to reverse summon me back to the Leaf." Jiraiya explained.

"And... I guess I'll just fly back." Gohan mused before he remembered something. "Oh, by the way, we have this universes God of Destruction visiting the village."

"Is that so? Are they somehow mixed up in this trial too?" Jiraiya asked.

"No. Baal is actually giving me and Videl special training. Apparently he and his friend are the sole surviving Saiyan's in this universe."

"Okay...but what does that have to do with the trial?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'd just thought I would let you know."

"Well okay then." Jiraiya said as Fukasaku disappeared, followed by Jiraiya.

Gohan took that as his que to blast off back to the village.

* * *

Meanwhile, Videl finally caught up with Sai, who was in a book store.

It was the damndedst thing. She had been looking for an hour in every dark coma see could think of, stretching her chakra and Ki sensing to its limits while trying to remember his signature. Yet all it took was her deciding to take a break in the bookstore to calm herself down and there he was in the how-to section. Reading some book titled, _How 2 Make Friends: revised edition_.

"Sai?" Videl asked.

Sai looked up from his book and gave a fake smile to Videl. "Hello Brute, fancy meeting you here."

Videl's eye twitched and a vein popped on her forehead. _'Ignore it...we gotta save the guys.'_ She thought. "You gotta come to Lady Tsunade's office. You gotta appear in court tomorrow."

"Really? I was under the impression that the trial was going well for the defense. The prosecution was arrested." Sai stated.

"Well, the Daimyo wants you there. So ya gotta go."

"The Daimyo, huh? That's clever of Danzo. Using that to find out the traitor." Sai smiled.

"Excuse me? Traitor?" Videl growled.

"That would be me." Sai explained.

"Oh...I thought you meant...never mind. I gotta get you to Lady Tsunade's office so we can get that seal off."

"Very well, we just need to take care of one thing first." Sai said before walking up behind an unsuspecting customer and stick a blade right through his throat.

The man struggled in vein against Sai, but the pale boy simply held the man's mouth shut with his free hand until he stopped squirming.

The man went limp in Sai's arm as Videl stared in silent horror at the boy killing a man as easily as you would step on an ant.

Sai dropped the man, wiped off the blade and slipped it into his buttoned shirt.

"Shall we go?"

"W-why...why did you do that?!" Videl shrieked in horror.

"Keep your voice down or we won't get away." Sai said as he picked up the book he was reading and placed it back on the shelf.

"Something going on back there?" The store clerked asked over by the cash register.

Videl was about to speak, but Sai put his hand over her mouth.

"Say nothing about this. It was part of a mission. Do you understand?" Sai asked.

Videl said nothing but nodded as Sai moved his hand away from her mouth.

Sai quietly led Videl out of the book store without being seen.

"Alright...now you may take me to the Hokage." Sai stated.

"Um...sure...follow me." Videl said with uncertainty before walking towards the Hokage tower. _'You guys, I found Sai. I'm leading him to the tower.'_ She thought to the other girls.

 _'Sure thing. Hey guys, bad timing, but do any of you want some dango?'_ Tenten asked.

 _'What?'_ Sakura replied.

 _'Some dango. I passed by this dango place and the scent drew me in to a free sample. And I don't know if the owner puts crack in these or whatever, but I just had to buy a box. So do any of you want some? I'd feel bad if I was the only one who showed up with dango.'_ Tenten thought.

 _'Um...sure. Kinda random, but okay.'_ Videl replied.

 _'I'll take some.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'...me too.'_ Hinata gave in.

 _'I'll take one of Foreheads.'_ Ino thought.

 _'Uh, no you won't.'_ Sakura shot. _'All mine.'_

 _'Fine. I'll take some of Hinata's.'_ Ino thought.

 _'How about you just get your own box?'_ Sakura snapped.

 _'Woah...chill, Sakura.'_ Tenten said.

 _'Yea, really...you sure you're not pregnant? You're acting a lot more moody lately.'_ Videl thought.

 _'I'm not...'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Look, I just want one and they usually only sell them in packs of three sticks.'_ Ino clarified.

 _'Then you can have one of mine.'_ Videl said.

 _'Thank you. I'll pay you.'_ Ino said.

 _'Consider it a birthday present, just get to the Hokage Tower.'_ Videl stated.

 _'Y-you remembered...?'_ Ino gasped out.

 _'Kinda hard not to when you're always talking about it.'_ Tenten pointed out.

 _'It's your birthday?'_ Videl exclaimed.

 _'September 23rd'_ Ino proudly stated. Making Videl sweat drop.

' _That was like…half a month ago.'_ Videl thought.

' _Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I will still take your dango as a gift though.'_ Ino thought.

Sakura just mentally rolled her eyes. _'Let's focus here. The sooner we get the guys out of prison the sooner we can all celebrate. sorry, Ino, but this is more important.'_

 _'You know, Videl is right. You're very moody lately.'_ Ino said.

 _'We'll focus on that later.'_ Videl said before cutting the mental link as she and Sai arrived at the tower.

She led him inside while looking back to make sure that they weren't followed. Videl did notice a few hard stares at her and Sai as they passed by. She hoped it was only a symptom of the whole village being on edge.

They made it to Lady Tsunade's door and knocked a few times to make sure it was clear to enter.

"Enter." Tsunade called form the other side.

Videl opened the door and walked in with Sai in tow. She saw both Tsunade and Jiraiya waiting for them.

"Hey Videl, good to see you." Jiraiya waved.

"Likewise. Hopefully you can help us out." Videl replied as she guided Sai to Jiraiya.

"So you must be the Root boy I keep hearing about. Did they give you a name, son, or just a number?"

"You can call me Sai." Sai replied with a fake smile.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You're one of Danzo's kids aren't you?" He said, thinking of all the missing orphan children Danzo and his Root agents either bought or stole from orphanages and poor families. All to raise them up to become the future mindless drones of the war hawk's private black ops army.

"That's what I'm thinking." Tsunade stated.

"Well, whatever. Open wide, kid." Jiraiya instructed.

Sai complied and opened his mouth to show the seal.

"Son of a bitch. He improved it since the last time I saw it." Jiraiya cursed.

"Videl, you may leave. If what Baal said was true about a Frost demon heading our way, you need all the training you can get." Tsunade said.

"Right." Videl said before leaving her office.

Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and put her hand on his shoulder. "Can you get his seal off by tomorrow morning?" Tsunade asked.

"No... this is far too complex to unseal it by morning. It would take me about 3 days to get it."

"Look, just do your best. Succeed and I'll throw in a special treat for you." Tsunade desperately offered.

Jiraiya sighed deeply. "Alright...I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Back at the training field, Gohan had just arrived after learning that Jiraiya was now working on removing the seal. He was being instructed in proper meditation techniques in order to stop any threat that would come their way. Shino was there as well. He figured he would listen in just in case he was ever needed.

The girls all started arriving as Gohan was in a meditative pose across from Baal who was in the same state.

"Hey, what's going-"

"Shhh." Naryu hushed Ino. "They are in an intense meditation. Lord Baal is working on unlocking Gohan's inner powers." He whispered.

"Oh, sorry..." Ino whispered back.

"Do you think it will be enough to stop the Frost Demon that's coming?" Sakura whispered.

"Hard to say...the one that's coming makes any enemy Gohan has faced before look like child's play." Nayru whispered back.

The girls felt the temp drop by 50 degrees.

"We may need to step up his training and teach him the 3rd level of Super Saiyan." Nayru mused.

"Wait, there's a 3rd level?" Videl asked curiously.

"Seriously...next you'll tell me there's a 4th." Sakura scoffed.

"There is actually." Nayru informed.

"What?" Videl asked.

"Well, technically it's unique to a few specific universes. And we don't talk about those universes." Nayru clarified.

"But...there is still a 4th, right?" Videl pressed.

"Yes...however, to achieve it, you would be putting a lot of lives at risk because it requires you to look at the full moon." Nayru warned.

Videl and the other girls gulped. "Uhhh...never mind then..." Videl said nervously.

"Just...how powerful is that form anyway?" Ino asked.

Nayru just sighed before flashing into said form effortlessly. His black hair was extended out and rested on his shoulders. His torso was covered in red fur, his pupils turned yellow while his eye lids and around his eyes were red. But what caught them off guard, was she sheer power he was putting off.

"This is the 4th level." Nayru said in a deeper tone.

The girls' mouths hung open in utter shock. The power that at least Sakura and Videl felt was overwhelming that they started trembling before it.

"Th-that's...just scary..." Sakura gasped out before Nayru dropped the form.

"I... I don't know what's scarier...the form or the power..." Videl breathed out in awe.

"It was like...a thousand Freeza's..." Sakura gasped out.

"Saiyan's really are over powered..." Ino mused.

"You Elementians are just as over powered." Nayru stated. "There are a lot of traits that Elementians such as yourselves share with Saiyan's."

"Such as?" Sakura asked.

"Metabolism, the rush of battle, pride, getting stronger after every battle, versatility, durability, I'm sure you all have noticed at least a few of those traits in yourselves." Nayru listed off.

"And how does that make us different from every other human?"

"Because you're not exactly human. You have a slightly stronger bone structure than Humans would have, plus sensitivity to special types of energy. Typically chakra, but can also use Ki."

"Huh..." Sakura mused. She had no idea that they were that much different from humans.

* * *

As they trained, Tsunade was in a private meeting with Kakashi and a few ANBU agents.

"These are the men you trust, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked as she observed the 3 other men outfitted in ANBU garb.

"With my life." Kakashi replied.

Tsunade looked over at the cat masked ANBU she recognized as Yamato and the two other ANBU she didn't recognize. Although judging by one's bowl cut hair and the other's ever present scent of tobacco, she'd wager that the other two was Gai and Asuma.

"Very good. Your mission will be to infiltrate the Daimyo's summer home this evening and free him from his mind control. You are not to make the Daimyo aware that he was under genjutsu, and of course you are not to alert him to your presence." Tsunade stated.

"Understood." Kakashi and the other ANBU responded.

"Rules of Engagement?" Kakashi asked.

"No civilian casualties." Tsunade said as she passed a tiny card with three different profile pictures on it. "These three are the only confirmed Root agents you're likely to find on this mission. You are authorized to use deathly force on them and only them."

"Understood." Kakashi replied.

"How do we know he's under mind control?" Gai asked.

"I suspected it, but when Gohan noticed it as well, I knew he had to be under some kind of Genjutsu." Tsunade informed.

"Alright. Quick in and out. Simple enough." Asuma said.

"Any Intel on the standing strength of the guards?" Kakashi asked.

"A bunch of highly expensive sellswords guard the interior, a handful of decent shinobi guard the Daimyo's personal bedroom, and a platoon of our ANBU guard the exterior of the summer home. Even they cannot know about this mission." Tsunade warned.

"Difficult, but not impossible." Gai said.

"I want it done by midnight. If things go south and the Daimyo gets antsy, he'll calm down after he gets a good night's sleep." Tsunade said.

"Consider it done." Kakashi said.

Tsunade paused in contemplation. Her eyes closed as if she couldn't believe she was asking this.

"Also...as a purely secondary objective. If you could find a way to delay the Daimyo in the morning, thereby delaying the trial..."

"How exactly?" Asuma asked.

"Anyway you can think of that doesn't violate the R.O.E." Tsunade said.

"We'll do what we can." Yamato replied.

"Very good. Get to it." Tsunade stated.

They all nodded before phasing out of Tsunade's office to complete their mission.

* * *

A few hours later they had secured passage on a supply cart carrying the next day's meals for the Daimyo. The four Jounin had modified the cart to suit their needs and paid off the driver handsomely. Now they were on a slow ride through the countryside to the Daimyo's summer home on the very edge of the Leaf village.

They all sat together in complete silence. Gai was doing some quiet one handed push-ups on the floor, Yamato was getting some shut eye, Asuma was enjoy a cigarette, and Kakashi was reading his little orange book off of the glow of the moonlight.

"Hey...did you feel that huge power surge earlier?" Gai suddenly asked.

"Yea, actually. I never felt anything like it." Asuma replied.

"That's just Baal and Nayru training Gohan. Nothing to worry about." Kakashi waved off.

"And they are?" Gai asked.

"More Saiyan's. From this universe from what I heard." Kakashi said simply.

"Geez, this generation seems to be flying us by." Asuma smirked.

"Baal is the god of destruction from this universe." Kakashi stated.

That made Asuma and Gai gulp.

"Don't worry, they don't seem to have any interest in destroying our planet. They do, however, want to train Gohan and Videl for an incoming threat that's heading our way."

"Wait, threat? What threat?" Gai asked.

Kakashi sighed before closing his book. "You remember when the boys were fighting Freeza in Hell, right? Well, apparently there is someone of his kind coming that makes all of Gohan's other foes seem like flies in comparison, and he's heading our way."

"Oh...great..." Asuma sighed out his latest drag.

"Yes...my thoughts exactly. But we gotta focus now. We're nearly there." Kakashi stated.

The men all nodded as they made their final preparations. Donning their porcelain masks and tightening their gear. Yamato cracked his neck, Gai did a quick inventory of his weapons, Asuma put his cigarette out, and Kakashi slipped a photo into his little book as a marker. The photo was a bingo book photo of a certain plain faced woman with short, dark hair.

After a short while, the carriage was let into the main court compound. Guards armed with swords and dogs began searching the cart. Underneath it, above the wheel axel, and finally the cargo.

The dogs immediately started barking like crazy.

"What do you have in there?" The senior guard demanded.

"Just some rare steaks. Order said that they couldn't be frozen." The delivery man explained. Making the senior guard scoff. "Damn mutts must be hungry. Jaht! Did you feed the mutts tonight?!"

"I did, boss!" Jaht shouted back. Making the senior suspicious.

"(Whistle) check everything." He ordered the rest of his men while the dogs kept barking like crazy.

While the senior guard was yelling, Kakashi and the other Jounin slipped out of the cart through the false bottom they had installed.

Quiet as a ghost they slipped through the spots illuminated by torches and made their way inside via the servant entrance.

They made their way down a maze of hallways they had memorized mere hours earlier, always keeping up a slow running pace.

They came across one aide walking towards them with his nose buried in a scroll. They took a quick right to let him past by and continued their descent deeper into the mansion.

They passed another servant girl carrying so many dirty sheets she couldn't see the squad of ANBU passing by her.

They rounded two more corners, rushed up a flight of stairs, and found themselves in a hallway facing down a single guard that hadn't seen them yet.

He was just standing there and there was no way to go around him.

Kakashi turned to Yamato to give him the signal to put the man down.

Yamato placed his hands together and instantly the wooden walls came to life. They warped into tentacles that wrapped around the guard, holding his limbs steady and cutting off his mouth from making a sound.

Once the guard was out of commission, they were able to continue on their way.

Once down that hallway, they could see the Daimyo's three personal guards standing watch outside the double doors leading to his bedroom. One wore long sleeves with his trench coat, another was big and burly with a long staff as thick as a telephone pole resting on his shoulder, the third and final one was a crazy looking bald man picking his teeth with the business end of his katana.

 _'This might be an issue...'_ Asuma thought.

Kakashi considered their opponents. Highly elite shinobi, you could tell just by looking at them. They would be expecting a sneak attack. It's the only way a lesser shinobi could hope to beat them.

What they weren't expecting were the top four Jounin of the Leaf...

 _'Yamato, stay out of sight and guard this sector.'_ Kakashi said through rapid fire hand signs. _'Gai, Asuma, with me. We'll bull rush those three on my go.'_

 _'Right.'_ The other 3 signed back.

The three shinobi guards meanwhile stood at attention at the end of the hallway, trying to not get annoyed by their biggest member making popping sounds with his lips.

The three were surprised when out of nowhere a group of three men dressed in Leaf ANBU garb leap out of the corner and sprinted at them.

"Do you recognize those 3?" One of them asked his comrades as they got ready to fight.

But it was all in vein, for at that moment the three ANBU picked up speed. While they had only managed to master 10x gravity, it gave them just enough of a speed boost to close the gap faster than the three elite shinobi would have anticipated. Their tactics and their speed threw the veterans off, giving the three ANBU the perfect opening they needed.

Asuma blocked the swordsman's blade with his own trench knife before landing a direct punch to the man's cranium.

Gai likewise managed a clean hit on the larger man's wipe pipe, closing up his throat and knocking him unconscious.

And Kakashi faked out his opponent with a punch to the face that was blocked, followed by a kick to the knees that knocked the man to the ground, and wrapped up with a final palm thrust to the face now that his fist was lined up.

The three shinobi guards fell in a crumpled heap.

 _'Form up.'_ Kakashi signed to them.

 _'Well that was easy.'_ Asuma said through his expressions.

 _'It's because of our gravity training.'_ Gai signed.

 _'And here I thought you'd credit it to our youthfulness.'_ Asuma sighed back.

 _'Cut the chatter, we're not done yet.'_ Kakashi signed.

The two Jounin fell in line behind Kakashi as he prepared to unlock the door. Asuma stood in front of him behind the second door while Gai stood behind Kakashi waiting to rush in.

Kakashi signaled, _'3, 2, 1!'_ And swung open the door. Asuma ran in, followed by Gai, both as quiet as mice.

Kakashi waited a whole three seconds before his teammates' silence told him that the room was clear.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Once inside he spotted the Daimyo, devoid of his crown, and sleeping like a log.

 _'Cover me while I release the genjutsu on him.'_ Kakashi signed.

The two nodded as they broke off to cover the two possible exits. The main door and then the glass balcony that was currently covered by a thick curtain.

Once he knew they were in position, Kakashi got to work on releasing the genjutsu.

He gazed upon the tiny man known by many as the most powerful man on Element, certainly the richest. His territory was more bountiful and vast than any other of the five Great Shinobi nations. That fact alone kept him from ordering the army of the Leaf village to march on the boarders of their neighbors. How easy would it be to just slit the man's throat now...?

Kakashi used his fingers to open the Daimyo's eyelid. His REM sleeping pupil looked up at the red mirror wheel eye of Kakashi's, the Sharingan.

Kakashi could sense a block, or more accurately, a distortion in the Daimyo's subconscious. If the suggestion section of the brain was an electric grid similar to a computer chip, the Daimyo's was clearly tampered with. The chakra around the suggestion section of the brain was flowing in an odd manner, clearly indicating that it was tampered with by genjutsu. The tampered chakra also flowed from the suggestion section to the ocular veins, indicating that it was an ocular genjutsu.

 _'Clever. The subject isn't constantly under the influence of the genjutsu, he's only highly susceptible to further suggestion from the castor. This would be highly difficult to detect, even for genjutsu experts.'_ Kakashi had to smile. It had been quite a while since he had faced down such a grade A genjutsu. And what was even more surprising was that Danzo kept Kakashi's genjutsu design from when he used to serve Root.

 _'Must have really impressed him.'_ Kakashi thought. _'That or he could never come up with a better jutsu.'_

Kakashi easily dismantled his old genjutsu and added a defensive barrier seal inside the Daimyo's cornea to prevent future attacks.

Looking down at him, Kakashi contemplated how easy it would be to place a further suggestion inside the Daimyo's mind, making him find all six of the boys' innocent and order Danzo executed on sight. But that was dangerous thinking. That was Kakashi's old way of thinking when all that mattered was completing the mission.

He was better than that now.

He had to be.

Kakashi thought for a minute before implanting his own new genjutsu into the Daimyo's subconscious. one that would make him sleep in until noon.

 _'That doesn't mean I can't cheat a little.'_ Kakashi smirked.

 _'And we're done here.'_ Kakashi thought before signaling to the rest of his team to move out. They completed their mission, now it was just a matter of getting the boys out of jail and out of this trial once and for all.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Yeah, couldn't get this out a few days ago for a number of reasons. But both chapters are done. So expect chapter 31 to come out in three hours. 3 and a half, max. Maybe even sooner if I get bored enough.**


	31. Chapter 31: Trial of Root Part 3

The morning started out unpleasantly for Naruto and the other guys still imprisoned in the underground ANBU jail.

What with it being an underground jail, there were of course no windows in their cells (save for the bars facing the hallway) so telling time was impossible.

The only indication they had about the change from night to day was the built in ceiling lights that went off without fail every morning at 6 o'clock sharp. The bright lights were designed specifically to wake the prisoners up and (if Naruto's theory was to be believed) put the prisoners in a bad mood.

By 6:15 they were expected to be dressed and ready for the arrival of the guards.

The next half an hour was spent on inspection. The guards searching the six young ninjas and their cells for any kind of contraband or weapons they may have occurred during the night. Which of course they found none.

Naruto grit his teeth as he was patted down for what felt like the hundredth time since being thrown on jail. The other guys did the same. Any hint of defiance from any one prisoner and he would be beaten into submission before inspection would start all over again.

At 6:45, the boys were escorted to a private cafeteria for breakfast. Consisting of a few slices of bread, apple slices, and oatmeal with glasses of milk.

After ensuring that all plates and silverware are accounted for, the boys were led to the showers in order to be presentable in court.

The water was lukewarm and would only run for 5 minutes at a time. All the while the boys were being watched by the guards, with only a single barrier that went up to their waists to give them privacy.

Once shower time was over, the boys were led back to their cells to change into their clothes for the trial.

They all changed quickly, expecting only 5 minutes before the guards came back to cuff their hands and lead them to the trial. Yet those 5 minutes came and went. As did the hour that passed since any of them had even seen a guard.

Naruto peered out the bars of his cell to see all his buddies doing the same, yet no guards in sight.

"Did they forget about us?" Naruto asked.

"Who knows." Shikamaru sighed.

"Maybe something has happened?" Choji suggested.

"Nothing changed after the village got bombed." Kiba pointed out.

"Perhaps the trial got delayed." Neji added.

"You'd think they would notify us." Kiba grumbled.

"They might perceive that as being too kind to us." Lee grumbled.

"Seriously..." Naruto sighed.

 _'To Hell with this.'_ Naruto thought. _'Gohan? Videl? You up?'_ He thought, hoping that his thoughts would carry over to the two half-saiyans.

 _'We are now...'_ Gohan groaned sleepily.

 _'Do you know what's going on? We're usually taken to the court room by now. Yet the guards left us in our cells. What's up?'_

 _'Seriously Naruto? I haven't gotten hardly any sleep for the last week and the ONE time I get some sleep you gotta fucking wake me up.'_ Videl snapped. She was always cranky in the morning. Especially while pregnant.

 _'Well, excuse me. Sorry I called you so early in the morning from PRISON, but I'd like to know if we're going to have a trial today or not.'_ Naruto thought back.

Videl just huffed before blocking out the mental signal.

 _'Sorry...she's very moody in the morning...'_ Gohan yawned. _'The trial begins at 10:30...'_

 _'And, it's what time now?'_ Neji asked.

Gohan rolled over to looked at his clock. _'A little after 8...'_

 _'The trial usually starts at 8. What happened to that?'_ Naruto asked.

 _'Word from Tsunade is that the Daimyo slept in or something. So the trial got delayed.'_ Gohan informed. _'Good thing too. Jiraiya needs every hour he can get working on Sai's seal.'_

 _'Hopefully he will be worth this troublesome wait.'_ Shikamaru thought.

 _'Well, even if he can't give us what we need, Nayru can at least give the Daimyo the proof about the Uchiha massacre.'_ Gohan replied as he got out of bed. Might as well start the day.

 _'I... don't see how that helps us very much.'_ Shikamaru stated.

 _'Oh...right...'_ Gohan yawned, still not fully awake.

 _'So what now?'_ Choji thought.

 _'We could play 20 questions.'_ Neji suggested.

 _'I think we all know who would be the ultimate winner and ultimate loser of that game.'_ Kiba snickered.

 _'Who?'_ Lee asked.

 _'Naruto would lose every round.'_ Kiba joked.

"Oh, because I'm the idiot. Yeah, real fucking original." Naruto grumbled.

 _'Kiba would lose just as much.'_ Neji snickered.

 _'Thanks Neji.'_ Naruto said.

 _'Fuck you.'_ Kiba grumbled.

 _'I just hope we can make it out of this before the festival.'_ Choji said.

 _'Festival? What festival?'_ Gohan asked.

 _'The anniversary festival of when the 9 tails attacked.'_ Neji summed up.

 _'Oh, that's already come and gone. It's October 20th now.'_ Gohan informed.

"WHAT!" Choji bellowed out in his cell.

"Oh come on Choji, you had to realize this." Shikamaru stated.

"Man this sucks!" Choji protested.

"Wait, wouldn't that mean that we missed Naruto's birthday?" Lee asked.

Everyone stopped in realization to what Lee said and looked at Naruto with apologetic faces.

"Man... we completely forgot...sorry, buddy..." Shikamaru said sadly.

"Guys, don't worry about it. I never celebrate my birthday anyway." Naruto said waving it off.

"What are you talking about? If it had been my birthday that someone forgot about I'd be pissed." Kiba said.

"Well I don't have a lot of fond memories of my birthday. It's a day I usually just avoid if I can help it." Naruto said bitterly.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry much about that anymore." Shikamaru smirked.

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Naruto asked dismissively.

The guys all looked at each other and an understanding passed between them.

"Happy Birthday to you." Shikamaru sang.

"Happy Birthday to you..." The other guys started picking up the tune.

"Happy Birthday dear Naruto... Happy Birthday to you..."

Naruto honestly didn't know what to say...it was the first time anyone sang for him on his birthday.

 _'And many more.'_ Sakura, Videl and Gohan sang mentally.

The boys all cheered for their friend as Kiba picked up the next part of lyrics exclusive to the ninjas who had seen combat and was a tradition amongst those in wartime.

"How fucked are you now?

How fucked are you now?

How fucked are you noooowww?

You're surely fucked now..."

* * *

Within the next couple hours; all 6 of the accused, plus their teammates, had arrived at the courtroom. Tsunade and Danzo stood opposite each other with the Fire Daimyo roused from his bed to oversee what was to be the last day of the hearing.

"Alright, let's get this wrapped up. Danzo, you said you have evidence to provide for the court. Do so now." The Daimyo ordered.

"Yes I do, your honor. If it pleases the court, I would like to call to the stand a witness who will testify proof of Root's value to the Leaf village." Danzo stated.

"Very well, do so."

"I call to the stand, the Hokage's assistant and ward, Shizune Nata."

"What?!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Sire, that is my personal assistant! She wouldn't know anything about Root!"

"Silence. If Danzo has called her to the stand to testify, then she must be allowed to testify." The Daimyo responded.

 _'What the hell is he trying to pull...'_ Gohan said into Tsunade's mind.

 _'I don't know...'_ Tsunade thought back. Just then, Shizune entered the court room in her usual attire. She dared not to look the crowd of young ninja directly. Her eyes only turned to Kakashi, who was seated in the back with the other Jounin sensei. His eyes grew narrow. She simply looked away and took the stand.

"Raise your right hand." A bailiff said. Shizune did just that.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Log?"

"I do."

"Very well, please be seated." Shizune obeyed.

Videl was shocked and furious. She had trusted Shizune like she was her own sister. The one thing she hated more than anything else, was a liar. It was taking all of her will power not to blow her head off right from where she was sitting.

Danzo then approached the stand.

"Please state your name and occupation for the judge." Danzo ordered.

"I am Shizune Nata. I am the assistant to Lady Tsunade Senju, the 5th Hokage." Shizune meekly stated.

 _'Former...'_ Tsunade thought.

"And do you know why you are here?" Danzo asked.

"To give testimony of all the good Root does for the Leaf." Shizune said meekly.

"And can you please tell the court of your secondary occupation." Danzo asked.

"...I am a spy working for Root." She choked out.

 _'No...'_ Tsunade thought in shock.

"A spy?" The Daimyo wondered aloud.

"Specifically, I was meant to spy on M'Lady Tsunade for the Root." Shizune expanded.

"You what...?" Tsunade growled.

For the first time that day, Shizune looked her master in the eyes. Tears threatening to break free.

"I am so sorry, M'Lady." She mouthed.

 _'Yea I bet you are...'_ Tsunade thought.

 _'Shizune... Is he making you say this?'_ Gohan asked into her mind.

Shizune didn't respond, at least not through the mind scape.

"I delivered Intel gathered from the Hokage's desk and brought it to my Root contact. Things like mission briefings and Intel reports. I did it for the good of the Leaf." Shizune continued on.

"You stole mission reports off MY desk? That is treason, Shizune..." Tsunade growled.

"Indeed it is, but please allow her to finish." The Daimyo said.

"...I-I did not agree with M'Lady's rule. She was always too carefree about her duties as Hokage, too soft when it mattered most. She would drink constantly and I sought out the Root to do more good for the Leaf..." She admitted as tears ran down her face.

"Although Root did operate outside of the Hokage's jurisdiction, it always did so with the best intentions for the Leaf at heart." Shizune added.

 _'Something isn't right... She wouldn't say this unless she was being forced.'_ Gohan said into Tsunade's mind.

 _'I think you're right. Something smells fishy.'_ Tsunade thought.

"Excuse me?" Came a nonchalant voice in the back. All eyes turned towards the copycat ninja of the Leaf, Kakashi Hatake.

"Permission to approach the witness, your honor." Kakashi asked in an almost bored tone.

"It's unusual, but I'll allow it." The Daimyo stated.

Kakashi smiled through his right eye in gratitude and approached Shizune. All eyes were on him.

 _'What the Hell is Kaka-sensei doing?'_ Naruto thought.

 _'I believe Shizune is being controlled, Naruto. Kakashi must suspect the same thing.'_ Gohan said into Naruto's mind.

Kakashi was soon standing in front of Shizune, who was trying desperately to stare at her feet.

"Yo, Shizune. Been awhile, hasn't it?" Kakashi greeted her as he would out on the sidewalk.

"H... hi Kakashi..." She said meekly.

"I've got a few questions if you don't mind me asking?" He said casually.

"G-go ahead..."

"Alright, how long have you been working for Root?" He began.

"A year and a half now..."

"And when is your birthday?"

"November 18th..." Shizune said, Kakashi's eyes snapped down to her mouth before returning to her face.

"And Root is a great asset to the Leaf?"

"Yes, of course."

"And how long have you been pregnant?"

"What?!" Just about the whole courtroom exclaimed.

"I-I... I don't understand the question." Shizune stuttered, her face red like a cherry.

"Objection, relevance!" Danzo cried.

"I'd just like to know when I can expect to be a father, your honor." Kakashi defended.

The Daimyo Nodded. "Your objection is overruled for the moment."

"Well...?" Kakashi pressed.

"...One month, I just found out a week ago..." Shizune admitted.

"No further questions, your honor." Kakashi said as he casually strolled back to the group without a backwards glance at the mother of his future child.

 _'What was that about?'_ Videl asked Kakashi mentally.

 _'Danzo has taken Shizune hostage in order for her to give a fake testimony.'_ Kakashi thought, and only now could Videl and the others sense Kakashi's inner rage.

 _'More specifically, he has placed a speech seal on her tongue and a small paper bomb on her belly. If Shizune let's anyone know that she isn't speaking truthfully, Danzo or some other agent will detonate the paper bomb, killing Shizune's fetus.'_

 _'Oh shit... That dirty motherfucker... Lady Tsunade, did you get all of that?'_ Videl said.

Tsunade didn't respond. She was too busy looking at her oldest ward. The young woman she thought of as a daughter.

 _'I have half a mind to kill that bastard now... He has no fucking shame...'_ Tsunade thought furiously.

 _'Steady yourself, Lady Hokage. Danzo already suspects that I know, but if everyone else catches on, he may detonate.'_ Kakashi warned.

 _'How do you know?'_ Naruto asked.

 _'Her mannerisms. The way she combed her hair off to the left instead of the right. How she never stopped clutching her stomach. Plus, I saw the seal on the tip of her tongue when she said the 18th.'_

' _That…is very impressive.'_ Videl thought.

 _'The sad part is, I doubt the Daimyo would believe me if I told him mentally about all of this... We're up shit creek without a paddle right now...'_ Gohan thought sadly.

 _'He might, you never know.'_ Videl stated.

 _'He's a fool. He wouldn't believe it.'_ Tsunade stated.

 _'We can't let him believe it. If he does, then Danzo will have nothing stopping him from killing Shizune and the baby.'_ Kakashi reminded everyone.

 _'Shit... So, now even if we brought in Sai, it would be useless...'_ Tsunade thought sadly.

 _'Maybe not...'_ Gohan said.

 _'What are thinking?'_ Kakashi asked.

 _'I was thinking of extending my Ki out to Shizune, putting a barrier between her and the paper bomb. But I don't know how the bomb would react to a sudden presence of Ki.'_ Gohan mused.

 _'Not good, I can tell you that.'_ Sakura said.

 _'That would be pointless. Knowing Danzo, the paper bomb would be sealed inside her skin, to prevent it being discovered even by a strip search.'_ Kakashi said, dreading that now he would have to go through with his alternative plan.

 _'So what can be done?'_ Videl asked.

 _'Something I had hoped to get a little more practice in.'_ Kakashi thought vaguely as he stood up once again.

"Something to add, Kakashi?" The Daimyo asked.

"Yes, I have one more question to ask the witness. If I may?" Kakashi asked politely.

"Proceed."

Kakashi then once again walked up to the stand where Shizune once again looked devastated to see him.

Once there, Kakashi did something completely unexpected.

Slowly, he untied his Leaf head band, revealing his Sharingan to Shizune and the Daimyo. Then he lowered his mask, revealing his face, again only facing Shizune and the Daimyo.

 _'What is he doing?'_ Videl thought as she curiously looked on.

Kakashi let his head band fall to the floor.

"Shizune Nata..." He said in a serious tone.

He took a step closer to the stand so that he was within arm's reach of Shizune.

"Y-yes?" Shizune replied hesitantly.

"Will you marry me?"

The whole court room gasped.

"Objection!" Danzo cried.

"Overruled, let her answer." The Daimyo decreed, starting to grow annoyed by Danzo's outburst, but mostly wished to see this love story play out before him.

"W-what...?" Shizune gasped. Tears streaming down her face, she must not have heard him right. Here now, of all places.

"I said, will you marry me?" Kakashi patiently asked again.

As fresh tears rolled down her face, she nodded. "Y-yes... Of course I will..."

"Whew, then no regrets then." Kakashi smiled for only Shizune to see.

He pulled her in close for a hug, which she happily returned. Her tears streaming down her cheeks and staining Kakashi's jounin vest.

To the crowd of onlookers, it was the most heartwarming scene. Considering the circumstances.

That is until Kakashi pulled his arm back and punched Shizune square in the gut.

"What the hell?!" Videl screeched.

Before anyone else could react, Kakashi then pushed himself away from Shizune with such force you'd think she gave him a shock.

Instead, everyone noticed that Kakashi was bent forward clutching something to his chest.

He then unveiled it for all to see. In his clenched fist, was a burning paper bomb that he had crumpled in his hand. He took the paper with his other hand and ripped it in two, disarming the bomb and allowing the flames along the paper to extinguish.

"What is that?!" The Daimyo shouted. The whole courtroom was in an uproar. All the shinobi especially were standing in a defensive pose. To think they were so close to a live bomb.

"A paper bomb, your honor. Danzo's witness was being coerced into saying the things she did by this bomb. She was literally held hostage within this very court room." Kakashi explained as he placed the extinguished paper bomb down onto Danzo's table.

The Daimyo had little options but to trust Kakashi. The evidence was staring him right in the face.

"H-how..." Naruto asked in awe.

"Brand new Sharingan technique I learned. Thanks to the Mangekyou Sharingan I was able to partially teleport my body parts through to another dimension. Enough to make them transparent enough to reach inside Shizune and pull out the bomb." Kakashi explained.

"Is this true, Shizune?" The Daimyo asked.

"Y-YES!" Shizune shouted. As soon as she shouted that, her throat seized up. She violently gasped for air, holding her throat and steadying herself against the podium, but her throat muscles kept tightening.

"Shit!" Sakura and Tsunade shouted as they darted over to help Shizune.

"What's wrong with her?" The Daimyo asked.

"The seal that was also placed on her tongue is causing her throat to shut, cutting off her oxygen supply." Tsunade briefly explained.

As she explained this, Sakura began creating her incision into Shizune's wind pipe in order to open a hole for her to breath.

Once done, Shizune gasped loudly as she was finally able to breath.

"Shizune, I understand if you can't talk, but who did this?" The Daimyo asked.

"That wouldn't be wise, sire. Any more vocal stimuli of her saying whatever her captors don't want her to say would only trigger a more violent reaction." Tsunade informed him.

"I understand. I thought that type of seal was abolished decades ago."

"We need to get her to a hospital ASAP!" Sakura called. The inflammation was beginning to spread lower into Shizune's throat. If they didn't act fast they would have to cut an even lower hole again and again until they reach the lungs and by then it would be too late.

"Would a senzu bean work?" Videl asked as she brought one to Sakura

"No, this isn't an ailment, it's a curse from that damn seal." Sakura hastily explained as she began pumping chakra into Shizune's throat to slow the spread of the bloating.

"W-what's going on?!" The Daimyo fearfully demanded. "Tsunade, answer me!"

"She's choking to death!" Tsunade snapped at the silly little man. "I am sending her to the hospital!" She stated, leaving no room for argument.

"ANBU!" Tsunade ordered. Instantly five ANBU guards appeared before her.

"Take Shizune to the hospital and put her under full guard until I arrive." Tsunade barked. "Let no one but her doctor and a select few nurses in."

The ANBU agents nodded as they helped scoop up Shizune out of the witness box. Sakura meanwhile kept up the pressure of her mystic palm on Shizune's throat in an effort to slow the spread of bloating.

"Sakura! Stay with Shizune!" Tsunade added.

"Yes, M'Lady!" Sakura shouted as she kept up her constant chakra flow.

For a moment, her thoughts inevitably turned to Naruto and what would happen to him while she was away. Yet she knew that Shizune needed her more. She was her patient and her older sister by apprenticeship.

The ANBU and Sakura quickly spirited Shizune out of the court room. Leaving a bewildered crowd left wondering what had just happened.

Kakashi then walked towards Danzo's desk and laid his fists firmly on the table.

"One way or another Danzo. I will put you under the jail for this." Kakashi stated before walking back to the group.

Despite himself, Danzo could help but crack a joke. "What's the matter, Kakashi? Cat got your tongue?"

"You sonofabitch..." Videl hissed. "You have no compassion whatsoever, do you? Not one shred of decency in you at all?!"

"Videl!" Kakashi said in a firm tone.

"No! As a mother to be I find his attitude completely disgusting!" Videl shouted as tears rolled down her face.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Danzo replied innocently.

"Like hell you don't... Your energy fluctuates every time you open your mouth. Every word you speak is nothing but a lie..." Videl cried.

"What is she on about?" The Daimyo asked.

"They have the ability to sense when a person is lying or telling the truth, sire. They are literally living lie detectors." Tsunade explained.

"Allegedly." One of the aids spoke up.

"Allegedly nothing." Gohan said. "I can prove it if need be."

"Gohan, sit down before you make a fool of yourself." Tsunade spoke up. "That goes double for you too, Videl."

Gohan did what he was told, but Videl was far too enraged to listen. Her super Saiyan form had that effect on her as her aura erupted and started fluctuating violently. Going against what he was told, Gohan ran over and placed a hand on Videl's shoulder.

"Videl, you need to relax, honey. We'll get him, don't you worry." Gohan soothed.

"B-but Gohan..."

"I know..." Gohan said softly as he embraced Videl, getting her to calm down, her hair returning to black.

"Geez you two, calm down. It's all going to be ok now anyway." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"(Sniff) H-how...?" Videl chocked out.

Tsunade smiled. "Because our trump card has just arrived."

The court room doors opened to reveal a large white haired old man and a teenage youth whose skin was as white as the old man's hair.

"About freaking time." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Lord Daimyo, I call a whiteness of my own to the stand. Sai." Tsunade said. All eyes turned on the pale skinned boy with the fake smile.

"Proceed." The Daimyo said, now more curious than before.

From the defense stand, Danzo was eyeing the witness extremely closely.

"State your name and occupation for the record." Tsunade said after Sai was sworn in.

"Sai. My occupation is that I am an agent of Root." Sai stated.

"A Root agent?" The Daimyo asked.

"Yes, ever since I was born." Sai replied.

That got the Daimyo's attention.

"Since you were born? What about your family?" He asked.

"I believe I was an orphan, sire. Root has been all I have ever known." Sai replied.

The Daimyo nodded.

"Can you please tell the court, in your own words, what the true purpose of Root is?" Tsunade asked.

"The true purpose of Root..." Sai looked over at Danzo, whose forehead now sported a popped vein. Moment of truth...

"Is to protect and service the Leaf from the shadows. Led solely by Danzo and operating without any outside interference."

That threw everyone for a loop. Their trump card was supposed to incriminate Danzo, not make him look like a saint.

"During your time with Root, have you ever been asked to perform missions that were not to the benefit of the Leaf village?" Tsunade asked, hoping to salvage the interrogation.

"We were told that all our missions benefited the Leaf. From rescuing VIPs to trading Leaf ninjas under the Hokage's command to foreign powers."

 _'Dammit Sai...'_ Videl cursed in her mind.

"Let me rephrase that. Has Danzo ever asked Root agents, not just yourself, to perform tasks that would not be in the wellbeing of the Hokage or the Fire Daimyo?" Tsunade asked, growing desperate.

At this one, Sai paused for a second.

"Are you referring to the coup he has us practicing?"

That got everyone's attention. Danzo grit his teeth.

"Yes, please elaborate on that." Tsunade said, a hint of excitement in her voice. She had him now.

"One of many drills that Danzo had us perform was a mock infiltration of both the Hokage Tower and the Fire Daimyo's palace. We practiced primarily during night conditions and the R.O.E.s would always have civilians in the facility be declared hostile. This was a contingency in case the Hokage or the Fire Daimyo were ever deemed unfit to continue ruling. Over the last few months, these drills had been practiced with more and more frequency."

"And why is that?" Tsunade asked.

"I have no idea. Danzo did not share his ultimate plans with anyone. We all solely followed his instructions. There was no other chain of command except for instructors to train the newest recruits."

It wasn't much, but Tsunade had to accept it as it was.

"Did Root have anything to do with the bombings a few nights ago?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. Danzo had us plant bombs throughout the civilian centers of the village, while disguising the cause of the explosions as being carried out by Rock ninjas. In reality they were captured Rock ninjas we had brainwashed using Yamanaka mind controlling techniques and interrogation genjutsu. I myself was sent to the house of Gohan Son and Videl Satan in order to plant paper bombs in their home while they slept in order to scare them into ceasing their vendetta against Danzo and Root."

"So, that means Danzo has lied to the court, stating that Root had nothing to do with the bombings and that it was only Rock ninja's. Is that correct?"

"Precisely."

Now the Daimyo was furious. He had been lied to by Danzo the whole time and was now suspicious of him overthrowing his rule for whatever agenda he had planned.

"One final question. What made you step forward to help us convict Danzo? Surely after spending your entire life being trained and essentially raised by him would come with a sense of loyalty towards him." Tsunade asked, she needed to get all her ducks in a row.

"I should have Gohan Son to thank for that." Sai started.

"Well, that is not entirely true. I was first intrigued by the regular ninja forces when I heard Naruto's speech about his Brotherhood with Sasuke Uchiha. It wasn't until I spoke with Gohan Son that I figured out why."

"Please explain." Tsunade pressed.

Once again Sai paused, as this story came with an extremely painful memory.

"One thing Danzo values most in his soldiers is the emotionless ninja. Those who will not think, nor feel, for there is only the mission. To achieve this, we are trained from a very young age, and we only complete our training once we have successfully killed our emotions. I myself do not remember what it is like to feel happy or sad or any other emotion you care to name." He said, smiling to the audience.

Now the other ninja's understood why Sai was how he is and they genuinely felt bad for him. Each of them looking on with sympathy or shifting uncomfortably in their chairs.

"How did Danzo train you to kill your emotions?" Tsunade asked.

"...During our training, each of us cadets were paired up with another to serve as each other's brother and to learn the value of teamwork."

"We trained together, shared the same single serving of food, huddled together during the cold nights out in field so that we would not freeze to death, and we would fight together. Usually against much more experienced Root agents."

"My partner's name was Shin and through Naruto and Gohan I remembered that he was like a brother to me." Sai said as he looked to both the whiskered ninja and the half saiyan.

"And what having a brother meant."

"Sai, what happened to Shin?" Tsunade asked.

"For our final exam, one partner would have to kill the other in order to graduate. Obviously I was the one to graduate."

Everyone either gasped or hitched their breath when Sai revealed that.

Sai could only give what he thought was an appropriate smile in this situation.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Sai..." Tsunade said sadly.

"It is fine. These things happen." He said nonchalantly, not knowing how he was supposed to be reacting.

"No they don't young man." Kakashi said. "No one should be made to kill their own brother."

"I have no further questions, your honor." Tsunade said finally.

"And I have heard enough. Will the Defendant please rise?"

Danzo stood with an emotionless expression on his face, but in reality, he knew he was thoroughly screwed.

"Due to the recent evidence provided by one of your own, you are hereby charged with attempted murder and treason, punishable by death. As such, I sentence you to immediate execution." The Daimyo said sternly.

"As for the Leaf ninja's, all charges are hereby dropped."

The crowd of young ninjas all whooped for joy. Teammates and lovers hugged one another to learn that they were free.

"ANBU!" The Daimyo ordered. almost immediately, 8 ANBU agents appeared. "Remove the collar seals from the Leaf ninja's and take Danzo into custody."

Before the ANBU could complete their task though, Danzo held up his hand to signal them to stop.

"Root." He called. "Kill the Fire Daimyo." Danzo ordered.

Instantly the 8 ANBU agents launched themselves towards the Fire Daimyo.

Gohan and Videl immediately got in between the Daimyo and the Root agents and flashed into Super Saiyan.

"You'll have to go through us." Gohan growled.

One of the Root agents then opened their flak jacket to reveal their chest covered entirely with paper bombs.

"FOR THE LEAF!" He cried as the bombs all detonated with a deafening boom. Splattering himself against the wall.

Gohan took the brunt of the blast as Videl protected the Daimyo by shielding him with her body.

"That tickled..." Gohan smirked.

The 7 other Root agents then circled around Videl brandishing short words aimed directly at the Daimyo.

"Oh like Hell. HAAA!" Videl shouted, flaring up her Ki to produce a shockwave that blew back the agents.

"Are you okay?" Videl asked the Daimyo.

Unfortunately, it also knocked the Daimyo against the wall.

"My Lord!" One aid cried as he tried to assist the fallen Daimyo. Only for him to be struck down in the back by a recovered Root ANBU's blade.

"Fireball jutsu!" Another agent shouted as he shot a massive fireball at the Daimyo, desperate to kill him.

The fireball was intercepted by an ink bird that took the blunt of the blast while Sai leapt forward to engage another agent in hand to hand combat.

"Traitor!" The agent shouted as he attacked Sai with a baton. Sai countered with his own short sword. Exchanging parries, faints, and other blows.

"What are you all waiting for?! GET IN THERE!" Tsunade ordered to the rest of her ninja's

Without being told twice, all of the formally accused ninja's and their friends and family rushed in to protect the Daimyo while Gohan went for Danzo.

"You can make it real easy on yourself and stop this now." Gohan said seriously.

"I believe I was the one who offered you a way out first." Danzo replied.

"You fail to realize... The Leaf ninja's you think so lowly of are leagues above your agents. One way or another, you are dying this day."

"I won't be the only one." Danzo said as he untied the bandages surrounding his right eye.

Curious, Gohan looked closely at what Danzo was doing until he saw that flash of red light he had only ever seen from Kakashi.

 _'Shit, not again.'_ Gohan cursed as he desperately looked away.

Gohan froze on the spot, he found himself back home right outside his parent's house.

 _'What the... No... It's a genjutsu.'_ Gohan thought to himself.

"Goooooohaaaan!" Came a beautiful voice that was music to his ears.

Gohan turned around to see none other than Videl, looking older but more beautiful than he had ever seen her. She was wearing an apron and setting up the table for an outdoor feast, or what the two of them might refer to as a snack.

 _'... Okay, I know this is a genjutsu, but damn... She still looks just as beautiful as the day I met her.'_

"Hey, Earth to Gohan! What did you lose your hearing on me?" She teased, face scrunched up in that cute little way that it does.

 _'...Fuck it.'_ "Nothing, just admiring how beautiful you are."

Videl giggled. "Well save it mister. All our friends are coming over later and I don't need to be distracted by you getting some." She teased.

"Videl, could you help me carry out this pork roast?!" Another voice called from inside the house.

"Coming Chichi!" Videl responded.

 _'...What...?'_

Videl retreated back into the house and returned momentarily with a pot you could bath a child in. Followed by Gohan's mother who was carrying all the eating utensils.

"Oh Gohan, glad to see you decided to giving your training a break and come help us. I swear Videl, you're lucky I whipped Gohan into shape like I did. Not like how his father is." Chichi lectured.

"I had a helping hand in that too, you know." Videl said sweetly.

"Where is Goku, Goten, and the kids though?" Chichi asked. "I don't care how far along they are with training; I won't have them be skipping any meals."

"I sense they are off in the mountains. I just wish Bardock wouldn't encourage Goku to train so much." Videl said.

"Hey hey! We made it!" Came another loud and obnoxious voice.

Gohan turned around to see it was none other than Naruto and Sakura. Both looking considerably older, but without a care in the world. Atop Naruto's head was the Hokage hat and in Sakura's arms was a squirming little something wrapped in a blanket.

 _'They actually did it... I'll be damned.'_

"Naruto! Sakura! I'm so glad you could make it!" Videl cried as she ran up to embrace the two of them.

"Easy, Videl... My back ain't what it used to be." Naruto laughed.

"Probably from all that time spent sitting in that darn Hokage chair." Videl teased.

"Oh come on now, I get enough loving lectures from Sakura-chan about it, thank you very much." He half-heartedly whined.

"Yea yea. So how's the little man?" Videl asked sweetly as she leaned over to peer down at the little ball of sunshine.

"He's getting so big!" Sakura gushed as she unwrapped the bundle to reveal a blond haired baby boy.

"Gine and Amari are getting big too." Videl said as she held out a finger for Sakura's baby to grab, which he did.

"Wouldn't it be amazing if Gine or Amari married little Shinachiku?" Naruto joked.

"They're just babies, Naruto." Sakura scolded.

"I know, I was joking." He teased.

 _'Gine and Amari?'_ Gohan thought to himself, then he heard crying coming from the house.

"Oh darn..." Videl said. "I'll be right back, they're probably hungry."

"Need some help?" Sakura asked.

"I'd love it." Videl said. Sakura nodded and handed her son back over to his father. Naruto graciously accepted the burden and bounced a little to get his son's head positioned in the crook of his elbow as both women made their way to the house. Leaving only the men alone with Little Shika.

"Sigh…life's good huh?" Naruto asked Gohan as he rocked Shika back and forth to keep him calm. The little boy drooled a little as the rocking motions made him sleepy. Soon his eyes became heavy and he started drifting off to sleep. Gohan just watched this and started to think that his nephew had the right idea.

"Huh, what?" Gohan asked while feeling a little drowsy. "Yeah…yeah, life's good."

Naruto smiled at his friend's response. "Don't you just wish that these days could never end?

Gohan yawned. What had he been doing today that made him so tired. "Yup. That would be great. Perfect even…" Gohan sighed.

Naruto tilted his head to get a good look at his old friend. "You alright there, brother? You seem kinda zonked out."

The half-saiyan just shook his head. "I don't know; I just feel tired all of a sudden…" He admitted.

Naruto chuckled as his own son fell asleep in his arms. "Yeah, I can tell. Maybe you ought to lie down for a bit. You don't want to be sleeping through your own birthday party." Naruto suggested.

Gohan yawned again before spotting his recliner in the living room of his house. It looked so darn warm and comfy right now. Maybe he should take Naruto's advice… Just a quick nap… And he could go to sleep…

 _'...No... This has to stop... I'm getting distracted.'_ Gohan said to himself.

Making a hand sign and shouting a certain phrase, Gohan dispelled the genjutsu.

"You'll pay for that..." Gohan growled.

"I'll pay for what?" Videl asked.

Gohan blinked and then looked around. The courtroom was now silent; all the Root agents had been defeated, but Danzo was nowhere to be seen.

"Not you... Danzo put me in a genjutsu." Gohan said as he realized what had happened.

"Shit, that must have been when he escaped. I think he had you trapped for 15 minutes." Videl stated.

"What? Damn him..." Gohan growled as he searched for his energy signature. It wasn't long before he felt it, but surprisingly underground. "Found him..."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Videl asked.

"No. The genjutsu he used on me was...surprisingly pleasant." Gohan said.

"It was probably that way to keep you preoccupied with it for as long as possible. Allowing Danzo time to escape." Tsunade suggested.

"Agreed. I found his energy signature so let's go take him down."

"Daddy's Boy, wait!" Sai exclaimed.

"Stop calling me that Sai." Gohan demanded.

"Danzo is expecting you to come charging head first at him." Sai replied ignoring Gohan. "Even if you assault his base with your full power, it will just buy to time for him to slip away."

"He's right Gohan, if we're going to end this now, we need to play it smart." Jirayia spoke up.

"I know that. Did you really think I was going to pull a Naruto and go in there halfcocked?"

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

"Zip it Naruto. Gohan's right on the money there." Videl said.

"Well then what was your plan? To cut off Danzo in all of his escape routes? Because he has more than one." Kakashi informed him.

"With all of us here, that would be the better option. Videl's and Naruto's shadow clones can help with that."

"What the Hell did I waste my time teaching you all those lessons about delegation? You're not sidelining us on this Gohan." Asuma spoke up.

"Yeah, Danzo was a thorn in our side way before you two came along, Gohan." Kurenai said.

"We've got more than enough men here to block off all their exits." Tsunade said.

"No you don't." Sai said.

"How so?" Jirayia asked.

"The facility is directly connected to all of the villages sewer system. There are too many exits for all of us to cover at one time. a lot of them also go outside of the village. Gohan has the right idea in using Videl's and Naruto's shadow clones."

"Fine. Show us where the main exits would be if he needed to do a major and immediate evacuation. We'll send squads to cover those while Videl and Naruto send their clones to cover the rest." Tsunade said before shouting for Kakashi and Gai.

"Go round up the rest of the Jounin and Chunin. Myself and Sai will direct them to where the shadow clones need to be relieved. Everyone else, let's go!"

All at once, everyone flooded out of the door, Naruto and Videl taking to the sky to use their shadow clones.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" They both shouted as they created 100 clones each. _'Clones ready.'_ Videl informed mentally.

 _'Stand by until we get to the main entrance.'_ Tsunade ordered.

 _'Understood.'_ Naruto and Videl said.

 _'Sakura! What is Shizune's status?'_ Tsunade demanded.

 _'She's stable. We managed to get a tube down her throat. The bloating hasn't receded, but she won't suffocate.'_ Sakura reported.

 _'Perfect. Put her in priority care and come to me. We're assaulting the Root base and we need every Super Saiyan we can muster.'_

 _'I'm not a Saiyan, I can only pull of their transformation because I have Videl's Ki stored in my Hundred Hands Seal.'_

 _'Whatever, can you still transform?'_

 _'For maybe five minutes before I run out for good.'_

 _'Great. Keep it as a trump card. Can never have too many.'_ Tsunade thought.

* * *

Meanwhile inside the main chamber of Root headquarters.

"And as the bulk of our forces are relocating, the rest of you will begin a terrorist bombing campaign within the city. Tsunade and those damned Saiyans wish to drive us out, but the Root shall not go quietly." Danzo snarled in front of his subordinates, who all stood emotionlessly at attention before him.

"When the Root leaves, the Leaf village will find themselves with nothing left to support them." He stated darkly, sending a shiver up the spines of his men had they still the ability to feel emotions.

That's when the tunnels leading out of their main chamber exploded and nearly one and a half dozen shinobi poured into the main hall, surrounding the 30 plus Root agents stationed there before they could do anything.

They were all rocked out of their gathering when Tsunade showed up, all with a bunch of pissed off Leaf shinobi.

"You aren't going anywhere you prick." Sakura hissed.

"You and your root are all under arrest. Drop your arms and surrender now if you value your lives." Tsunade demanded.

"DAMN YOU ALL! CAN YOU NOT SEE WHAT I DO FOR THIS VILLAGE?! WHAT I HAVE SACRIFICED?! NO, BECAUSE YOU ALL GREW UP UNDER THE LIE OF RELATIVE PEACE! YOU DO NOT KNOW OF THE HORROR OF MAN THAT STIRS JUST BELOW THE SURFACE, YET I DO! BUT INSTEAD OF THANKING ME FOR KEEPING IT AT BAY, YOU CONDEMN ME AS ONE OF THOSE EVIL MEN!" Danzo shouted, his anger boiling through to the surface.

"Because you are." Gohan said back. "I have met your kind before, believing you are justified in your ways, when in truth, people want nothing to do with your ideals or way of life. So, to get what you want, you lie and kill your way to power just to rule with an iron fist."

Danzo looked at Gohan and his eyes reignited with pure hate.

"You...saiyan, I especially hate your kind. You think you know me? Well I know of you too. You, who have always known power. Who thrives in it. Who, by divine blessing was born strong and destined for greatness. You see your power and think yourself a champion of the weak, yet you do not even consider us who must scrap and claw for our every accomplishment. Your kind always claim they do not wish to rule the world, but it is only because you already own it." Danzo spat.

"And that is where you're wrong again." Gohan corrected. "The Saiyan race as a whole are ruthless conquerors who care not for the life that resides on other worlds. My ancestors lived to fight and spill the blood of the innocent, and they paid their dues by being destroyed by a tyrannical ruler of an entire galaxy. My father and I, however, have vowed to protect the innocent and weak that cannot protect themselves, you are neither innocent or weak. you are a fool with a twisted agenda." Gohan ranted.

"You claim to know my race well, but you in fact know nothing about us. Videl and I are merely half Saiyan's and we have shown true kindness time and again to the lower class citizens of this world and will continue to do so until we draw our last breath. You support them by putting fear and false hope in their eyes. We support them by providing them with food, clothing and shelter as well as real hope and peace. That is what the world needs and it WILL come to pass without you in it." Gohan finished.

"DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU THAT I DON'T GIVE A FUCK FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY BACKSTORY!?" Danzo shouted before slamming his palm down onto the concrete floor. Instantly, an enormous and crazed elephant burst into existence. The massive beast let loose a deafening roar.

"ROOT, KILL THEM ALL!" Danzo ordered.

"Masenko-HA!" Gohan shouted as he unleashed a powerful beam, disabling the root members and taking out the elephant.

"That is the difference between us, Danzo. I have all of this power because I work my way up from nothing to achieve it, and I did it with the help of friends and helping others along the way. I have peace and kindness in my heart, where as you have rage and pure malice in yours. You will bring this world to extinction through your actions if you do not change your ways."

"Izanagi!" Danzo shouted. The room was quickly blinded by a flash and just like that, the elephant summon and all of Danzo's men were back in their original positions as if Gohan's attack had never happened.

The Root ninjas and the elephant then charged.

"What the hell?" Gohan exclaimed as all his friends began clashing with Root ninjas.

"How did he do that?" Gohan asked out loud as he took on the elephant.

 _'Videl, Naruto, send in the clones!'_ Tsunade ordered.

 _'On it!'_ They both shouted mentally.

Gohan dodged the elephant's massive swinging trunk and managed to land a Ki blast directly into its eye. The beast roared in pain and began stomping around the battlefield, disrupting the dozens of other fights that were taking place beneath its feet.

To get the Elephant to stop, Gohan sent a chop to its neck, hitting a pressure point. the hulking elephant fell to the floor, unconscious.

"LOOK OUT!" Someone shouted as the elephant's massive body crushed everyone unlucky enough to be beneath it at the time.

Gohan however had no time to assess who that was as he witnessed Danzo trying to make a break for it.

"I don't think so!" Gohan shouted as he quickly gave chase, using his insane speed to cut off Danzo just before he reached the exit.

Danzo slashed at him with a wind chakra enhanced blade but Gohan was too quick for him. He side stepped out of the way and landed a devastating punch into Danzo's sides that would have proven fatal.

However, once again a flash filled the room and Danzo appeared on scathed coming from the opposite side of where he was and in a perfect spot to intercept Gohan.

This time the blade found its mark cutting deeply across Gohan's shoulder and down his chest.

"Gah!" Gohan cried as the cut drew blood.

Then Gohan started to smirk and chuckle. "You fight like a little girl, Danzo. Freeza has done worse than that to me." Gohan taunted as he delivered a blow to Danzo's abdomen, doubling him over.

"It ends here, Danzo." Gohan proclaimed as he drew out his sword.

Before Gohan could land a finishing blow, a Root agent attacked him from behind.

"Master, please flee!" The ninja cried. Gohan immediately countered the sword slash.

Gohan followed up with a Ki blast, incinerating the root agent. Before Danzo could recompose himself, Gohan fired another Ki blast, sealing off the man's exit.

 _'Sakura, keep those agents off me while I deal with Danzo.'_ Gohan asked.

 _'On it.'_ Sakura thought. The next thing Gohan knew, he could hear a dozen Root agents being attacked by what sounded like a pint sized runaway train.

"It's not too late for you to change, Danzo. Repent for your sins and I will see to it that your punishment isn't as severe." Gohan offered.

"Blegh!" Danzo vomited a stream of blood as the punch had ruptured his liver. Unknown to Gohan, his attack to Danzo's abdomen dealt a great deal of damage, causing many internal injuries.

 _'I think I overdid it a little...'_ Gohan thought sadly as he looked upon the pitiful old man coughing up blood.

"Damn you...Izanagi!" Danzo cried, hoping to undo the damage that had been inflicted upon him.

"Blegh!" He vomited again, too much time had passed, he could no longer undo what Gohan had done.

"You're crippled, Danzo. Despite all you have done, I still do not wish to kill you. This is your last chance of accepting my offer."

"(Huff huff) fuck you..." Danzo spat.

"Izanagi!" He cried again and again he vomited the same pile of blood.

Weakened, Danzo then tried to lunge at Gohan and get one last attack in.

"You fool." Gohan said as he rammed his blade through Danzo's chest. The Root leader stopped dead in his tracks as the cold metal of the broad sword slipped through his ribs.

"You had the opportunity to accept my offer. Now you will die. Say hi to Cell and Freeza for me..." Gohan said sadly as he pulled his blade out and let Danzo drop to the floor.

"Izanagi!" Danzo cried and once again he reappeared unharmed as he had been before Gohan had struck him and came at him from a different angle.

"I can keep this up all day." Gohan said as he phased out and dodged Danzo's attack. Then, in complete succession, Gohan landed 20 blows on Danzo faster than a blink of an eye.

The man crumpled to the floor, completely crippled and unable to move. He was done this time. But to make sure, Gohan moved to make one final blow.

"You really are a pitiful man, Danzo. Pray that the afterlife will show you the mercy I tried to show you." Gohan said as he raised his blade.

"Iz...Izanagi..." He sputtered, unleashing another flash, but this time instead of attacking Gohan, he fell to the floor a few feet away from where Gohan was standing, his limbs no longer having the strength to support him.

"Gah-Ha!" He cried as the old pain from a few moments ago flushed over his entire body anew.

"Are you done?" Gohan asked, now sick of this game.

Danzo responded by vomiting more of his own blood, now staining his shirt.

"N...nev...er..." He gasped. He reached out his one remaining arm and Gohan finally saw his other arm which had been hidden to him. His limb implanted with at least 10 Sharingan along its length. Of those Sharingan, six had permanently been blinded while the remaining four darted around, looking at everything and everyone.

 _'Gross...'_ Gohan thought.

"I... cannot...die..." Danzo gasped.

"You are dying, whether you realize it or not." Gohan pointed out.

"...I must...protect...the village..." He continued, struggling to find the strength to stand.

"Hiruzen...Master...Father...I will not...not fail you..." He gasped, his eyes glazed upward at the dark barren ceiling.

"I will protect the village, from scum like you. I'm ending this." Gohan put his index and middle fingers to his forehead and began charging Ki into that one point. "My sensei taught me this technique. No matter what you could possibly pull out of your ass now, you will not survive."

"P-please...wait..." Danzo said as he beckoned Gohan to come closer.

"No... I will not be played for a fool by you."

"Please...protect...the village..." Danzo sputtered.

The man breathed one final gasp, and was silent...

Gohan lowered his hand and dispelled his attack.

All around him the sounds of battle began to die down. The Root agents had been routed with seemingly no fatal casualties on Gohan's side.

"MASTER!" A voice cried out.

Gohan turned to look at one Root agent who had been pinned to the floor by Ino. She was on his back and had him in a tight hold, but that didn't stop him from thrashing about, trying to run to the side of his deceased master.

Gohan continued to look around and saw Shino being freed from beneath the unconscious elephant by Kiba and Hinata.

Over with Asuma and his trio of chunin, they had just finished rounding up their dozen insurgents.

Gai and his students were busy removing a slab of concrete that had fallen on Tenten's leg.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were seen over by the far corner, having teamed up with Sai of all people for a majority of the battle.

"Danzo is dead..." Gohan started. "Before he died, he left me with one last request. He asked for me to protect the village... I intend to do just that and more. Danzo was blinded by saving what the village used to stand for that he couldn't see that everything was moving towards the future. That being said, I will protect the village, but I won't do it alone." Gohan said as he looked upon the faces of his friends and the crying root agents. "We all will protect the village from anyone or anything that would wish to see it fall."

Gohan's comrades all turned to look at him. Many with smiles upon their faces.

"Well no duh!" Naruto agreed.

"We will propel the Leaf village further into the future, together... Not as comrades, but as friends." Gohan paused to look at the other Leaf ninja's. "-And as family." Gohan finished as he looked upon Videl, Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi and Tsunade. "If we stick together, there is nothing we can't do."

Then Gohan looked upon the Root agents. "Will you help us? Together, we can bring a new age of peace for everyone."

The remaining agents didn't speak a word. They merely observed Gohan as they would anyone else who would kill their leader and demand their loyalty.

"Ah, Gohan. I'd hold off on asking them to join you just yet. We literally just destroyed their organization." Jirayia spoke up from where he stood next to Tsunade.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Jiraiya." Gohan replied.

"But not everyone wants it." He countered sadly, as if speaking from past experience.

Gohan nodded in agreement.

The Root agents kept their silence as more Leaf ninjas flooded into the base. One by one they were hauled off to the village prison. Each of them bowing their heads towards Danzo's corpse where he lay.

"You did a fantastic job today, Gohan." Tsunade praised.

"Thank you, Tsunade." Gohan replied, his voice listless and soft.

"Somehow though, this doesn't feel like a victory." The warrior sadly admitted.

The saiyan looked around at the destroyed remnants of Root HQ. The body of Danzo having been taken to the morgue for his autopsy. Everything was quiet save for the Shinobi who had remained behind to help scour the base from top to bottom. They had already found scrolls of state secrets, medical experiments, and jail cells full of orphans waiting to be indoctrinated. It all seemed so surreal.

"Believe it or not, be it bitter sweet, it is a victory." Tsunade assured.

Her words didn't seem to take heed with Gohan, so she tried a different approach.

"Say what you will about Danzo. He was a devoted man, through and through." Tsunade said.

"Forgive me if I'm going too far with his request."

"Don't be. Just commit this place to memory, Gohan. This is what comes of a fanatic: a man who redoubles his efforts while losing sight of his goals." Tsunade stated.

"You know, there is a saying in our world. 'Insanity is defined as a person doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.' In some ways, Danzo was like that I feel."

"A fanatic, or an insane person. I guess there is no middle ground." Tsunade said as she left to attend to other matters. Leaving Gohan alone with his thoughts.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Holy shit you guys. Today marks the one-year anniversary of when cmartin and I posted the first chapter of our first joint fanfiction. A lot has happened since then; heartbreak, tragedy, triumph, and happiness. Moreover, I never thought that we'd reach this milestone. In my experience online friends can be so fleeting, but me and Chris have stuck together all these months. It's been a wild ride and I have no intention of getting off anytime soon. Writing fanfictions with cmartin has become the hobby I have always dreamed of. I gotta thank my buddy Chris from the bottom of my heart for this privilege.**

 **As for the rest of you, to our fans, who have stuck with us since the beginning, joined us along the way, or left to pursue greener pastures; you guys help make this journey worth wild. The reviews that praise and the harsh critiques we get push me and cmartin to keep writing. And watching the favorites and follows counter tick up as the days go by puts a smile on my face even during some of my roughest times. Our stories have inspired people, and as a guy trying to become an animator for cartoons, that is the best feeling I can possibly experience in my chosen career.**

 **I love you all and I hope to keep sharing this journey with you as we work towards our two-year anniversary and beyond.**

 **Believe it.**


	32. Chapter 32: Tying up Loose Ends

A whole day later, the recently freed Shinobi were at Asuma's BBQ place to celebrate their freedom, including their sensei's and Tsunade.

"To the boys!" Ino declared.

"To the boys!" Everyone clinked their glasses together in toast to the six young men of the Konoha 11 returning from Hell and then Jail.

"You lot did a really good job." Tsunade said happily. "Despite the fact you left the village without permission."

"What are you talking about, Granny? You sent us to find out dirt on Danzo. Which we did." Naruto laughed at his own brilliant deception.

"Yea yea...but don't go thinking you won't be receiving some form of punishment for this." Tsunade said sweetly.

The boys all paused mid-sip.

"Oh, come on, Lady Tsunade. Haven't they been through enough?" Gohan came to his friend's defense.

"I didn't say right now." She said before giving them a glare that always made them cower in fear. "But soon..."

The boys all gulped and Shino was secretly glad that he didn't go with them.

"Oh...lay off them for a bit. They saved Sasuke's soul and proven themselves to be true heroes" Ino waved off. "Besides, Choji's gotta take me on a date still."

Choji perked up after hearing that.

"For reals, Ino? You aren't rejecting me?" He asked, in desperate need of proof that this wasn't a dream.

"Nope. Not at all." Ino smiled.

"Choji, I told you that when we were in Hell." Sakura reminded him.

"I know. But I had to hear it from her." Choji stated.

"You still don't believe me?" Ino asked innocently.

"Um...well..." Choji stammered.

Ino giggled before planting a kiss on his chubby cheek. "How about now?"

"Well...that was more of a sisterly kiss." Choji said with a blush. Trying to bait a more intimate kiss.

Ino giggles and pats his cheek.

"Take me on a nice enough date and I'll think about giving you a nicer kiss." Ino teased.

Choji beamed with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen, it was enough to rival Naruto's. "How about Ishimura's?"

Ino gasped. "Choji! Not there, that's super expensive!"

"So, what? My family owns the place." Choji shrugged.

"Oh...well, in that case, sure." Ino said.

"And besides, you're worth it." Choji added.

Ino blushed, but smiled. "Choji..."

 _'You gonna make a move?'_ Videl asked Lee and Kiba.

 _'Yosh! I'm going to!'_ Lee declared with his usual enthusiastic self. While Kiba remained silent.

 _'Kiba?'_ Videl asked again.

Kiba just ignored her and dug back into his steak bits.

"Tenten." Lee spoke up.

"What's up?" Tenten asked.

"I wanted to ask you out on a date! Perhaps to see the movie Feet of Fury!" Lee exclaimed loudly.

Tenten gasped. She had a feeling this was going to happen and she thought she had prepared herself for it.

Apparently not enough.

Despite preparing for it, she was still caught off guard. She had been torn between him or Neji. But...she soon learned that her feelings for Lee were definitely stronger than her feelings for Neji.

So... she smiled warmly. "I'd love to."

"Well I'm happy to see that things are finally coming to a happy ending." Videl smiled.

"Not quite." Gohan said suddenly.

Videl turned to Gohan. "What are you talking about?"

Gohan then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box. Something that the other girls recognized immediately, but because of Videl having pregnancy brain, she didn't quite get it.

"What's that?" She asked.

Gohan stood up out of his chair, took her hand into his and got down on one knee.

Now Videl knew what he was doing.

"Videl Satan...I know that I've only known you for half a year and we have been together only a few months. But for the life of me I can't remember how I got through life without you." Gohan said as he opened the box.

In it was a beautiful sapphire surrounded by blue diamonds adorned atop of a golden band. Just seeing the ring made Videl hitch her breath as tears of joy flowed down her face.

"We've had rough moments and awesome ones as well. You give me strength when I feel weak. You give me clarity when I feel clouded. You keep me calm when I get enraged. Now...I want to return the favor." He said before taking out the ring. "Will you marry me?"

Videl smiled through her tears. "Yes...yes of course I will you big oaf!" She cried before latching onto him for all she was worth.

The private party erupted in cheers, filling the restaurant with jovial applause.

"This is great!" Tsunade cheered. "I love weddings!"

"Maid of honor!" Sakura called out.

"Best man!" Naruto called out.

"Ass! I wanted that!"

"Bitch! I wanted that!" Ino and Kiba protested.

"You already got to be Sakura's Maid of Honor." Videl pointed out.

"When did I agree to that?" Sakura teased.

"Approximately 9 years ago when I spilled lemonade on my new skirt so that the whole class would think that we both peed our pants." Ino stated.

"INO!" Sakura yelled in embarrassment. "WE PROMISED NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT!"

"I TOOK A KUNAI FOR YOU THAT DAY! YOU OWE ME!" Ino shouted back.

"I was just joking, Pig! But that was too far!"

"As was I." Ino laughed as she took another sip of her lemonade.

"Wait...when did that happen?" Kiba asked.

"You were out sick that day." Shikamaru waved off.

"Huh, good thing too. I probably would have smelled the difference." Kiba said without thinking.

 **SMACK**

 **SMACK**

Ino and Sakura walloped him upside the head, making the dog trainer fall backwards on the floor.

"I wouldn't have said anything! What you did was pretty cool!" Kiba shouted in defense.

"How did that happen?" Videl asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Sakura said.

"Fair enough..." Videl shrugged.

The mood in the room dipped for a moment before Tsunade remembered something vital.

"Getting back to a lighter topic, I believe I said that I would pay for your wedding if you helped out with that Akatsuki mission." Tsunade stated.

Videl gasped as he remembered that conversation that took place almost a month ago. "You...really don't have to do that M'Lady..."

Tsunade held up her hand. "I won't take no for an answer, Mrs. Son." She smirked. "I said I would take care of it as a reward for you two for taking out those Akatsuki members. You killed both of them, plus Orochimaru. Gohan helped us take down Danzo and ended him. All of this within a span of just a couple of months. You two have proven time and again to be heroes of our world and you deserve to have a worry-free wedding."

"Hey what about us?" Naruto complained. "We saved Gaara and Sakura took down that Akatsuki member."

"You're like my grandkids so I was already going to pay for your wedding." Tsunade waved off.

"I helped take down those two Akatsuki members. Does that mean that you'll pay for my wedding?" Ino teased.

"That's not what Asuma's report read. You were basically there watching while Videl ripped them apart." Tsunade teased back.

"Literally...that immortal guy was torn limb from limb Videl was so pissed." Gohan shuddered at that memory.

"Yea, I even ripped his junk off with my bare hands..." Videl grinned evilly, making the other guys cringe in imagined pain.

"So there you have it ladies. I'll trade one wedding for one Akatsuki member's dick you bring to me." Tsunade stated before taking another sip of sake.

"Why...why would you do that?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"He pissed me off by nearly killing Gohan." Videl said simply before taking a sip of her root beer.

All the men gulped. They'd have to remember to stay on her good side from now on.

"Now now, Tsunade. You're scaring the young men. They're gonna think that they never left Hell." Jiraiya chuckled as he poured Tsunade another glass.

"Well, then they'll know not to piss of their girlfriends, now won't they?" Tsunade said casually.

"Oh, like Hell. Naruto still needs his for...umm...I mean..." Sakura stammered as she caught herself a little too late.

"I think he's already fulfilled that." Videl snickered, before being clobbered on the head by Sakura.

"ZIP IT!" Sakura growled.

"OW! The Hell was that for?!" Videl protested.

"Oh, that's right. Little Naruto here finally man-ed up and popped Sakura's cherry." Tsunade said, starting to feel a little tipsy. This lunch being her one chance to drink freely during the day and with the paperwork she was dealing with back at work, she was going to drink damn it.

"Oh maaan... Lady Tsunade, please don't..." Sakura groaned.

"Oh, come on, Sa-ku-ra..." Tsunade slurred. "We all wanna know. The girls are gonna pry it out of you eventually, and no doubt Naruto is gonna brag to his friends about it. If he hasn't already."

"Oh, she already told us." Ino smirked.

"Well I didn't hear. And I wanna know how my granddaughter got ploughed. I betcha that brat didn't even know what he was doing and my apprentice had to do all the work..." Tsunade laughed.

Sakura's eye twitched. "Like hell! He rocked my world like you couldn't even imagine in your wildest dreams!" She exclaimed without thinking.

Everyone went silent. Sakura looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at her with mixed reactions. Ranging from horrified to delighted.

 _'Freaking typical.'_ Inner thought.

"You really need to keep a lid on that anger of yours..." Videl whispered to Sakura as Naruto was trying to hide his embarrassment.

 _'Seriously? You gonna have an outburst every time someone mocks our hubby?'_ Inner asked.

All Sakura wanted to do was just fade into oblivion. Her face was so flushed that it created a shade of red that made her shirt look pale in comparison.

"God please kill me..." She groaned.

"Nope, you're at my mercy now!" Tsunade laughed before falling over in her seat onto Jiraiya.

"Okay, I think someone needs to get cut off." Jiraiya stated.

"I thought she could hold more than what she put in." Videl mused.

"Please...she's gotten to the point where I can drink her under the table." Sakura scoffed.

"Lets... not find out." Gohan said.

"She's been sneaking drinks all morning. Unraveling the web of Root isn't an easy task." Jiraiya defended his teammate.

"Fair enough." Videl shrugged.

"Why not?" Sakura asked Gohan.

"Did you forget you could be pregnant right now?" Gohan reminded her.

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Oh shit...I forgot about that..."

Then she remembered something else that was rather important. "Um...Naruto...we need to go see my parents..." She informed nervously.

Naruto looked over at Sakura with wide eyes and a piece of chicken sticking out of his lips like he was Akamaru. He quickly ate the chicken before speaking. "Okay."

"Just...be forewarned...they're not real happy with us." Sakura added.

"With me you mean. They love you to death. I'm just the boy you're dating." Naruto said.

"I was just as neglectful about the other night as you were so..."

"Then you don't mind if I hide behind you. They probably won't try to kill me if they have to go through you first." Naruto joked.

"They already read me the riot act and are making me study a book on parenting. So..." Sakura sighed before standing up. "Come on...the sooner we get this over with the better."

"Alright..." Naruto said before turning and taking a long sip of his root beer before facing Sakura's parents.

"I wanna stop by my apartment first. Gotta check to see how much of a mess it is." Naruto said before standing up.

"Alright. It's on the way." Sakura said before facing her friends. "Sorry...we gotta take care of this."

"Eh, don't worry about it, forehead." Ino waved off.

"We'll see you all later." Sakura waved at everyone before she and Naruto wade their way out of the restaurant.

* * *

After a short while of walking and being greeted by just about every person on the street, praising both Naruto and Sakura for their deeds in Hell, they rounded the corner of the street where Naruto's apartment was located, only for Sakura to gasp in horror at its current state. Naruto of course, wasn't even paying attention.

"Oh no... Naruto...your apartment..." Sakura gasped out.

"What are you- AAH, SON OF A..." Naruto exclaimed as he beheld the crumbling ruins that was once his apartment. Evidently, Danzo's first bombings had taken off the western side of Naruto's apartment complex, exposing the interior to the elements. A few tarps were thrown over the top to stop any rain from leaking in, but even from on the ground Naruto knew that his home was destroyed.

"Dammit! What am I gonna do now?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura thought something over for a moment before speaking. "Let's go to my house. I think you will like what my mom has to offer."

"Wait, there is something I need to grab." Naruto said before leaping up to his apartment and stepping right into his living room.

Sakura leapt after him to find Naruto rummaging through the debris.

"What are you looking for?" Sakura asked.

"Hold on..." Naruto said as he lifted what remained of his ceiling off his bed. He grabbed something off the ground and Sakura could hear the sound of shifting broken glass. "Ha ha! Found it." He cried as he let the piece of ceiling fall back on his bed.

"Well?" Sakura asked before Naruto held up a cracked picture frame. Upon close inspection, Sakura could see that it was their own team photo with Sasuke, from back when they were Genin.

Sakura could only Smile as she gazed upon the partially burnt picture of her Naruto and Sasuke along with their sensei in their first photo as genin. "We need to have that photo updated."

"Probably. Is Videl still a part of our team? I think I heard her being on Asuma's team now."

"That was only temporary because you guys were in Hell. She's still Team 7."

"Oh...okay. so, yea we gotta get that updated." Naruto smiled.

"I'll asked Videl and Kakashi-sensei when would be a good time for them. Anyway...is that all you need?" Sakura asked.

"That's all I've got that's worth salvaging." Naruto shrugged.

"Clothes?"

"Oh right. I guess I have those." Naruto realized.

"Well let's gather those up. You're probably going to be staying at my house from now on." Sakura said out of the blue.

Naruto looked to where his dresser should be, only to see what's left of it on the ground below with all of his clothes burned away. The only thing he had left was his orange jacket from when he was a Genin and a pair of froggy boxers. The same ones Sakura wore the last time she was here.

"Damn..." Naruto said before what Sakura said registered. "Wait...I'm gonna what now?"

"Live with me. That's what my parents want to offer you. My mother being your godmother after all." Sakura said, figuring that she might as well rip the band-aid off now.

"She's my WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock.

"Yea, that was the same reaction I had." Sakura sighed. "But, don't be too hard on her. She didn't know you were Kushina's son..."

"She knew my mom?" Naruto asked, feeling a mix of shocked and hurt.

"Well, obviously, since your mom is my godmother..." Sakura deadpanned.

"But...then why didn't she adopt me after my parents died?"

" like I said she didn't know."

"How could she not know?"

"Because... Lord Third made it law to keep your lineage a secret. So, she never knew until after I found out." Sakura sighed. "Had she had known who your parents were... She would have adopted you..."

"I see..." Naruto said listlessly. For moment, he didn't say anything or move. He just stood there, deep in thought.

"Naruto please don't be hard on her she really didn't know. And please don't be mad. She wants to make it all up to you." Sakura pleaded.

"Right..." Naruto sighed. "Sakura...could we go to Ichiraku's first? I don't feel ready to meet your parents yet."

Sakura sighed sadly. "Okay..."

"Thank you..." Naruto sighed sadly. His mind swimming with possibilities.

* * *

Several blocks away, the rest of the party was starting to break up. Team Gai wanted to get back to training immediately, Team Asuma wanted to head back home and deal with their "clan nonsense," as Ino put it, and Team Kurenai was dismissed for the day by their sensei.

"Well this blows. Kurenai-sensei doesn't want to train and we can't do missions without her." Kiba whined.

"Woof." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Kurenai-sensei has been acting rather off these past couple of months." Hinata spoke up. "Almost like she is sick..."

"Bah, then she should just see a doctor already. Seriously, it's just irresponsible." Kiba whined.

"It's just as well. I had previous engagements anyway." Shino spoke.

"What, your father need help with some more clan business?" Kiba asked, knowing how often Shino was called away on Aburame business.

"No, I simply have a date." Shino said.

Hinata gasped at first, but then smiled. "That's wonderful, Shino."

"Dang man, when did you get a girl?" Kiba asked, impressed.

"Two, actually." Shino corrected.

"Wait a minute...two?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"Yes, Sugo and Airi. Both of them civilians who were impressed by the display you six put on the Descry Sphere." Shino explained. "They have an interest in physically strong shinobi, but were disappointed when it became evident that you all had interest in other girls. Fortunately, I was there and had undergone the Gravity Training as well." Shino stated and the two teammates could have sworn they saw him smirking.

All Kiba and Hinata could do was blink in astonishment.

"Wow...uh...that's...that's great, Shino." Hinata stammered.

"Yes, it is. I don't believe I have thanked you for that yet, Kiba." Shino said.

"Wait, thank me? What for?" Kiba asked.

"Stripping during your run along Snake Way. You six really got the local girls going." Shino stated bluntly. Kiba blushed and cleared his throat while Hinata turned beet red. Their conversation was interrupted by the cries of joy from two civilian girls walking towards them down the road.

"Shino-kun!" They both smiled. Both were very pretty and fit for civilian girls.

'Wow...way to score Shino...' Kiba thought, impressed.

"Hello Sugo, Airi." Shino delightfully greeted as the girls quickly wrapped themselves around Shino's arms.

"Well...we'll, uh...leave you then. Have fun man." Kiba said.

"No need. We were going to walk around aimlessly anyway." Shino said.

"Shino-kun is going to tell us about the time he saved that family from that gorilla like brute." Airi added.

Hinata looked confused, but Kiba caught on quick.

"He's trying to impress them. Say nothing." Kiba whispered to Hinata.

Hinata only nodded in agreement.

"For the record. I am not making up stories. Have you two forgotten the C ranked escort mission we took 2 years ago?" Shino spoke up.

"Oh yea! I remember that." Hinata said in realization.

"Oh, that's right! Yea, you really saved our butts on that one." Kiba added.

"Did you really?" Sugo gasped.

"Oh, big time. That gorilla had us in a tight spot and thanks to Shino's skills, he was able to ward him off so we could get to safety." Kiba confirmed.

"He wasn't an actual gorilla." Hinata corrected.

"Ah, right." Kiba said.

"Yeah, we can turn it into a double date." Sugo said. "Or is it a triple date?" She muttered to herself. Instantly Hinata's cheeks turned bright red and she made a point to focus her eyes down at the ground to avoid anyone's gaze.

"Nah, no thanks. We're not dating." Kiba quickly clarified as he tried to dismiss the whole notion.

"Oh really? Does that mean you're single?" Airi smirked.

"Well yeah, but I wouldn't want to ask you out while you're on a date with my buddy Shino." Kiba laughed off.

"Oh, not me silly. My friend Kiriki is looking for a date too." Airi giggled. Hinata felt her blood start to boil for some reason. Something about these girls instantly ticked her off.

"Maybe some other time. I gotta few chores to do back home." Kiba waved off.

"Ah, too bad." Airi pouted.

"Yeah, thanks though." Kiba said as he started to lead Akamaru back on home.

"No problem. Bye Kiba!" Airi called out to him.

"See you guys!" Kiba waved back at his friends and the two girls. Hinata just stood there dumbfounded.

"We should get going. See you tomorrow for practice, Hinata." Shino said as he led his two dates away by their waists.

"Bye Hinata!" Sugo and Airi waved at the Hyuga Heir, only for her to ignore them as she contemplated Kiba walking away from them.

 _'What just happened?'_ She thought to herself.

Feeling compelled by some incomprehensible force, she took off running down the streets to catch up with Kiba.

 _'What was that? Why didn't he ask me out? He had the perfect opportunity too. He confessed like all the other guys did, but he didn't ask me out. Was he lying?'_ She thought frantically as she darted past the civilians and ninjas all out walking the streets.

"Kiba!" Hinata shouted, hoping to grab her teammate's attention. For the life of her she couldn't find him no matter how hard she ran.

 _'Did he take to the rooftops?'_ She thought. It being the most logical choice for a ninja.

Hinata focused her chakra into her eyes to activate her Byakugan. The veins around her eyes quickly bulged out and she could see for miles in any direction.

Using her Kekki Genki, it wasn't long before she spotted her dog loving teammate a few blocks away on an adjacent street from hers.

She leapt over the building and was soon landing right in front of Kiba's path.

"Whoa!" Kiba cried as Hinata abruptly landed in front of him. Even Akamaru dropped into a defensive stance in surprise.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"That's what I wanna know from you? What was that back there?" Hinata asked in a concerning tone.

"I don't know. Turns out Shino has got more game than we thought." Kiba said.

"that's not what I mean, Kiba."

"Yeah, I figured..." Kiba said sheepishly.

"Kiba...you know I heard what you said about me..." Hinata said quietly.

"Yeah, and I heard about your response to what I said." Kiba sighed.

"Please...let me finish." Hinata said to silence him. He nodded to allow her to continue. "I won't lie. I had been thinking a lot these last few weeks...for the longest time, I thought I was only meant to be with Naruto."

That made Kiba's heart sink.

"But..." She started, making Kiba perk up. "...I have been seeing that my feelings for him are...diminishing. Especially now that he and Sakura took the ultimate leap in their relationship...knowing that now, I know I could never have a chance with him, especially if Sakura is truly pregnant with his child..."

"Hinata..." Kiba interrupted. "I don't want to be a pity date. And I especially don't want you to feel obligated to date me just because I accidentally confessed in front of the whole village. You're my teammate and one of my best friends. I just want you to be happy..." Kiba stated.

"Don't misunderstand me...I'm not done." Hinata said.

Kiba shut up and nodded.

"You see...the reason why my feelings for Naruto are diminishing is...um...well...y-you..." Hinata blushed, making Kiba go wide eyed. "Genuinely, my feelings for Naruto are being overshadowed by you...by that I mean...my feelings for you...are stronger..."

Kiba just stared at her, frozen. The two of them just stood there in the middle of busy street as onlookers passed them by, whispering. Hinata and Kiba just ignores them though. So much white noise compared to what was happening between them.

"Ma...are you...serious?" He asked, not certain if he was ready to believe it, to even hope that it was true.

"I... I'm not sure..." Hinata admitted as she squirmed in place, her fingers fidgeting against one another. "B-b-but I want to try..."

"W-wha...wait...a-are you...asking me out...?" Kiba stammered in shock. He couldn't believe his ears.

Hinata turned beet red, but nodded quickly. "Y-y-yes..." She said meekly.

She looked up with shimmering eyes. "I... I really wanna give this a chance..."

"Hinata..." Kiba said softly before taking her hand into his own. "I... I would love to..." He said.

Hinata made a noise, somewhere in between a laugh and a cry as tears of joy leaked down her face. Kiba also smiled like he had just walked out of the Gravity Chamber set at a 1000 times gravity.

Without warning, Hinata leaped into Kiba's arms and held him tight.

The crowd surrounding them erupted in cheers.

Hinata and Kiba just ignored them. Right now, the most important thing in the world to them, was being held close by the one they cared for the most.

Akamaru took this opportunity to snuggle up next to their legs, enveloping them in his furry love.

"I promise you..." Kiba whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I promise you that no matter what happens between us...I will always be here for you..."

Hinata sniffed as she held Kiba tighter. "Th-thank you..."

Little did Hinata know, she was actually crushing Kiba's spine. Thanks to Videl's brutal training and Gohan's gravity chamber, she was just as strong as Sakura was before she went to Hell.

 _'So, do I tell her or die feeling Hinata's boobs pressed against my chest?'_ Kiba thought to himself.

* * *

An hour later, Sakura had finally coaxed Naruto into meeting her parents. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to, but if Sakura was going to be a mother, he had to.

He fidgeted around nervously as Sakura worked on unlocking their front door.

"Word of caution, my mom can be...intense." Sakura informed.

"Like my mom?" Naruto asked.

"Something like tha-"

 **WHAM**

Suddenly the door swung open and smacked Sakura in the head, causing her head to hit Naruto's hard.

The two grumbled as they rubbed both of their foreheads while Mebuki stepped out of her home.

"Oh my...I'm sorry, I didn't know you where there." Mebuki said

"You got a peephole in the door, ya could've just looked..." Sakura grumbled.

"Sorry, I was in a rush. You haven't come home since the trial yesterday." Mebuki lectured.

"that's because we were cleaning out the Root base." Sakura informed.

"Oh? Is that right?" Mebuki said before looking to see Naruto with Sakura. "Or maybe you were over at his house having more unprotected sex."

"No mom...we weren't. Naruto's apartment was destroyed during the bombing." Sakura informed bitterly.

Mebuki gasped at that information. "Oh, you poor thing...I had no idea..."

"that's one of the things we gotta talk about, mom. Can we come in?"

"Yes, of course. Just take your shoes off. I just waxed the floor." Mebuki said before stepping aside to let them in.

Sakura and Naruto nodded before taking their shoes off and walking inside.

Naruto was taken aback by how nice of a place it was. He honestly had no idea that such a small apartment could look so nice.

"Why don't we all talk in the kitchen." Mebuki said as she led them there where Kizashi was already sitting at the table with a stern look on his face.

"Have a seat, Naruto." Kizashi ordered. "We have some things to discuss."

Naruto nodded as he sat down.

"First off...I want to say your deeds in Hell were just amazing." Kizashi started.

"How many of those deeds are we talking about?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"The ones we could see."

"And how many did you see?" Naruto asked, hoping that they didn't see him falling on King Yemna's desk.

"Everything up to after you won the tournament...including Snake way..." Kizashi said as his eye twitched.

"Ah...so you saw us...and then there was Princess Snake's castle..." He stammered.

"Yes...but since you didn't know about all of that, I'll let it slide." Kizashi said before taking a sip of his tea. "But what enticed you to take my daughters virginity? And without protection no less..."

"Um..." Naruto thought as he imagined his mother looking at him with glowing white eyes, her hair standing up and waving like the tails of the 9 Tailed Demon Fox, and a meat tenderizer being slapped against her hand.

"It just felt like the right time. And Sakura wanted to do it to." He said.

"That's all well and good...but let me tell you this right here and now." Kizashi glared at Naruto with a deadly stare. "If my daughter is pregnant because of both of your negligence, you best believe you are going to provide for her, care for her and the child, as well as marry her. No daughter of ours is gonna carry a child, unmarried. I will force you if I have to."

Naruto was surprised by Kizashi's outburst, but narrowed his eyes to let everyone know that he was serious.

"I would never do that to Sakura-chan. I'd marry her right now if I had to." Naruto stated.

Kizashi turned from serious to joyful. "All I wanted to hear!" He beamed.

"Really?" Naruto was surprised.

"Yup! All I wanted to know is that you would always be there for Sakura. I can tell just by looking at you, you mean what you say. So...as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome here anytime."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the Sage." Naruto sighed in relief. He was worried Sakura's father would hate him, but it seemed the opposite.

"Now...I have something to talk to you about..." Mebuki said hesitantly.

"Is it about you being my godmother?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Mebuki nodded shamefully. "Naruto, sweetie...you gotta understand that we never knew who your parents were until Sakura told us. I wanted to adopt you to save you from the scorn of the villagers, but I had to think about my little girl. If they knew we adopted you-"

"Then their scorn would have bled to you two and Sakura-chan..." Naruto muttered.

"Yes..." Mebuki said sadly.

Kizashi sighed. "We really did want to help you, really we did. But, we want to make it up to you if you'll let us."

Naruto sat there in silence for a moment. Mebuki and Kizashi waited for him to unleash a well-deserved outburst. Screaming at them, cursing them for every horrible day he spent alone, how they had failed their two best friends, something...

"I understand." Naruto finally said.

"We're very...wait, what?" Mebuki asked, she wasn't sure she heard him right.

"I understand why you did it. And despite everything...I can't stay mad at you. It wasn't your fault. You didn't neglect me because you hated me. You just didn't know...and I can't be mad at you for that." Naruto said.

Mebuki started to choke up on how forgiving Naruto was. "You're...just like your mother..." She whimpered softly.

"I've been told that." Naruto nodded, his own voice close to choking up.

Mebuki wrapped him up in the same motherly hug that his own mother gave him before he left King Kai's. It was warm and gentle and he could genuinely feel how much she really cared about him.

"I-I'm...sorry...for everything..." She cried.

"It's okay...I forgive you...And I don't ever want to be angry with you guys."

That only made Mebuki hug him tighter. To hear that he wasn't mad and that he genuinely forgave them was like a huge weight off her shoulders.

"You're welcome here anytime..." She whimpered.

"Well that's good because...his apartment was destroyed during the bombing." Sakura said.

"Then you'll live here then...for as long as you like." Mebuki decided.

"In the guest bedroom." Kizashi stated.

"Oh no. He's staying with me." Sakura said firmly.

"No, he is staying in the guest bedroom." Kizashi said more firmly, in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Oh, you're all set for me and him to get married, but Kami forbid we sleep in the same room." Sakura scoffed.

"She does have a point. Especially if she is pregnant." Mebuki said.

"We don't know that yet for certain and I won't have us risk it further. Once we know for certain you can have at it, but not before." Kizashi stated.

"Oh, for Kami sake..." Mebuki sighed. "You know they will end up in the same room regardless. That never stopped us before."

"It'll make them think twice about protection next time." Kizashi said.

"If that's your rule than I'll go along with it." Naruto said, hoping to quell the argument.

"Come on, Kizashi. One night isn't going to hurt. Especially after everything they just went through. Plus, I'm sure Sakura will remember her protection from now on." Mebuki said before glaring at her daughter. "Right?"

Sakura gulped. "Y-yes..."

Kizashi sighed. "Fine...ONE night." He said firmly. "And the door stays open. This will be a test of trust. If I can trust you two to sleep and ONLY sleep, then I'll think about letting it go further. Is that clear?"

"Crystal. Naruto will keep his hands to himself." Sakura promised.

 _'Not that we will.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'Yes, we will, Inner. I'm not going to ruin this chance.'_ Sakura said firmly before turning her attention back to the conversation.

"You can hold each other if you want, but" He paused before looking Naruto dead in the eye. "You keep her hands away from her chest and waist." Then he turned to Sakura. "And you keep your hands away from his waist." Then he addressed both. "Plus, you two are to be fully dressed in sleepwear. No exceptions. No excuses."

"Um...my clothes were all destroyed when my apartment was bombed." Naruto said nervously.

"That's fine, we'll take you shopping later." Kizashi waved off. "But back on topic, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Naruto and Sakura responded.

"Good." Kizashi said, closing the subject. "Now, Naruto. Just how much of your things were you able to salvage?"

"Um...just what I have on me, plus my old jacket and a pair of boxers. And a photo." Naruto informed.

"No toothbrush or other toiletries?" Mebuki asked.

"No, nothing."

Mebuki sighed. "Alright...then let's go get you some clothes and other things."

"Put condoms on that list while you're at it." Kizashi ordered.

"Dad!" Sakura protested.

"You wanna stay in the same room or not? Cause it's that or abstinence!"

"Kinda late for that..." Sakura muttered before gazing upon her father's glare, making her gulp. "O-okay...fine."

"Good." Kizashi said before standing up. "Sakura, you'll stay here with your mother and help make dinner. I will take Naruto out to get the things he needs."

Sakura wanted to argue about that deal, but if she wanted to spend the night with Naruto, she'd have to let it go and comply. "Fine..." She sighed.

"Good." Kizashi nodded. "Well let's get to it then. You ladies need us to pick up anything while we are out?"

"I heard there was a new shipment of fresh fish that came in. Can you pick up 4 red snappers?" Mebuki asked.

"Can do." Kizashi smiled as he stood up to put his sandals on. Naruto followed suit and went to put his shoes on as well.

"Bye honey." Kizashi said as he leaned over to kiss his wife on the lips.

"Be back later, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before doing the same.

The two smiled as they felt their partner's lips press against their own. That old familiar taste.

Mebuki and Kizashi looked at the two of them and couldn't help but smile. Their daughter looked so happy like this, happier than they had seen her in a while.

The couples parted and soon the men were out walking down the street.

* * *

While they were out, they stopped in several clothing stores that Naruto had never been in. Mainly because those stores barred him from entering. But after everyone saw his deeds in Hell, they were considerably more accepting of him and he was able to get a complete wardrobe for next to nothing.

They picked up the fish and made their way to their final destination; the pharmacy.

"Okay. So, you need your regular toiletries and we're getting you condoms." Kizashi said seriously.

"You really were serious about that?"

"Yes I am. Have you ever bought them before?"

"Once. Pervy Sage wanted me to get used to it in case I ever got lucky. I was 13."

"Good then. Go get a box, then meet me in the personal care isle." Kizashi said before walking off.

Naruto nodded before making his way down the aisle. He passed by diapers and shampoo before reaching the condom rack. He saw all different kinds of brands littering the shelves. Each of them promising to give more pleasure to both partners than the last. Naruto was about to decide on the most popular brand when he heard snickering coming from the other end of the aisle.

He snapped his head towards the direction of the snickering. "What's so funny?!"

Naruto noticed that it was Gohan and Videl who were passing by that isle and saw him going for a box.

"Geez, the way Sakura talked I figured you'd be a lot bigger than that." Videl teased.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You were about to pick up a box of extra smalls." Videl snickered as she pointed out to the letters XS on the box.

A bunch of preteen kids were standing nearby like a gang of civilians and were snickering at Naruto's expense.

"Is that what that means?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought it meant extra strength or something!"

Gohan and Videl sweat dropped.

"No, you idiot...don't you know what size to get?" Videl deadpanned.

"No, why would I know?" He asked, slightly panicked.

Videl just rolled her eyes and sighed. _'Sakura...will you get in mental contact with your idiot of a boyfriend? He is completely lost when picking out a box of condoms.'_

 _'Why is that?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Because he almost picked up a box of extra smalls.'_

 _'Oh god...'_ Sakura groaned. _'Alright hold on...'_

Sakura switched to being in Naruto's mind. _'Idiot...your too big for extra smalls.'_

 _'Well excuse me! It's not like I'm picking out shoes here. What do I compare them to? How do I test it out?'_ Naruto thought.

 _'You can't TRY on condoms you bonehead!'_ Sakura snapped before sighing deeply. _'If memory serves correctly, pick up a box of large and a box of extra-large. Don't get ribbed or some goofy thing like that. Just get something normal to appease my father.'_

 _'I'm not buying condoms for him, right?'_ Naruto gulped. He certainly didn't want THAT kind of relationship with Sakura's father.

 _'FOR YOURSELF IDIOT!'_ She shouted. _'Get a box of large and extra-large to see which ones fit the best so you know which ones to get in a future!'_

 _'Oooohhh...'_ Naruto replied in realization.

 _'Uuughh...my head hurts...'_ Sakura groaned.

 _'Love you too.'_ Naruto thought.

Naruto snapped out of his mental conversation and grabbed the boxes Sakura told him to get.

Videl raised an eyebrow. "Are those the right ones this time?"

"I don't know. Probably. Why?" He grumbled.

"I'm just making sure is all." Videl said, her hands raised in defense.

"It's the ones Sakura-chan told me to get." Naruto said before taking off to meet up with Kizashi.

"Have fun with those!" Videl called out

"I'll try!" Naruto called back as he continued on his way.

 _'I'll try he says.'_ Videl snickered to Gohan. _'The way Sakura talks about it you'd think that he was the first man to ever find the mythical g spot.'_

 _'I found yours, didn't I?'_ Gohan laughed.

 _'Yeah you did.'_ Videl smirked. _'Still though, it makes me curious as to exactly how it went down. Or how he went down...'_

 _'What exactly are you saying?'_ Gohan asked.

 _'Nothing...just a crazy idea that I'm sure will go away in a bit.'_

Gohan wondered what it could be, but after getting a flash of her thought through his mind, he stumbled over nothing.

 _'THAT'S What you wanna do?!'_ He exclaimed.

 _'Hey, a girl is allowed to have her fantasies.'_ Videl shrugged.

 _'I get that, but why that of all things?! Plus, I'm sure they'd never agree to it.'_

 _'I think Sakura might and knowing the pervert Naruto is, it wouldn't take much coaxing for him to agree either.'_

 _'I-I-is...that what you really wanna do?'_ Gohan stammered.

 _'Not right away. Let them explore a little more.'_ Videl finished.

 _'Okay then...'_ Gohan thought, a little uneasy.

 _'You're okay with it, right?'_ Videl asked.

 _'Well I want to make you happy, first and foremost.'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Well, so do I and I don't wanna do something you're not comfortable with.'_ Videl countered.

 _'I'm...a little conflicted, but I'm willing to try it if you are.'_ Gohan thought.

Videl smiled. _'You're the best.'_ She kissed him on the cheek and the couple finished their shopping.

* * *

Sometime later, Kizashi and Naruto returned home after their little shopping spree. Kizashi telling stories of his time as a Shinobi to Naruto.

"-and that was when Gai was actually asking me for training tips! I had never seen him so dumbfounded."

"How come you gave it up?" Naruto asked.

"Eh...after a few years, I realized that being a Shinobi just wasn't for me. Would rather go on trade routes and provide for my family." Kizashi shrugged.

"Isn't a shinobi's wages higher than any trade routes?"

"Not always, and it's definitely not as safe as working a civilian career. I made more money in half a year working my father's logging company than I ever did in my two years as a ninja."

"Yea...fair enough I guess." Naruto shrugged.

"Your godmother on the other hand...she retired as a seasoned Chunin and a damn good one at that." Kizashi praised as said woman rounded the corner.

"Good enough to save your sorry butt." She smirked.

"Yea, you did many times." Kizashi laughed.

"No way...what did you specialize in?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu. I was almost as good as your father." Mebuki boasted proudly.

"You were? Then maybe you can help me. Danzo destroyed my father's special kunai back when we were arrested. Maybe you can help me make a new one." Naruto asked.

"Uh...the one for the Flying Thunder God Jutsu?"

"Yea, that's the one." Naruto nodded.

"Hoo...that'll be a little difficult, but not impossible. Do you have the seal design?" Mebuki asked.

"No. I was supposed to copy it off of the one my father gave me, but I think he said there were some of his notes hidden away in the Hokage Archives." Naruto said.

"Oh dear..." Mebuki sighed in dread as she scratched her head. "I know the basics on how it works...but I need the design of the seal to work with."

"I'll talk to Granny Tsunade. We can turn it into a godmother and son bonding thing." Naruto suggested.

Mebuki smiled. "That's a great idea! While I'm at it, I can teach you some Genjutsu. I tried teaching Sakura, but she lacks the Chakra needed to control it."

"Not anymore." Sakura said as she rounded the corner, wearing an apron.

"Sakura, honey. We've been over this. Your control is exceptional, but you're reserves-"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Sakura bellowed out as Clone after Clone appeared. Filling every corner, every space, even the stairs, of the little apartment. "You were saying?" Sakura and her clones asked.

"Hey good lookin', what's cooking?" Naruto asked, it being the only thing he could think of after seeing Sakura in that apron.

Inside Naruto, Kurama just groaned.

Sakura and her clones just giggled.

Mebuki on the other hand, was standing there with her mouth hanging open. "H-how...how did you..."

"Remember when I told you about my training with King Kai?" Sakura asked, her mother nodding. "Part of that was increasing my Chakra reserves. At most, I can create 500 clones."

"And... how many did you just create?" Kizashi asked in awe.

"Um...about 80." Sakura guessed.

"In our tiny ass apartment?" Kizashi asked.

"Yup." Sakura said before dispelling all of her clones, except the 3 she left in the kitchen.

"I didn't even know we could fit 80 people in here." He said to himself.

Sakura went over her clones' memories and realized how much of a tight squeeze it was. "It was a tight squeeze, but it was doable. And nothing broke."

"How did you know that?" Naruto asked.

"Really..." Sakura deadpanned. "Mister Shadow Clone master doesn't know that?"

"Oh right, I just use them so often it's easy to forget." Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"How? Every time you dispel a clone, its memories come back to you. You mean to tell me that you didn't know that?"

"I know that, I just use it so often that I forget about it. Like how you don't need to think about walking."

Sakura just sighed. "Well, anyway...did you get the fish? Dinner is almost ready."

"Yup, yup, yup." Naruto said as he held up the catch of the day.

"Awesome." Sakura said before taking the bag with the fish in it. _'How about the condoms?'_ She thought to him.

 _'Got'em.'_

 _'Good. Take them and the rest of your stuff up to my room. Try on one of each to see which fits best.'_ Sakura ordered. _'Upstairs, first bedroom on the right.'_

 _'Alright.'_

Sakura took the fish into the kitchen while Naruto lugged his things up to Sakura's room.

"They've got the fish." Sakura said.

"Excellent. Put it in the pot, the stew has reached a boil." Sakura's clone said.

"Good." Sakura said as she took out the fish and... "Shit..." They were all still whole. "DAD! Why didn't you get fillets?!" Sakura called out.

"My bad!" Kizashi called back.

"Alright. 2 and 3, get these fish prepped. I'll get the skillet warmed up." Sakura ordered out like she was a professional chef.

"Right!" Clones 2 and 3 responded as Sakura got to work on warming up a skillet.

 _'Hey, Sakura-chan?'_ Naruto thought to her.

 _'Kinda busy.'_ Sakura responded.

 _'Sorry. Just wanted to let you know that the Large was too small.'_

 _'Alright then the XL's should be fine.'_ Sakura replied before getting back to her work.

 _'Like there was any doubt.'_ Inner smirked.

 _'Um...the XL was too small as well...'_ He thought sheepishly.

 _'Wait...what?'_ Sakura asked in shock.

 _'Yea, they just look like little discs of rubber. They won't fit.'_

Sakura face palmed. _'Oh, for fuck's sakes...'_ She created a 4th clone. "Go upstairs and help that Baka, will you?"

"Right..." Clone 4 responded before taking off upstairs.

 _'Hey Sakura-chan?'_

 _'What?'_

 _'I was joking. I know how to put a condom on.'_

Sakura's eye just twitched as she groaned in frustration. _'Well, they don't come any bigger than XL.'_

 _'I was joking about that too.'_ He laughed.

 _'So, the XL fits fine then...'_

 _'Yup, just felt like messing with you because it's cute.'_

 _'Well, now's not a good-'_ Then she had an idea. _'You know...I have a clone coming to see you...how about you have a little fun?'_

 _'But what about what your parents said?'_

 _'It's just a clone so there is no risk.'_

 _'You sure? All you'll get is a memory.'_

 _'Yea that's okay. By the time you're done, dinner should be ready. Then one of your clones can do me later.'_

 _'Sounds great.'_

"How's dinner coming?" Kizashi asked.

"Considering you gave me whole, unprepped fish, just fine." Sakura responded as she was finally handed the fillets.

"Any particular reason why I saw one of your clones head upstairs while Naruto is up there?" Kizashi asked.

"Because my clones can't get pregnant." Sakura said, a little nervous after hearing her father's tone.

"And you know this for certain? Can one of his clones get you pregnant?" Kizashi asked in a tone that told her that Sakura would have to answer correctly or shit will hit the fan.

"Um..."

"Because I didn't forbid you two from having sex to stop you from getting pregnant. I did it so that you would think twice about using protection." Kizashi stated.

"W-well...we were...I mean I would have remembered...I mean..." Sakura stammered.

"I don't want to hear excuses. You have got to understand how serious this is." Kizashi urged. "Ever since you were little, you've constantly shown an alarming amount of blissful absentmindedness. This is something you CAN'T be absentminded about. You are not ready to be a parent if you can't keep your focus on the simplest tasks. It took you such a long time to just cook a plate of scrambled eggs because you don't listen. How Kushina managed to teach you how to cook like a 4-star chef is beyond me. But a baby...that's something you just CAN'T cut corners with and you're not ready for that kind of responsibility."

Sakura was shocked, she felt like crying, because every word her father spoke cut deep and all of them hit the nail on the head. Kizashi saw his daughter's distress and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry for being so harsh...but you really, REALLY need to understand how serious this is..." Kizashi said softly.

"I see you with Naruto and I've never seen you so happy. I don't want that to be tarnished by you two being thrust into a responsible you're both not ready for."

Sakura just sniffed as she held her father tighter.

"I say this because...your mother and I were completely unprepared when you were on the way."

"B-but everything worked out between you two, didn't it? You still love each other."

Kizashi sighed. "We were caught so unprepared that our marriage almost failed..."

"The point is that I don't want you and Naruto to have to go through that. Not if I can help it."

Sakura sniffed before burying her face into her father's chest, sobbing hard.

"Shhh...it's okay my little angel..." He soothed. "But, do you understand now?"

"I do...I'm sorry..." Sakura said. "I'm was just trying to..."

"I know, sweetheart, I know..." Kizashi said softly. "How about you go on upstairs and talk to Naruto about this. Let your clones finish dinner and I'll call you when its ready. You seem to be good at getting him to understand."

"Sniff...okay..." Sakura said.

"You know, you really are your mother's daughter. Naruto is one lucky bastard to be with an amazing woman like you." Kizashi smiled.

Sakura chuckled. "I see it the other way around..."

"And trust me when I say that for him, the feeling is mutual." Kizashi chuckled.

Sakura pulled away and wiped her tears. "Thank you, daddy."

"Just remember, always use protection. Now, run along you." Kizashi smiled as he watched Sakura scamper upstairs. _'I'm so proud of you...'_ He thought to himself.

Maybe a half an hour later, everyone was sitting at the table and Sakura's remaining clone was serving dinner.

"Dinner looks amazing, Sakura-chan." Naruto praised.

"Glad you think so. I just hope it came out good to everyone's liking." Sakura said, a little nervous about her first gourmet meal.

"Well if it tastes half as good as it smells, it'll be amazing."

"Well, we're about to find out." Kizashi said as he dug into his fried fish. He took a fork full of fish into his mouth and chewed it to savor everything about it. Sakura waited on baited breath. She had hoped that it was good enough to be considered edible. She would settle on that at least. As soon as Kizashi swallowed, his face started beaming.

"IT'S AMAZING!" He shouted joyfully.

"Completely delicious!" Mebuki beamed.

Sakura felt herself elevated as all eyes turned on Naruto who was finishing his own bite. His eyes opened in shock and Sakura felt her breath hitch.

"It's as good as my mom's." He declared.

"R-really?" Sakura asked, her emotions in overdrive now.

"Totally. It's freaking delicious!" Naruto exclaimed as he scooped up another bite.

"I think I have to marry you just for your cooking." He said without even thinking.

Sakura and her parents gasped. "Wh-what...?" Sakura stammered.

"Yeah. Brains, beauty, super strong, skilled at medical jutsu, passionate, kind, and you can cook like nobody's business. Pervy Sage said a perfect woman like that didn't exist." Naruto jabbered on.

Sakura blushed happily. "D-don't be in idiot...we can't get married yet..."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"Because there is still so many other things to do." Sakura stated. "I want to date you for a few years to be absolutely certain. And I want to make certain that you're safe."

"That I'm safe?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, the Akatsuki are still out there and they are still after you and others like you. Not to mention that freaking Frost Demon that could arrive any day now. Once they're defeated will I think about marrying you, Naruto."

"Unless you're pregnant." Mebuki said simply as she ate some of her stew.

"Maybe then, but even if you want to, it still feels like we'd be getting married out of obligation to the baby, not out of love for each other." Sakura said.

"It wouldn't feel that way to me...don't you remember what I said to you the night we confessed?" Naruto asked.

"What did you say to her?" Mebuki asked curiously.

"I promised her that I would love her and be there for her no matter what." Naruto smiled.

"And I'll be there for you no matter what. But I want to save my wedding for when I'm older and settled down." Sakura said.

"Right...well, just putting it out there." Naruto said before devouring his food.

The conversation was interrupted by two quick knocks on the front door.

"Now who could that be?" Mebuki wondered before standing up to answer the door.

"Hello, Mrs. Haruno." Kakashi answered as soon as Mebuki finished swinging the door open.

"Oh, Kakashi. What brings you here?" Mebuki asked.

"I was looking for Naruto, actually. I'm under the impression that some ungodly powerful alien is headed right for our planet and so I decided that now might be the right time to continue THAT training." Kakashi spoke ominously, which Naruto picked up every word. He shot up out of his chair. "Are you serious, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Huh? What training?" Sakura asked.

"The training to complete the 4th Hokage's last jutsu." Kakashi said. "To complete the Rasengan."

"Wait, it's not finished? He didn't tell me that." Sakura mused.

"Who didn't tell you what?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"Your dad. One of his clones was instructing me on how to create it while he was training you." Sakura replied.

"You know the Rasengan?!" He exclaimed.

"Well...I haven't mastered it, but..." Sakura said as she formed a small Rasengan in her hand that seemed to be a little unstable before dispelling it. "That's all I can do without it blowing up in my face. It's very tricky."

"Tell me about it." Naruto said as he remembered his own time spent learning the Rasengan.

"Yes, anyway. I have a specialized training regimen that I wanted you and Videl to try. I believe it will give you both an edge up on the upcoming threat." Kakashi said.

"Videl, too?" Naruto asked.

"She has also mastered the Rasengan. I figured that you two could help each other out." Kakashi said.

"Sweet! I can't wait! When do we start?" Naruto asked, eager to learn a powerful jutsu.

"As soon as you've finished dinner. We haven't a moment to lose."

"Already done!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Then let's go." Kakashi said before bowing to Mebuki as an apology for interrupting dinner.

"Wait...let me come, too. I've got training of my own I gotta do." Sakura asked.

"Actually Sakura. Gohan asked for you to come see him about training." Kakashi said.

"He did?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"But I thought he was training with Baal?" Naruto asked.

"Baal apparently had a meeting with the other Gods of Destruction to attend to." Kakashi said.

"Oh...alright then." Sakura said as she removed her apron.

"I'll take care of the dishes. You two be safe." Mebuki said.

"I'll help." Kizashi offered.

"Alright then. Naruto, Sakura, let's go. We gotta pick up Videl." Kakashi ordered.

"Right." Naruto and Sakura said. Just as they were about to step out the door, Mebuki stopped the Jounin leader.

"Oh Kakashi, has Shizune woken up yet?" She asked.

The Jounin tensed up at Mebuki's question, as did the two Chunin. Mebuki felt herself worried that she had inquires too soon.

"No, she hasn't. But the doctors are confident she will wake up soon. In any case, it won't negatively impact the baby." Kakashi said.

"I see. Well that's good news. I just wanted to say congratulations and that we'll be keeping Shizune in our prayers."

"Thank you." Kakashi bowed.

"If you two ever need ANYTHING, please let us know. You're both like family to us."

"I appreciate it, but you would have your hands full if what I've heard about my students is true." Kakashi stated.

"Nonsense. Family has no limits." Mebuki said.

"Yea, yea..." Sakura sighed in annoyance before she remembered something. "Wait a minute. Kakashi-sensei, you used your Sharingan on Shizune to see if she was pregnant, right? Can't you do the same for me?"

"Sakura, it would be way too early for me to sense any chakra."

"Just try, please?" Sakura begged. "It's been almost a week."

Kakashi sighed. "Alright...I'll give it a whirl. Suppress your chakra as much as you can."

Sakura did just that, her superb chakra control allowing her to suppress her chakra to a strikingly low state. Especially for someone who had recently acquired a greater chakra pool.

Kakashi activated his Sharingan and stared at Sakura's abdomen. His eyes went wide at his discovery.

"Well?" Sakura asked a little impatient.

"Congratulations." Kakashi smiled through his mask. "It's a salmon."

"Huh...?" Sakura sweat dropped.

"Your dinner. From what I can smell you had a delicious salmon boiled in a stew for dinner. And that is the only thing my Sharingan can detect in your belly." Kakashi said.

"So... you mean I'm not..."

"At this stage, there would be a little something there, but there's nothing." Kakashi said.

"Oh, thank Kami..." Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

"Seriously. No offense, but I did not fancy having two of my teammates out on maternity leave at once." Kakashi said. Sakura just nervously laughed.

The three shinobi then said their good byes to the Haruno parents before taking off towards the remains of the Son compound.

"I hope they had another capsule house..." Sakura said with concern.

"Why is that?" Naruto asked.

"Because their house was blown up by the bombing." Sakura replied.

"It was?! Where have they been sleeping?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"That's what I wanna know." Sakura said as they neared the Sons compound.

Upon their arrival, they found that there was another house put in the last one's place, only this one was a lot larger.

"Oh, that's just unfair." Naruto groaned.

"Suck it up. You're living with me now so you shouldn't complain." Sakura said.

"Oh, come on, you gotta admit that these things come too easily for them." Naruto pointed out.

"Will you just stop. At least it's a roof over their heads."

"Yeah..." Naruto said as he put his hands behind his head. Team 7 went up to the door and knocked twice. The door suddenly swung open with a Ki blast aimed at their faces.

"WHAT DO YOU-" Videl started to shout before she realized who the cowering people before her were and lowered her hand. "Oh god, I'm so sorry!"

"Whoa! What was that for?!" Naruto cried.

"I'm sorry...I've...been on edge since our house was blown up." Videl said shakily

"You would not have done well during the dark days of the 3rd Shinobi World War." Kakashi said. "Bombings inside the Leaf were common after the Rock got the Trap Masters of the Land of Dragonflies involved."

"I think it's her maternal instincts in overdrive right now." Sakura said.

"I'm sure this won't get annoying." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Ass..." Videl grumbled.

"So anyway. Videl, I have some specialized training planned for you and Naruto." Kakashi said, hoping to steer them all back on topic.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Videl asked.

"We are going to take the Rasengan to the next step and complete what many believe to be an impossible jutsu." Kakashi said.

"Oh, you mean changing the chakra nature of the Rasengan? Jiraiya told me about that, but never got around to trying it."

"Well it sounds more epic when I say it." Kakashi fake pouted.

"What will changing the nature of chakra in the Rasengan do?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Well at the most basic level it is supposed to maximize the damage of the jutsu to an unheard-of level." Kakashi explained. "Every jutsu utilizes some kind of chakra nature or chakra form. The Rasengan is supposed to be chakra form taken to its most basic and destructive level. And my Raikiri is alleged to be Lightning chakra nature taken to its maximum capability. Yet even I was never able to merge the two jutsus." Kakashi said as he created a Rasengan in his one hand while activating his Raikiri in his other.

"Just imagine what kind of jutsu could be created if you were to maximize the form and nature of chakra...It has never been done before, and I daresay it could bring even a fully realized Saiyan to their knees."

"Well, we'll just have to test that, now won't we?" Videl smirked.

"Well, first things first. We need to find out your Chakra nature. Videl, We already know yours is fire, but we have no idea what Naruto's is." Kakashi said before handing Naruto a piece of chakra paper.

Naruto sent some chakra through the paper and it tore right in half.

"Well...wasn't expecting that." Kakashi said in surprise.

"What? Why did it cut in half?" Naruto asked.

"You have wind Chakra. This could actually be a good thing." Kakashi mused.

"How is that good? I was hoping for fire or lightning or something. Not to blow puffs of air at my enemies." Naruto said.

"Doesn't wind Chakra greatly enhance fire type jutsus?" Videl asked.

"It does, but more importantly Wind chakra can cut through anything. It is the chakra most suitable for combat." Kakashi said.

"Wait, really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Some serial chain smokers would argue that a single Wind chakra enhanced kunai has more piercing power than my Raikiri." Kakashi said.

"No way..." Naruto said in awe.

With Sakura, the gears in her mind started turning. "So, If I'm right in assuming here, adding wind Chakra to the Rasengan would absolutely shred an opponent to ribbons if done right."

"Exactly. Although we can only speculate on what the jutsu would do. As I've said, no one has ever done it before. It might be impossible."

"Well, if anyone can do it, it's Naruto. He has a knack for doing the impossible." Sakura waved off.

"Careful Sakura. You keep praising him like that and it'll go to his head." Kakashi chuckled.

 _'Which head?'_ Sakura smirked in thought.

 _'That's my line!'_ Inner thought.

 _'Oh well. Mine now.'_

 _'Geez. Get an above average dick in you and now you think you get to make the sex jokes?'_ Inner shook her head.

 _'Yup.'_

"Wait, didn't we already talk about my chakra nature before?" Naruto asked.

"Perhaps. In any case, a refresher never hurt anyone." Kakashi said.

"So, what's next? I'm curious how Fire added to this thing will act." Videl said, eager to get started.

"I wonder what water would do..." Sakura mused.

"No idea, but we need to focus on the two who can actually use the Rasengan. Sorry to be blunt, Sakura, but it's the truth." Kakashi said.

Sakura looked down in dejection before feeling a large hand on her shoulder belonging to the other half Saiyan in the village.

"Just as well. I've got my own specialized training for Sakura that no one else in the world can do." Gohan stated.

"And what would that be?" Sakura asked.

Gohan smiled. "I'm going to help you find that inner power of yours and help you learn where it comes from and how to use it to your benefit."

"Seriously? How do you expect to do that?" Sakura asked.

"With sparring. A LOT of sparring." Gohan smiled.

"Oh boy..." Sakura sighed.

"How will sparring help?" Naruto asked.

"You'd be surprised. Come on, Sakura. Let's leave them to their jutsus." Gohan said.

Sakura nodded as Gohan led her inside the new house.

"Before we get started I have a gift for you." Gohan said as he opened a nearby closet.

"Oh, what is it?" Sakura asked.

Gohan took out an orange Gi with blue boots, shirt, sash and wrist bands. "The shirt boots and bands are weighted, this will definitely help you out."

"Oh, thank you." Sakura said graciously.

"Go ahead and get changed then meet me outside." Gohan said before heading back outside.

About 10 minutes later, Sakura emerged from the house, now wearing the Turtle Hermit Gi she was given.

"Huh...so this is what I'd look like in orange." Sakura mused as she looked herself over. Unknown to her, Naruto's gaze was fixed at her in her new outfit.

 _'Nice.'_ Naruto smirked before being smacked over the head by Kakashi. "Focus." He said.

"Owww...the hell Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto protested.

"I need you focusing. This Frost Demon is coming soon and you need to master this jutsu. And the first step for you is to master your wind chakra." Kakashi said.

Naruto grumbled. "Why isn't Videl doing the same..."

"Because she's mastered her element. You haven't."

"And what am I supposed to be doing, exactly?" She asked.

"Combining chakra form with chakra nature." Kakashi said.

"Yes, but how? How exactly do I do that?"

"I have no idea. Once you've mastered the Rasengan and your chakra element, nothing else can be taught beyond that point." Kakashi said.

"So, I just have to wing it...great." Videl sighed.

"And do what myself, Jiraiya, and the 4th Hokage himself couldn't do."

"Alright...I think I have an idea on how to do this."

The two other shinobi turned away for a moment before hearing a loud bang coming from where Videl was standing.

"Darn it!" She cried.

"Better get to it, Naruto. What would your dad think if this stranger completed his jutsu before his own son did?" Kakashi whispered to his pupil.

Suddenly, Naruto was full of renewed determination.

"Alright! What do I do first?" He asked, only to be handed a single leaf from Kakashi.

"Use your wind chakra to cut this leaf in half." Kakashi instructed.

"Huh? What will that do?" Naruto asked.

"Train you to use wind chakra. We can prattle on all day about how the theory of how to wind chakra, but you'll never be able to use it in battle unless you use it yourself."

"Alright I guess..." Naruto said before channeling his chakra into the leaf.

He covered the leaf with his two hands and imagined that his leaf was cut. He pumped his chakra into it and unveiled it to reveal a perfectly intact leaf.

"Darn it." Naruto cursed.

"A single try and you're already frustrated? You should know that many ninjas spend months practicing their chakra nature before ever using it in combat. Even then they'll spend the next few years mastering their specific chakra nature." Kakashi said.

"Then how am I supposed to master this new jutsu by the time Ice arrives? This is all a waste of time otherwise!" Naruto cried.

"Simple. You use your Shadow Clones." Kakashi said.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Hey everybody. Hope you enjoy this fluffy little chapter. Hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving. Especially our readers who don't celebrate Thanksgiving.**

 **Anyway, some of you are no doubt wondering when we are going to cut all the crap and get to the next arc already with that Frost Demon villain we've been more or less hyping up. Well I am here to tell you that we are not there yet. We have one more fun chapter we want to get out before we finally get to the Ice arc. Which I am promising will be epic with the introduction of our cool new villain, the return of some favorites, the inclusion of all four of our main protagonists, explosions, exposition, more romantic relationships nobody asked for, the death of a character (maybe), and the resurrection of your childhood dog (no luck for cat people).**

 **One more thing to keep in mind. Come November 28, I shall be returning to college for the final three weeks of my current semester at CCS. So that means projects, papers, and crying in the corner are what's in store for me. So that means that the chances of new content being released for the next month will be significantly low. We have a few chapters that are "done" but need a few once overs before they receive mine and cmartin's seal of approval. Soooooo…maybe. Come Christmas day, things should start going back to normal.**


	33. Chapter 33: The Festival

**Author's Note from Panda: Hey guys, welcome to the last chapter before the start of the Ice Arc and oh boy is this a long one. Damn near 26k words. Can't remember if that is a record or not.**

 **Something important to mention, there are lemons in this chapter. A couple of chapters back we asked you the readers to vote on whether or not we should keep the lemons or not. Disappointingly, not many of you did. The few that I can remember off the top of my head said that you didn't want them, but the lemons tied into this really fun subplot I wanted to include, so we decided to compromise. We are going to add little warnings before the lemons in bold. And then those same warnings to show you when they end. So your eyes can remain untarnished. I'm gonna try to make it so that you won't miss out on the subplot I mentioned, but that still might dip your toe in the lemon. In any case, you won't miss any important exposition needed for the main story. So, if you skip the lemons entirely you won't miss anything important. It's all about your viewing pleasure here at Cmartin and Panda Productions.**

 **And now to kick off the New Year right by taking you back to Halloween.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The sun rouse on the 31st of October, exactly eleven days after the trial had commenced and Root had fallen. Many smaller trials were being held to sentence the Root traitors and to piece together how large an influence Danzo had on the inner workings of the Leaf village and beyond. Not to mention the clean-up involved after Danzo's bombing campaign, a last petty attempt at revenge against the village that shunned him for his methods.

Yet, despite all that, life went on. Shizune could see it from her bedside window in the hospital how the village had once again learnt to recover and move on.

Ever since the trial, she had been confined to the hospital after the Root seal placed on her tongue had nearly suffocated her for speaking out against Danzo.

It took days for Lord Jiraiya to undo the seal and even longer for Lady Tsunade to reduce the swelling. Shizune had been left in a coma for five days. She had just recently woken up and was left alone to recover.

Oh sure, she received visits from Lady Tsunade, Sakura, Naruto, Gohan and Videl; but not from the one man she was both hoping and dreading to see the most.

"Yo." Spoke the devil.

Shizune turned her head to see the masked face of the great copycat ninja himself. Standing in the entrance to her private room, carrying a bouquet of daisies.

Shizune's heart raced as her stomach dropped.

Sensing that he wasn't being refused entry, Kakashi walked to her room and placed his offering of flowers into Shizune's bedside vase.

Shizune tried, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. Unknown to her though, neither could Kakashi.

"I brought you these..." Kakashi began, trying to start a conversation. "I didn't know what kind you liked so...I hope you like them." He said pathetically.

Shizune tried to mutter something along the lines of, "they're fine," but she wasn't certain if the words actually became audible.

Without any directive on what to do next, Kakashi resorted to his default action.

He sat down on the nearest chair by the window, cracked open the most recent copy of Make Out Tactics, and began to read in silence.

Neither of them said a word. Which Shizune appreciated, for she had no words to speak. The only noise that could be heard came from the heavy winds banging against the window and of Kakashi turning another page.

 _'Say something.'_ They both thought.

Shizune was beside herself, despite everything, despite carrying his child within her, she did not actually expect Kakashi to appear before her. She wished it, sure, but those were fleeting thoughts as the days passed and reality set in.

Yet here he was, acting as if he had come by yesterday and the day before.

It left only one question on Shizune's mind.

"Why are you here...?" She said, more harshly than she intended, but she was sick and pregnant and she wanted answers.

In classic Kakashi style, he didn't raise up his head to acknowledge that he had heard her and instead kept to reading his perverted book.

"I came to see you." He replied simply, as if anything about this situation was simple.

"As a concerned friend... or as something more?" She asked defensively, bringing her knees up to her chest to get her rare stretching for the day.

"I think it's a little late for me to just a concerned friend to you. Considering..." He replied, only now did he tear his gaze away from his book and towards the cause of all their troubles.

Shizune pulled more covers over her belly to try and deter his gaze.

"No Kakashi...it doesn't."

"Shizune..." He said softly with fear in his voice. Fear she had never heard come from him. She had to turn away to avoid seeing his face. Or what little she could see with that damn mask he always wore.

"Kakashi we both knew this was never going to be a long term thing. It was just me getting some stress relief and you getting...well getting laid. That's what we both agreed on, that's what you wanted, that's...that's what I wanted." She sternly told him.

"Well maybe now I want more." He replied, putting his book down. He no longer felt the need to pretend to read it.

"Kakashi, no. What you said to me during the trial...that was just fake. Something you did to, I don't know, get me to confirm to you about the seal or something I don't know."

"It wasn't. I really was asking you to marry me. I wanted to marry you then and I still do now." He said firmly.

"No you don't. You're just fulfilling an obligation because you knocked me up. I've worked in the maternity ward long enough to hear all the stories..." Shizune said as she fought back tears. She would not falter now.

"Then why did you say yes?" Kakashi counter argued, his frustration starting to boil.

"I-I was scared! Nervous! I didn't know what you were saying I thought you were confirming with me that there was a bomb inside me!" She lied.

"I wasn't. I already knew that you had a paper bomb inside you, what I didn't know was that if I could get it out in time." Kakashi admitted with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Yes, how did you get it out of me anyway? I could sense it was at least half a centimeter into my skin. Yet I saw you pull it out like a freaking magic trick. Lady Tsunade said it was some new Sharingan technique you had developed?" Shizune asked, her curiosity winning out over her anger.

"I don't have a name for it. But after experimenting with the Mangekyou Sharingan technique that allows me to open a portal into another dimension, I discovered that it would be possible to partially send my own body into the other dimension, allowing me to phase through solid objects. I only just figured out how to get it to work."

"Is that why you had me removing bits of paper out from the insides of your arm without allowing for any questions?" Shizune asked annoyed. That was one mystery solved.

"Yes...but until I knew it meant the life or death of our child. Well I guess I was properly motivated." Kakashi replied.

"So what was your plan if it didn't work? What then?"

"Then? Then I was going to embrace you and die with you." Kakashi deadpanned.

Shizune felt like all her organs had dropped to the bottom of a well.

"Y-you...what? Why?" She whispered, dreading the horror that one of the greatest jounin of the Leaf, if not the world, was willing to die for her.

"Why? The village needs you far more than it needs me. You're a leader to all the ninjas in this village. A legend among the other nations. You could be Hokage if you wanted to." Shizune listed off.

"Well I didn't care about any of those things, I care about you. I care about us..." Without Shizune even realizing it, Kakashi had brought himself to sit on her bed and had his hands gently placed on her belly.

"Shizune, I've lived over half my life knowing nothing but regret. All the while out living loved one after loved one. I wasn't going to let you become another melancholy memory or die with anymore regrets. That's why I asked you so suddenly in the courthouse and I stand by that decision." With his other hand he took Shizune's into his own. "Now and forever."

Shizune let a single tear slip.

"But why me? There are so many other women out there who are better looking, who are less awkward, you don't work the long hours I do. Why don't you let them be with you?" She asked, if not begged.

"Those women don't have your smile, they aren't as patient as you, and they are nowhere near as dedicated. I may not have gone on any official dates with you Shizune, but I'd like to. I want to get to know you better and stop just living for myself. I wanna live for you and our baby." Kakashi promised.

Finally, Shizune let the dam break loose.

For the longest time, she had resigned herself to being a seamstress. That she would faithfully serve Lady Tsunade until her dying day as thanks for all her teachings and for taking care of Shizune when her Uncle Dan passed away. All her life she had been seen as Lady Tsunade's duller shadow. If Tsunade was never to be wed, then what hope did Shizune have? Yet here she was, being proposed to be none other than her generation's heartthrob. If only that bitch Nina could see her now.

"So... I don't know if you'd be up to it, but I'd like to ask you out to the festival...Shizune." Kakashi stated and Shizune wasn't sure that she heard him right.

"I'm sorry, did THE Kakashi Hatake just ask me out?" Shizune teased, finally putting her master's sassy attitude to good use. And she thought the sky would rain fire before she ever saw the great copycat ninja look shy like a genin asking his crush out on a date.

"Only if you're up to it." Kakashi hastily replied, not wanting to risk her health or the babies.

"Yea I'll be alright." Shizune said with a nod.

"R-really?" Kakashi stuttered, he never stuttered.

"I've been through worse than this, lover boy." Shizune smirked.

Kakashi smiled, he felt like he was on cloud nine. All the dread from the last week was washing away before him.

"One condition though." Shizune spoke up, as more and more new life was breathing into her.

"What's that?" Kakashi asked.

"Take off that mask. If we're gonna be together, I wanna always being seeing your face." Shizune spoke.

 _'Plus, I wanna show you off to all those bitches in the nursing.'_ She devilishly thought.

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow, not sure how to take that last demand. But instead of fighting about it, he smirked and did as he was told.

He pulled down his mask to reveal his face. To anyone who had never actually seen him without his mask, it was underwhelming. Cleanly shaven with his scar on his left eye ending before it got past his mouth. The only unexpected feature was his mole on the right side of his lip. A beauty mark as his mother had once called it. He was so embarrassed by it that he hid it away behind his mask ever since he finished pre-school. Now Shizune had seen it and called it cute.

"And you'll keep that silly mask off forever, for me?" Shizune asked as a final test of Kakashi's faithfulness to her and their child.

Kakashi nodded and Shizune squealed in joy. She embraced him and the two felt the warmth from each other that they had deprived themselves of for so long.

Outside the window, you could see the festival towers rising as lights were hung and banners flung. The village folk were still scurrying to have it all completed, for dusk was soon approaching.

* * *

All over the Leaf village the festival lights were once again hung over the streets. Lanterns of reds and golds and orange hues were lit and left to illuminate every corner of the neighborhoods and markets. Decorations of cheesy looking monsters and cartoon demons were adorned on every surface that could be found. Shop owners sold caramel apples, sweet dango, and others delicious treats out on the street corners.

At 7 PM on the dot, kids from ages 4 to 14 hit the streets dressed in costumes and armed with sacks ready to be filled to the brim with candy. Many were young children barely starting the Academy being accompanied by their parents. While others were young teens looking to score some free candy for the Hell of it.

Out of all the carefree youths out enjoying the trick or treating, there were four little kids who stood out.

A little blond boy dressed as a pirate with a red captain's vest, an eyepatch, and a scabbard.

A pink haired girl dressed in a witch's outfit, complete with pointy hat, black dress with spider web arm stockings, and a magic wand.

A brunette-haired girl dressed as mummy wrapped head to toe in medical gauze.

And what looked like an overly muscular blue grasshopper midget man that turned more than a few heads at the intricacy of the costume design.

"Remind me what you're supposed to be again." Sakura said to Gohan.

"Cell Jr. Cell created 7 of these little bastards and nearly killed all of my friends." Gohan responded in a high pitched voice.

"Why are you talking like that? Arr..." Naruto asked.

"That's how they sounded. Gotta add it to be in character."

"Fair enough." Naruto said. "Arr."

"So... with 7 of those plus Cell...how did you win?" Videl asked curiously.

"I tapped into my full, hidden powers and ascended, killing each one in a single hit and brought Cell to his knees." Gohan said simply.

"Geez..." Sakura said in awe.

"Except...I slacked off on my training for 7 years and up till recently, I was only about half as strong as I was then."

"Old news, now look alive, we are coming up to the first house." Sakura said as they were next in line for the front door.

"I've never done this..." Gohan said nervously as he held onto his pillow case.

"Just remember to say trick or treat when she opens the door." Sakura reminded him.

"And stay in character." Videl added.

"Right." Gohan said.

The four made their way up to the old civilian woman handing out butterscotch sweets.

"Why hello there." She smiled.

"Trick or treat!" The four of them cheered happily.

"Arr." Naruto added.

"My, aren't you all sweet? What do we have here? An adventurous pirate, a scary witch, a cute mummy, and a..." She stopped at Gohan's costume, having never seen anything like it. "A... grasshopper man?"

"Kikikikikiii! I'm Cell Jr.!" Gohan laughed maniacally in a high pitched voice.

The sweet old lady looked like she thought Gohan was dropped on his head. "Of course, you are." She smiled before putting a single piece of candy in each of their bags.

"Thank you!" They all cheered before running off.

They all ran over to the next house and repeated the process until they reached the end of the block.

"Alright, let's see what we've got." Sakura said. The guys all nodded as they dug into their bags to pull out their favorite treat they had collected.

"I've got 5 chocolate bars." Naruto said.

"I've got a slice of pecan pie!" Sakura said.

"I've got two candy apples!" Gohan cheered.

"I've got a... rock?" Videl said as she pulled out a literal rock. A grey, palm sized rock.

"A rock?" the others asked.

"Yeah, a rock. It's a fucking rock. Who the Hell gives a kid a rock for trick or treating?" Videl cursed, making a passing father cover the ears of his two daughters.

"Shhh!" Sakura hushed Videl. "We're supposed to be kids! Stop cussing like a sailor." She hissed.

"But it's a rock!" Videl exclaimed.

"It's a random prank." Naruto consoled.

Videl growled. "I wish I could remember which house it was...back home, someone who did this would get their house TP-ed and egged..."

"Oh now you're talking." Naruto smirked. "Arr."

"TPed?" Gohan asked.

"You really have been living under a rock. TP, toilet paper?" Videl clarified.

"Okay...how do you toilet paper someone's house?" Gohan inquired.

"I'm glad you asked." Naruto smirked as he opened up the secret compartment in his bag to reveal his stash of extra soft toilet paper and grade A eggs.

"Oh perfect." Videl said evilly.

"Guys wait, we can't just TP some person's house." Sakura said.

"Oh, like you don't wanna do it." Videl smirked.

"Yeah, but still..." Sakura muttered before walking directly into someone.

"Oof!" Sakura and the masked man said as they collided.

"Pardon me." Sakura said before she remembered that she was supposed to be disguised as a child. "Mister."

"Its no trouble. I should have looked where I was going." The masked man apologized. The henged teens all looked up at the man in black robes wearing an orange swirling mask that had only one opening for his right eye. "Excuse me, I need to find a good dango place before they close." The man said as he tried to push past the four of them.

"Oh, there's one down this street a few blocks." Videl said.

The man whipped his head around, acting more like an excited kid than the four of them were supposed to be. "Oh really? Thank you!" He cried in joy.

"Of course, anytime..." Videl said, a little weirded out. The man enthusiastically waved goodbye before disappearing in the crowd.

"Weirdo." Naruto said. "So anyway, back to the pranking. Come on, Sakura-chan. You even said you thought my pranks were funny. Don't forget, we still gotta get Konohamaru back." Naruto urged.

"Yeah but...does that random person really deserve it?" Sakura asked.

"I've got a rock..." Videl reiterated in annoyance.

"Good enough for me." Naruto shrugged.

"How about we just call it good for now and toss out the rock. Really don't want us to get in trouble, yet again." Gohan said.

"Yeah, okay." Videl said, not feeling up for arguing.

"Alright, but you're helping us throw a prank before the night is done, matey!" Naruto declared.

"That pirate persona is getting annoying..." Sakura grumbled.

"Yeah, it's not as endearing as I once thought." Naruto admitted.

"I kinda wish you guys let me go as Dende. This form brings up too many bad memories..." Gohan said.

"I know it's rough, but it's just for tonight." Sakura said.

"What are you talking about? We didn't say anything. You just came out with that costume from the changing room." Videl said.

"No... he did want to be Dende, whoever that is. But this was better I feel. Because the first form of Cell probably would have scared everyone and caused a panic." Naruto said.

"Oh...I must not have been paying attention..." Videl said sheepishly.

"Well whatever. We'll find a dark corner and you can transform into Dende." Naruto said.

"That would be appreciated, thank you." Gohan said.

"Then we can hit a few more houses!" Naruto declared.

"What exactly are you doing?" Came a deep voice behind them. They turned around to see Baal and Nayru eating some Dango sticks.

"Geez...don't scare us like that." Sakura gasped out.

"You lot enjoying the festival I take it?" Baal smiled.

"Yea, we are. But why are you here?" Videl asked.

"To continue your training, or is this a bad time?" Baal asked.

"Well, we were kinda hoping to enjoy the night. We've been training for a week and a half straight." Sakura said.

"Well, alright." Baal waved off before he and Nayru walked off.

"Well that was weird." Naruto said.

"Oh for the record...that Frost Demon is about 3 days away." Baal called out before disappearing into the crowd.

"Oh...great..." Sakura said with dread in her tone.

"Well at least we have a date." Videl said. Looking up at the sky as if to see a saucer breaking through the cloud line.

"I still don't sense him yet..." Gohan mused.

"Well, maybe he won't be as bad as we thought. Plus, after our training, we should be able to take him no sweat." Naruto declared.

Sakura smiled. "Yea, you're right. we can take him if we work together."

* * *

After a few more hours, they had amassed so much candy that their bags were about to rip. Thankfully, Sakura was tactful enough to carry along a sealing scroll so they could leave their candy in that.

"Well...I think that covers pretty much every civilian house." Sakura sighed contently. She hadn't done this in so long.

"That was actually a lot of fun." Gohan said as they all released their transformation jutsu's. "So, what now?"

"Well, the adult costume judging doesn't start for another hour or so. So... any suggestions?" Naruto asked.

"I've got one." Videl smirked.

"Hey, there you guys are!" A shrill voice called out behind them.

The four heroes turned around to see Ino and Choji arm in arm, both of them wearing their Yukatas with their clan symbols stitched onto the backs.

"Ino?" Sakura asked, surprised to see her friend so far from the main festival area.

"Yea, we've all been waiting for you at the costume judging stand." Choji informed.

"Sorry, had to show this guy a great time trick or treating." Naruto said, jabbing his thumb at Gohan.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you guys a little old for that?"

"You're never too old for candy." Videl said as she handed Choji a chocolate bar, knowing exactly how to get him on their side.

"Awesome! Thanks, Videl!" Choji cheered before he went to devouring his candy.

"See...growing up, we were all alone in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors. So, I never actually got to go. Plus, my mom would never let me anyway." Gohan said.

"Wow. You poor soul." Ino said as she accepted Sakura's chocolate bar.

"Exactly what I said. But, he got to take part in it regardless. Thanks to Naruto's plan." Videl added.

"And what was Naruto's brilliant plan this time?" Choji asked, still a little sore that his last plan led to his death.

"Yea, we all used transformation jutsu to look like kids in costume. I went as a pirate, Sakura-chan went as a witch, Videl went as a mummy, and Gohan went as Cell Jr." Naruto stated proudly.

"Who the Hell is Cell Jr.?" Choji asked.

Gohan sighed before forming a hand sign and transforming back into the impish, blue, midget form of Cell.

"Hey, that looks like the grasshopper man Lee fought back in Hell." Choji said.

"Cell popped out several of these that nearly killed my friends and ultimately making me snap." Gohan said, back in that high-pitched voice.

"You should see Cell's first form..." Sakura shuddered.

"Wait, his first form? He had more than one?" Choji asked.

Gohan nodded before transforming into Cell's first form, making Sakura and Videl shudder. "This is what Cell looked like before absorbing the Androids." Gohan said in a mid-ranged, raspy voice that just sent shivers up Ino's spine.

"Oh man, you gotta use that for the costume judging." Choji said in awe.

"You sure? Does it count if I use the transformation jutsu?" Gohan asked.

"Yes it does." Ino said, still creeped out.

"Make sure you keep up his persona. The scarier or creepier the better." Choji added.

"Wait, so its allowed?" Gohan asked again to clarify.

"Yes, it is." Sakura confirmed.

"Really? What about the people who build their costumes from scratch?" Gohan asked.

"There are two separate sections. Civilian judging and Shinobi judging." Sakura clarified.

"You guys seem to divide the ninjas from the civilians a lot." Videl pointed out.

"We do it to make it fair. Because otherwise, Shinobi would win all the time." Ino informed.

"Makes sense." Gohan said.

"There's another one I thought about using as well." Gohan said before switching into Freeza's 3rd form.

"Why does that look familiar?" Choji asked.

"It's Freeza's 3rd form." Gohan said, sounding like Freeza.

"Wow...takes dildo head to a whole new meaning." Sakura said, even as the form seriously creeped her out.

Videl snickered.

"Maybe so, but this form ultimately put him on an entirely new level of terror at the time." Gohan said.

"Well whatever, please tell me you four have your Yukatas." Ino asked.

"Um..." They all muttered. They had honestly forgot.

"I put mine on before I transformed." Naruto said.

"Videl and I never got one." Gohan said before transforming back to his original self.

"I have mine in a sealing scroll, just never put it on." Sakura said.

"Well that's great for you, but what about me and Gohan?" Videl asked.

"Uh...hmm...I dunno. The shops are closed until morning." Sakura mused.

"Well it's not a crime to show up without a yukata." Ino waved off.

"Oh good..." Videl sighed in relief.

"I think me and Naruto will swing by my house so that I can get changed. You guys go on ahead without us." Sakura decided.

"Alright, see you later then." Videl said.

Naruto and Sakura walked off so the latter could change. Meanwhile, Gohan turned to face Ino and Choji with a serious look.

"Baal showed up a little while ago...he said our Frost Demon threat is a few days away." Gohan informed grimly.

The two shinobi froze for a second to contemplate that information.

"Shit..." Ino breathed out.

"What do we do?" Choji asked.

"I'm...not sure. I wish this place had a Hyperbolic Time Chamber..." Gohan said grimly.

"Well we have our gravity training and our training from King Kai. Will that be enough?" Choji asked.

"Hard to say...we still don't know how strong this guy really is."

"Can't you sense him yet?" Ino asked.

"No. He's either too far out of range or he's not as strong as everyone says he is." Gohan stated.

"I'm hoping the latter..." Videl said.

"Yet in my experience, it's always the former." Gohan said grimly.

"Well, we'll worry about that later. The Civilian judging is about to start so let's go!" Ino declared as she started dragging Choji back to the stands with the Sons in tow.

They arrived in market Square where the real festival was getting underway. All the non-participants in the costume contest were changed into their yukatas and stood in mixed crowd with those who had hoped to be selected for the final round. Gohan could see more than a few demon foxes in the crowd, along with other demons and classic movie monsters. He noticed that a lot of the ninjas were simply using henges, just like Ino and Choji said.

"Huh...someone went as Ginyu..." Gohan mused as he pointed out said person.

"And someone else went as Shikamaru." Choji pointed out at a civilian in a fake Chunin vest and had his hair tied up like a pineapple.

"Well that's interesting..." Videl commented.

"And look. There's Lee." Ino pointed at a boy with a green jumpsuit and a black bowl on his head.

"And there's...me?" Videl said as she pointed out to someone who was dressed in her training clothes with gold spiky hair and a fake tail. "What have I done for someone to dress like me?" She wondered out loud.

"You killed Orochimaru and two Akatsuki members plus you helped train all of us and helped take down Root. I'd say that's a great deal of achievements." Ino said.

"Wow." Videl said as she blushed. She had never been acknowledged like that. Sure, she was known by many through her father, and she had won her fair share of martial arts tournaments, but none of that mattered here. She came to this universe a nobody and a mere 2-3 months later she was considered enough of a hero for kids to dress up as on Halloween. It was heartwarming.

"I... honestly don't know what to say..." Videl said in awe.

"You don't have to say anything." Choji said as behind his head a child passed by dressed as him with pillows stuffed down his jacket. "Just stay humble."

"He's right, Videl." Gohan said as someone dressed as him in his orange Gi passed behind him.

Videl smiled. "Coming from Mr. Humble himself, that's saying a lot."

"Hey you guys!" They heard a female voice coming from behind. They all turned around to see Tenten waving, followed by the rest of Konoha 11 for the exception of Sakura and Naruto.

"Hey, Tenten! Everyone!" Videl greeted them.

"Hey there you are! Where've you been?" Tenten asked.

"Out trick or treating with Naruto and Sakura. We told you about that, right?" Gohan said.

"Uh...I don't think so..." Tenten said, a little unsure if he had told her or not.

"He told us. You were just exhausted from training." Lee said.

"Eh...maybe..." Tenten shrugged.

"Well, after this, we gotta train our asses off. Baal told me our Frost Demon is a few days away." Gohan warned.

"Oh, isn't that just f-ing great." Kiba said sarcastically.

"But I can't sense him yet. So, I still don't know what we're dealing with." Gohan added.

"Well, we may not sense him yet, but I sense Naruto and Sakura heading towards us." Videl chimed in to lighten the mood.

"Really? I could have sworn they were going to take longer so that they could make out." Ino teased.

"See for yourself." Videl said as she pointed to the two in question.

Naruto and Sakura were walking side by side through the crowd, with Sakura holding on to Naruto's left arm and Naruto leaning his head on top of hers.

"Aww...they look so adorable..." Ino gushed.

"True. Their couple game is strong." Choji said.

"Second strongest power couple in the Leaf, I'd say." Tenten smiled.

"Yeah, behind me and Choji." Ino smirked as she snuggled into her big teddy bear.

"More like Gohan and Videl." Shikamaru said simply.

"Wow. Don't let Temari hear you say that." Kiba teased, earning him a smirk from Hinata.

"I'm going by facts here. It's true, we've all gotten a lot stronger, but they still outclass us 100 to 1. So, if this threat that's coming is supposed to be stronger than even them and showing up in just a few days, even if we buckle down and train non-stop until he gets here, we would still be no match." Shikamaru said logically.

"You do know that power couple means most high profile couple in the village, right? Not literally who is the most powerful." Tenten pointed out

"Regardless, he does have a point." Shino stated.

"Hey you guys." Sakura greeted as she and Naruto arrived to the group.

"Hey yourself. Wow, that looks great on you." Videl said as she looked at Sakura's Yukata.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you. I got it-" She stopped when all of those who could sense energy were hit hard by an enormous and evil energy.

"Oh...yea he's a lot stronger than me..." Gohan said grimly as Sakura collapsed to her hands and knees and lost her candy all over the dirt streets.

"Ugh...I-I feel...so cold..." Sakura gasped out.

"That's the feeling of pure, unrestrained evil...we're in a lot of trouble..." Gohan said seriously.

"That...that power...it just keeps going on forever..." Videl gasped out as Naruto punched the ground.

"Dammit...how are we supposed to beat this guy..." Naruto growled in frustration.

"I... I don't know..." Shikamaru said in fear. That made them all look up in fear. If the resident genius didn't know what to do, what chance did they have?

"We'll beat him by working together!" Videl shouted. All eyes immediately fell upon her, looking determined and pissed off.

"For the last 7 years, I had been living in the lap of luxury. When I came here, tough opponent after tough opponent has been keeping me on my toes. All of the training, all of the heart ache, all of the blood, sweat and tears since coming here, I'll be DAMNED if I'm giving up just because there is an unbeatable foe! Gohan, you've gone through far worse than this in past and you know it! We need to band together and send him back to his home world in pieces if need be!" Videl preached.

"I was asked once what my will of fire is...I'll tell you." Videl started as she looked upon her friends. "I will never give up. I will never surrender. I will never falter, and I will put my life on the line to protect those I care about. That's MY Ninja way."

The ninjas around her were stunned. Not just the Konoha 11, but all of the ninjas and civilians standing nearby who heard her. Someone in the background cheered and the whole crowd started cheering, even though less than a handful of them knew why exactly Videl was giving a speech.

"Well said." Said a tipsy sounding voice from behind Videl.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

All eyes turned on their Hokage, wearing a dark green yukata with a gust of leaves designed all over and her Senju clan symbol on her back. Of course, the men all noticed this second after they stopped ogling her ample cleavage. Sage knows how her yukata did it, but it made the 5th Hokage's already legendary bosom pop out even more.

"Hey kids, miss me?" Tsunade smiled as Jiraiya stood off to her right with a popsicle in his mouth.

"Man... getting drunk sounds good right about now..." Sakura said to herself. With what's coming, she needed something to take the edge off.

"Whoa, since when are you one for excess drinking?" Tsunade asked, astounded. Usually Sakura was the most vocal one of Tsunade's inner circle to get her to tone it down on the sake.

"Considering our frost demon is about 11 times stronger than we thought...yea, that's a really good excuse." Sakura rationalized.

"Eleven times, huh?" Tsunade asked while Jiraiya ogled the two skimpy clad civilian girls in ninja costumes.

"Well shoot, I've had worse excuses to drink." Tsunade shrugged as she pulled out her secret flask from in between her breasts and took a swig. "We got Gohan here, so no worries." Tsunade added.

"Yea, he's several times stronger than me." Gohan informed, making Tsunade spray out her sake.

"Ack, this is water!" Tsunade exclaimed as she looked at her flask.

"Wait, you're not at all concerned about this?" Shikamaru asked.

"Why should I be? We had certain death way before you Saiyans and your Frost Demons showed up. You think that the pervert and I thought fighting Hanzo the Salamander would be a cakewalk? Hell no. We were under orders to flee on sight if we weren't accompanied by at least two platoons. You think we didn't dread those missions that would take us near his last known sighting? We did. And we treated every night before like it was our last." Tsunade said as she threw away her old flask and pulled out her extra secret stash. "Until we finally did face him. With barely three teams between us. He took our comrades out almost instantly, leaving the three of us to fight him alone." Tsunade took a swig at the memory and for the comrades she lost that day. "When the dust settled and we had held the line, Hanzo congratulated us and named us the Three Sannin."

"Wait, that's how you get to be Sannin?" Videl asked.

"Yes, it is." Jiraiya spoke up. "Hanzo bestowed it upon us as a sign of acknowledgment. The 2nd Shinobi War was drawing to a close. That battle we fought would decide which side would have the position of superiority at the inevitable peace talks." He said. "We were ordered to hold off any enemy forces that came at us until the supply caravan could make it to the nearby fort. If they did, we would have a permanent foothold in the Land of Rain. If not, well then every nation would know that the Hidden Rain beat back the Hidden Leaf."

"Getting back on track here..." Sakura started. "What should we do?"

"I think we should alert the other nations about this threat and I still have a team to-"

"Hold it." Tsunade spoke.

"What is it?" Gohan asked.

"See here you guys, I've lived a long life for a shinobi. Fought in two wars. I stared death in the face more times than I can count and I've spent my fair share of time dreading the next morning. So trust me when I say that now is not the time for preparation or to worry. Now is the time to get crunked and to get laid." Tsunade stated.

"Uuuhh..." They all stammered.

"Look. You wanna train your little butts off, that's fine, but if you don't take the time to enjoy the finer things in life, you might as well be one of Danzo's sock puppets. Relax tonight, have fun, get drunk, get laid. Because if the unthinkable happens after you face the enemy, I guarantee you will regret not taking the night off more than you would regret not getting in one more day of training." Tsunade wisely stated. "It's now or never."

The shinobi all looked at one another, taking Tsunade's words to heart. She had a very good point. Gohan himself learned that 7 years ago. When they only had 10 days to fight Cell, Goku and himself took it easy those 10 days and they still succeeded.

"She's actually right." Gohan spoke up.

Sakura and the others turned to Gohan in shock.

"Gohan?" Videl asked.

"7 years ago, we were down to 10 days before the start of the Cell games. I wanted to train, but my dad said it wouldn't do any good. So instead, we spent those days relaxing, enjoying the company of friends and family, all the while the days grew closer and closer to the fate of the world. Yet, we still came out on top." Gohan explained.

"Damn right, I'm right. I am the Hokage." Tsunade stated proudly before belching like a drunk sailor.

"Pleasant..." Videl deadpanned.

"Who cares for pleasantries? The Daimyo is gone, I've got no ceremonies to oversee and no paperwork to fill out. I'm free!" Tsunade cheered, earning whoops and hollers from the crowd around her.

 _'I think now is the time for that swinger's deal.'_ Inner said to Sakura.

"As for you!" Tsunade said as she jabbed Jiraiya right in the chest. "You either plow me enough that I can't walk to work tomorrow, or you'll sleep on the floor. Clear?"

Jiraiya gulped as he felt the bottom half of his yukata tightening something fierce. "Sure thing, Princess."

"You'll be calling me Queen later tonight." Tsunade promised as she took another swig of her sake.

 _'Yeah, I think so.'_ Sakura thought as she nervously laughed on the outside.

"Same with you, big man." Videl said to Gohan sternly.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied, unsure if he liked that devious look that Videl was getting in her eye.

"That goes double for you Naruto." Sakura said firmly.

"What did I do?" He asked fearfully.

"It's what you're going to do mister. I don't want to be able to walk in the morning you understand me?"

"Yes, crystal." Naruto said quickly.

Sakura smiled before patting his head. "Good."

"Don't think you're out of this either, bucko." Ino said sweetly to Choji, making the boy chuckle nervously. While unnoticed by everyone, Hinata pinched the back of Kiba's robes to let him know that his girlfriend was having similar ideas.

"Same for you, Lee." Tenten said.

"Yosh! Of course, my metal flower!" Lee exclaimed.

"Very good." Tsunade declares. "Now you kids go have some fucking fun. But remember to use protection." She motherly scolds.

"Well...I'm kinda exempt from that right now but ok." Videl said.

That received her a quick strike to the head for back talking. "It's never too early to get into a routine." Tsunade lectured.

 _'Bitch...'_ Videl thought to herself.

"So, we sticking around here, or are you all gonna go home and fuck like jackrabbits?" Neji asked.

"What difference does it make to you? You have no one to go home with." Shino said bluntly. Sakura felt a sudden need to break out the burn ointment.

"Neither do you." Neji countered.

"SHINOOOO-KUUUUUN!" A voice sang from across the crowd. Soon a beautiful brown haired girl in a yellow yukata broke through and wrapped her arm around Shino's arm. "Where have you been you big meanie? You said you were going to guide me through the haunted house." The girl pouted.

"In a bit, Airi." Shino said consul her before turning back to Neji.

"I believe Shikamaru would say, 'checkmate.'"

Neji looked down glumly. Ever since his reputation was destroyed, no girl wanted any part of him.

"Come on, Airi. I'll take you to the haunted house." Shino offered.

She squealed with joy before the two walked away.

"So, that just leaves all of us then. What should we do?" Sakura asked.

 _'We sneak away from everyone and go do it in the woods.'_ Videl thought to Sakura and their boyfriends.

 _'Sounds like a plan.'_ Sakura replied.

"We're gonna go check out some of the games." Videl informed.

"Suit yourselves. We're gonna stay for the costume judging." Ino said.

"You do that. See ya later." Sakura said before the 4 power houses walked off towards the area where the games are before vanishing into the crowd.

* * *

Just to be certain, the quad played a few games in case any of their friends tried to spy on them. A round of ring toss, knock the bottles over, and fish catching. The latter of whom, Naruto managed to catch the most fishes and was rewarded with an exotic looking fish. He was about to present it to Sakura as a gift, until his eye caught a little girl who was crying because she couldn't win a fish for a pet. The Uzumaki heir looked over at his girlfriend, whose smile was all the confirmation he needed. The look on the little girl's face when he gave her that beautiful fish was more of a prize than actually winning the fish could ever hope to be. Although the kiss on the cheek from Sakura was definitely a close second.

After a while, they soon grew bored of the games and started making their way to do what they have been meaning to do.

"So, how we doing this?" Naruto asked as they made their way out of the crowded street, being mindful of where their friends were based on the location of their energies.

"Well you two both bought condoms beforehand, right?" Videl inquired.

"Yup." Naruto said as he took a few out of his yukata

"Well don't show them here!" Sakura snapped, embarrassed that he would display them out in public like that.

"Shit, sorry..." Naruto whispered before shoving them back in his robes.

"Honestly..." Videl sighed.

"And you two know the contraceptive jutsu?" Gohan asked, focusing on Videl.

"I never learned it, but I'm still pregnant so it's not like I need it." Videl said

"Fair enough. You can't get pregnant while you're pregnant." Sakura waved off.

"No. Protection is everybody's responsibility." Gohan lectured. "Like Lady Tsunade said, you need to get in a routine of using that jutsu."

"Um, newsflash. Contraceptives are actually harmful to the fetus while I'm pregnant." Videl stated, remembering her 5th grade sex ed.

"Well technically the contraception jutsu isn't a drug, it's a chakra barrier placed around your uterus." Sakura pointed out. "And it's not just used to prevent pregnancy, it's also to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases."

"Oh...I forgot about that..." Videl said sheepishly.

"Yeah. Although I should mention that the jutsu comes in two forms. The first one prevents pregnancy and is quicker to activate. The second one coats the cervix and the vagina walls to prevent STDs, but takes more time to fully activate." Sakura added.

"I think for safety sake, you should use both on yourself and Videl." Gohan said.

"Fine. How long does the second form take to activate?" Videl asked.

"30 seconds if you are experienced. A minute if you're not." Sakura answered.

"I think we can wait a couple of minutes for safety sake." Gohan said as they reached the tree line, where they could disappear completely from the lights of the festival.

"No, that's just how long you need to concentrate on setting up the barrier. You know you boys ought to learn it too. Could come in handy whenever you're caught ill prepared." Sakura said.

"I'll...make a note of that." Gohan said.

"Right." Sakura narrowed her disbelieving eyes. "So, I'm gonna take Videl behind the bushes to teach her the jutsu. You two...I don't know...do whatever it is guys do before sex. High five each other?"

"I don't see the reason why you need to do that." Naruto said.

"Maybe because she doesn't want you seeing her nude!" Sakura growled.

"Why not? I'm gonna see her that way soon enough." Naruto shrugged.

"He...does have a point. Besides, you do want us to learn it." Gohan pointed out.

"Both of you just do as you're told!" Sakura snapped as she led Videl into the bushes.

"Sakura, honestly, I don't mind. What's the big deal?" Videl said.

"I wanted to talk to you in private." Sakura admitted once she believed that they were out of earshot.

"Oh...alright, what's up?"

"I'm...not sure if I want to do this..." Sakura sighed with shame.

 _'CHICKEN SHIT!'_ Inner screamed.

"Huh? Why not?" Videl asked, afraid that she had pushed Sakura too hard into accepting this.

"I don't...I'm scared that I can't measure up to you." Sakura admitted.

"Is that what this is about? Come on, Sakura. Gohan doesn't care about that. He thinks you're attractive, plus he cares more about pleasing me then getting off. You'll do fine..." Videl assured as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"No, not that. I meant what if Naruto loves what you give him more than what I give him..." Sakura said sadly.

Videl understood what Sakura was getting at and turned very serious. "Now you listen to me. Naruto is completely devoted to you and only you. He knows he can't have me just like Gohan can't have you. We're bonded for life. This is just for fun and pleasure and he knows that. Don't go thinking that he's going to choose me over you, knowing how long he's chased after you and how much he loves you."

"Yeah but...I want to be the one who pleases him the most."

"And you will be. This isn't going to be an every night thing. This is just meaningless sex. What you give him is something that means so much more to him."

"How do you know?"

"Because Gohan is the same way. We don't just have sex, we make love. And that's something only you can do for Naruto."

"Have you ever had, 'just sex' with someone?" Sakura asked.

Videl sighed. "...remember what I told you about my rape?" She asked to which Sakura nodded. "I had been so afraid to give myself to a guy, but Gohan was the only one. I have had some girl on girl experience with my best friend, Erasa, but that was something entirely different. It didn't mean anything; we were just two friends doing it for pleasure. Nothing more."

"And... nothing changed between you two?" Sakura asked.

"Not a thing. If anything, we were closer friends, but we both still liked boys. Although, she was more open about it than I was." Videl said.

"I... see..." Sakura said deep in thought. Like how amusing it was that Erasa acted so similar to another blonde Sakura knew.

Videl smirked. "Would you like to try a girl on girl experience? It's actually very enjoyable."

"Uuuummm..." Sakura muttered as her Inner self shook like a vibrator with barely contained joy. "Maybe later. Right now, I'd rather focus on one new partner for now." Sakura said.

"Fair enough." Videl shrugged.

"So, are you ready to give it a try? I promise you, you won't regret it." Videl asked.

Sakura gulped, but nodded.

"Stop being so nervous...you faced your fears of jail, you stood and stared death in the face. This should be nothing for you." Videl said to ease her worries.

"Yeah, you're right." Sakura smiled.

"Good." Videl smiled. "How about you work on conjuring up that jutsu and we'll pop out of these bushes completely nude for them. They wouldn't know what to do." She smirked. "Think of it as a little prank."

"I think we can do one better." Sakura smirked, having come up with a devious plan.

* * *

 **Emergency Author's Note from Panda: Lemon alert! Lemon alert!**

A few minutes later, the boys were starting to get impatient when Gohan felt something soft pelt against the back of his head.

"The heck was that?" Gohan asked as he turned around, but saw nothing.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Something hit..." Gohan started before looking down at the ground to see a pair of pink panties with cherry blossoms designed on it.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, I'm just gonna go over here for a bit." Gohan said as he scooped up the panties and walked toward the direction from where the panties came from. Before Naruto could get a word in edgewise, Gohan had disappeared behind the bushes.

"Gohan?" Naruto asked before being blindfolded from behind by a pair of silky lace panties.

"Guess who?" Whispered a voice from behind Naruto that he had come to know all too well.

"Videl." He smirked.

"Yup." Videl smiled before letting him go.

Naruto turned around to face her and saw that she was wearing nothing but her birthday suit.

"You deserve a reward for guessing correctly." She said in a sultry tone.

Naruto's eyes went wide at what he saw. There, standing before him, was probably the most powerful woman on the planet, completely exposed for him. Her ample, D cup breasts, her slim, yet toned body, her nether regions hidden away by a forest of black hair and her brown, furry tail, waving about.

He felt like one lucky boy.

"Like what you see?" Videl cooed.

"I do. I really do..." Naruto smiled.

"Then what are you waiting for..." She said seductively.

Meanwhile, Gohan was searching for the cherry blossom who tossed her panties at him.

"Where is she..." Gohan wondered aloud.

"Right here." Sakura said from behind Gohan. He turned around to see a start naked Sakura standing behind him with her hands behind her back and her full view on display. Her small, yet supple breasts, her hips for days, her ass that needed to be worshipped, and those legs you could get lost in between.

"Wow...and here I thought you dyed your hair." Was the only thing Gohan could think to say.

Sakura blushed. "N-no... natural color..." She said, a little nervous.

"I can see that." He said before walking up to her to get a better look. "You're more beautiful than I thought."

Sakura warmed up from that. "N-now...remember, this is just for pleasure..." She stammered.

"I know. I completely understand if you want to think of Naruto the entire time." Gohan said as he opened up his yukata, revealing his well-defined ab muscles.

Sakura felt a nosebleed coming on. Even Naruto wasn't that buff.

 _'Woah...'_ She thought in awe.

Gohan thought that he'd take the initiative and reached around to cup Sakura's butt. He gave it a firm squeeze and was delighted when it felt like marshmallows.

 _'Damn, not even Videl's ass is that fine.'_ Gohan thought.

"Mmmm...someone's eager..." Sakura cooed, now getting into the spirit of things.

Then she felt something hard stick up between her legs. She looked down and gasped. Gohan's member had stood at full attention, a whole two inches bigger than Naruto.

 _'Sweet Sage! Videl gets screwed by that?!'_ Sakura thought in shock.

"I'm sorry if it's not big enough." Gohan said sheepishly.

"Not big enough?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock. "I didn't even know they could get that big!"

Gohan blushed madly, but smiled.

"Damn...You Saiyans...overpowered at everything." Sakura said before she kneeled down and took a firm, her soft hold of his member.

Gohan's body tensed up before she started stroking it, making him feel like putty in her hands.

Seeing the look on Gohan's face, she smirked. "Seems I finally found your weakness." She said, feeling powerful of the fact that she could make the most powerful man on the planet shudder from her touch.

Meanwhile, Videl found herself pressed against a tree on one side with her but sticking out and Naruto's torso pressed against her back. His hands were vigorously groping her breasts while he nipped at the nape of her neck. Videl could feel the chilly autumn breeze slipping past her belly, but it didn't bother her any. She was so damn warm.

"Mmm...You know what...you're doing; I'll give you that..." Videl moaned.

"Really? I haven't really been trying yet." Naruto smirked into Videl's hair.

"Then quit playing around and fuck me..." Videl breathed out.

"Gladly." Two Shadow Clones of Naruto spoke from either side of Videl. Before she could say anything one of them slipped a finger insider and started pumping like a Goddamn pro. The other managed to slip in between her and the tree and started licking her lips to be granted access.

Videl moaned, but accepted his request for entrance and the two started wrestling for dominance with their tongues.

Naruto and his other clone meanwhile were going at all her other sensations, putting her body into overdrive and turning her mind to mush.

Then Naruto had a wild idea. He took a hold of her tail and started stroking it.

Videl gasped loudly, feeling a sensation she had never felt before. It wasn't painful. It was... overwhelmingly pleasurable.

She tried to scream out, cry out about how good that felt, to beg Naruto never to stop, but she couldn't speak.

"You like that, huh?" Naruto smirked and Videl could only moan in response. "Gotta remember to tell Gohan that."

 _'Oh Kami. Tell Sakura instead.'_ Videl thought, summoning up all her willpower to focus.

 _'Tell me what?'_ Sakura thought as she was moments away from bringing Gohan to the brim.

 _'Apparently, the Saiyan tail is a huge pleasure spot. Videl is on her knees and could blow at any-'_

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Videl screamed out into the night sky as she hit her climax harder than she had ever felt before with Gohan.

 _'-moment.'_ Naruto finished.

 _'Really...'_ Sakura thought deviously as the gears in her head began turning.

Gohan didn't know why, but he felt an evil tingle run up his spine and it wasn't because of the Frost Demon. That's when he felt Sakura's delicate fingers brush against the hairs on his tail and his geyser exploded.

Sakura found herself splashed in the face by Gohan's seed as he erupted rope after rope on her.

 _'Sage of Six Paths, talk about a hair trigger.'_ Sakura thought.

Gohan collapsed on his back as he rode out the rest of his orgasm, giving Sakura time to assess her current state.

"Good Kami, Gohan..." Sakura said in awe as she was practically drenched in semen. "No wonder Videl's pregnant."

"Heh...and no wonder...Naruto's so...devoted to you..." Gohan gasped out.

"You know it." Sakura smirked. "You wouldn't happen to have a towel, would you?"

"No..." Gohan gasped. "Holy shit, I can't feel my legs..."

Sakura grinned. "Good. Because it's my turn."

"What?" Gohan whimpered.

"Don't think you can soak me with your jizz and not get me off, mister. I want that monster of a cock in me, now."

"Please...I need a minute..." He begged, feeling completely spent.

 _'So, he can't go back to back like Naruto can.'_ Sakura deduced. _'Quality over quantity.'_

 _'Not that our Naruto's quantity isn't quality.'_ Inner smirked.

Sakura smiled as she activated her mystic palm jutsu. She held it over Gohan's spent balls and filled them with healing chakra, speeding up his cell growth. In no time, Gohan was reloaded and rising back up to full mast.

"Woah...what did you do?" Gohan asked.

"I sped up your cell growth, thereby speeding up your sperm production. It's the bare bones of the mystic palm technique." Sakura explained to her fellow medical apprentice.

"Oh, right. I guess my mind is still a little fuzzy." Gohan admitted as said mind focused on the idea of two medical students relieving each other's pressure. The thought making their act seem even more forbidden and thus more exciting.

"No worries. Just relax while I do all the work." Sakura said as she placed her fingers on Gohan's chest to balance herself, letting her position herself over Gohan's rock hard shaft. She flicked her lips over his tip to tease them both before placing herself completely over his second head.

Immediately, she realized just how big he really was.

 _'Gonna need a little help.'_ She thought before placing her mystic palm over her own abdomen to relax her muscles. She let out a great sigh as she slowly eased herself lower and lower, feeling her body being filled to its limit.

She looked down to see that she wasn't even all the way down. She was little more than half way.

"Uhn...there's no way..." Sakura moaned. His tip was pressed against her cervix and there was still room to go.

She looked up to Gohan. "I can't...fit it all in..."

"What? Videl can fit it all in." Gohan said.

"Well...I can't..."

"So, what do we do?" Gohan asked, feeling excited again for having Sakura sitting on his steel pole.

 _'Only one thing to do...'_ Sakura thought. In a swift motion, she flopped herself down hard, making it go in the rest of the way.

Her mind turned into a white flash for a moment to process the sudden feeling.

"Aaawww FUCK!" She cried. Bad idea, bad fucking idea.

"Are you okay?" Gohan asked with concern.

"You damn near split me in half you bastard." Sakura grit her teeth.

"I didn't force you down." Gohan pointed out.

Gohan then sent a pulse of Ki through his member and inside Sakura, causing her pain to subside.

"Oohh...what did you do?" Sakura asked, feeling rather good after what he just did.

"I'm...not quite sure. I did it to Videl for our first time and it seemed to work." Gohan said.

"Well whatever you're doing. Don't you ever stop." Sakura ordered.

"Got ya." Gohan nodded before Sakura started riding.

Back with the other two swingers, they had switched positions and now Naruto was sitting on a stump while Videl bounced on his lap, her chest pressed against his and their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

"Oh my goooood..." Videl moaned like a bitch in heat. Naruto may not have Gohan's length, but he had his thickness.

"Oooohhh yeeeess... pound my twat you fuck..." Videl moaned.

Naruto was just as much on cloud 9 as Videl was. She may not be as tight as Sakura, but she was way wetter and energetic.

"God DAMN!" Naruto swore. "You sloppy whore, you're fucking awesome."

"Shut up and fuck the Super Saiyan out of me." Videl moaned.

As Videl rode him, Naruto stroked her tail to maximize her pleasure.

Just as Videl said, she had slowly flashed into a Super Saiyan as her climax was rapidly approaching, her aura surrounding herself and Naruto.

"Ohhh...goooood... I'm almost there..." Videl moaned.

"M-me too..." Naruto moaned.

Videl continued to grind, bounce, thrust and ride him. Until...

Videl tightened around Naruto like a vice grip, her legs grabbed around his center, her nails dug into his shoulder blades, and even her tail wrapped out his arm that was stroking her.

"MMMMMMHHHHMMMM!" She silently cried, knowing in her heart that if she allowed herself to cry out she would alert the whole village.

Naruto grunted as he released his load inside her.

He too felt his muscles tightening before being blissfully relaxed. _'Fuck that was good...'_ He sighed.

Videl relaxed and started breathing heavily. "Oh man...I need that..."

"Me... too..." Naruto sighed.

"No wonder...Sakura can't...get enough of you..." Videl breathed out.

"Same...I'd fight Gohan for you if I didn't have Sakura-chan." Naruto wheezed.

"Heh...yea you would be steamrolled." Videl chuckled.

"For an ass like that, I'd be worth it." Naruto smirked.

Videl just giggled before standing up, letting Naruto's member flop out and his seed to leak from her opening. "Wanna go again?"

"Actually, wait a minute." Videl stopped herself.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Let's find Gohan and Sakura. I want a 3 way."

"Wait what?" Naruto asked as Videl scooped up her clothes and dragged out through the darkness to find Sakura and Gohan.

"You heard me." Videl said.

"Yeah, but with who?" Naruto tried to ask, only for Videl to keep dragging him until they found their significant others still going at it until Sakura let out a quiet scream, her body shuddering in ecstasy before collapsing on top of Gohan.

"Took you long enough." Videl said, startling the two, mid climax.

"Sweet Sage, Videl...don't do that." Sakura gasped in brief fear. "Geez, I thought you were someone else."

"Ha...I knew I'd outlast you..." Gohan smirked at Naruto.

"Don't get too cocky. Naruto here figured out about my tail early. I was putty in his hands after that." Videl praised.

"So... where did Sakura get the idea?" He asked before sitting up.

 _'Telepathic communication, duh.'_ Videl thought. _'I figured it could be a surprise for you.'_

"Huh...well, alright then." Gohan shrugged.

"Also, you may have outlasted Naruto, but he could go 6 more times if he wanted." Sakura praised.

"It's true." Naruto smirked.

"Besides, I'll have the record show that I had to get you healed up for round two. So my hubby outlasted you twice over." Sakura added.

"We're gonna have to fix that..." Videl said before giving a stern look to her fiancé.

"Yes, dear..." Gohan said before looking down in shame.

"Well I will say that he's got Naruto beat on size. I mean god damn. He's hung like an ox." Sakura praised.

"Really? This is actually small for Saiyan averages according to my grandfather." Gohan said.

"Why would you ever learn that from your grandfather?" Sakura asked. "How would that subject ever come up?"

"Um..." Videl and Gohan stammered.

"We'd...rather not talk about that..." Videl said shamefully.

"Yeah, so moving on to a subject that doesn't involve sex, Videl wants a threesome." Naruto said, hoping to move things along.

"Naruto...that does involve sex." Videl deadpanned.

"Yes, that was also sarcasm." Naruto said smugly.

"Whatever...anyway, yes, I would like a threesome." Videl confirmed.

"Whoa, hold on..." Sakura said as she tried to stand up, only to stumble and be caught by Naruto.

"Thank you." She smiled up at Naruto before turning back to Videl. "What's this about a threesome?"

"You heard me, I want a threesome." Videl repeated.

"With who?" Sakura asked.

"Hmm..." Videl mused as she looked over the two men and Sakura. "You and Naruto."

Sakura had to do a double take when she heard that. She thought Videl meant Gohan, but upon looking at him, it turned out that he was looking at her.

"Me?" Sakura asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes, you. It's been awhile since I did it with another girl." Videl confirmed.

"What are you, bi?" Sakura demanded.

"Bitch, I might be!" Videl snapped playfully.

"Uh...n-not that there's anything wrong with that...I-I just...was...unprepared for it is all." Sakura stammered, not wanting to seem prejudice.

"Eh...don't sweat it." Videl waved off.

"W-why not me?" Gohan asked.

"Few reasons." Videl started. "1, you don't have a lot of stamina in the bedroom and you know it. 2, Naruto has stamina to spare and you know how horny I get when I'm in the mood, especially now. 3, you could screw Sakura again, but I have a feeling she won't be walking in the morning. Plus, I wanna lick her pretty looking twat."

Sakura's cheeks felt like red hot tamales.

"Oh, and 4, I don't like anal." Videl added.

"So, it would be Sakura-chan either way." Naruto assumed.

"Yup." Videl replied.

"Welp..." Naruto said as he cracked his back. "If Gohan isn't up to the challenge, I can certainly fill in the gaps." He smirked.

Gohan growled. "Watch it, Whiskers. Your girlfriend can't walk because of me."

"Yea? And I've put her in that situation more than you have!" Naruto shot back.

"I've put my girlfriend in that situation more times than you have." Gohan countered.

"Maybe we like to savor our sex instead of fucking like jack rabbits every night." Naruto snapped back.

"Maybe you live with her parents and they won't allow you." Gohan snapped.

"Boys boys, you're both studs, alright?" Sakura said, trying to keep the peace.

"Seriously, now you two stop fighting or me and Sakura will find someone else willing. Perhaps Neji." Videl said.

"Hey, now there's an idea." Sakura said.

"Hell no!" Naruto and Gohan shouted.

"Then knock off the bullshit!" Both women shouted. Both men pouted like the whipped dogs that they were.

"Good. Now you behave, Gohan, and I promise you a threesome with Sakura and a wild night with me later." Videl said.

"Geez, you do get horny." Sakura said.

"Yea, must be the pregnancy." Videl shrugged. That's when it finally dawned on Naruto that he just fucked a pregnant woman.

"Um...Videl?" Naruto raised his hand.

"What's up?" Videl asked.

"What we did...it's not...going to affect the baby, is it?" He asked, genuinely curious and more importantly concerned. Sakura and Videl looked at one another before giggling.

"No, Naruto. It won't. My vaginal canal is longer than a typical human's, so it's okay. Plus, my children are protected by an embryonic sack so your sperm would do nothing to them. Plus, the contraceptive Jutsu would have prevented your juice from entering that area anyway." Videl explained.

Naruto sighed in relief. "Oh good..."

"But if Sakura was pregnant, that would be a different story." Videl said.

"Yes, he penetrated my cervix by a whole inch plus. Had I been pregnant as long as Videl is, there would be an issue because he could have broken the embryonic sack." Sakura confirmed.

 _'And Tsunade said I couldn't hit anything.'_ Gohan thought, feeling a little proud of himself.

"Wouldn't that kill the fetus?" Videl asked.

"Yes, in most cases it would." Sakura said.

 _'Never mind.'_ Gohan thought to himself.

"Well, anyway..." Videl said before taking a good look at Sakura.

Sakura saw the way Videl was looking at her and gulped.

"Uhh...Videl...W-what are you-" Sakura started before she was silenced by Videl's lips.

The boys looked at this and by the grace of whichever almighty god their eyes didn't pop out of their sockets. Which was good, since they never wanted to look away.

Sakura was absolutely stunned. She is being kissed by another girl, something that has never happened before. Videl had forced her tongue inside her mouth where it started wrestling for dominance with hers and...it felt soft, gentle even. A sharp contrast from the way Naruto kissed her. she found herself wanting more so she leaned into the kiss and returned it with gusto.

Naruto and Gohan meanwhile unconsciously fist bumped one another.

Sakura's arms ran up Videl's backside, feeling the contours of her back and the smoothness of her skin. She took the initiative and started fondling one of Videl's boobs. A huge difference from her own. They were larger for sure, but they were also soft and supple, like a marshmallow cushion in the palm of her hand.

Videl did the same. While not as large as her, they were still just as soft and supple as her own. Then she leaned in and moved her right leg in between Sakura's and started rubbing Sakura's nether region with her thigh.

 _'So, do you like Halloween, Gohan?'_ Naruto asked his buddy.

 _'If it ends like this every year, you know it.'_ Gohan responded.

Sakura's breath hitched at the sudden contact made by Videl, but it was a gentle and very smooth the way Videl was rubbing against her. So... she started doing the same to the mother to be.

The two women started grinding against the other's leg, their legs getting doused by the other's womanhood. This of course, didn't go unnoticed by the guys, with their own excitement building as they watched their mates go at it.

 _'Jump in anytime, Naruto.'_ Videl thought to the blond maverick.

Naruto didn't need telling twice. He gave Gohan one last fist bump before jumping into the fray. Gohan would have loved nothing more than to jump in as well, but even he agreed that he was spent and couldn't go another round. He really needed to fix that.

Sakura and Videl broke away for a moment as they had been coming up with ideas via the mental plane. They both looked at Naruto before pushing him flat on his ass. The next thing Naruto knew, he was staring up at two, dripping folds covered in pink hair followed by the sensation of two fleshy pillows surrounding his member.

"Ever have a tit fuck, Naruto?" Videl asked as she messaged his member with her boobs.

Naruto couldn't answer as he had a mouthful of Sakura's pussy.

"Uhnn...n-no... he hasn't..." Sakura replied for him. A little ashamed of herself seeing as that she didn't exactly have the right…equipment to give him one.

 _'Oh man, that lucky bastard.'_ Gohan thought to himself. As they continued to go at it, Gohan felt kinda like a third wheel in this whole scenario.

 _'I think I'll just leave them be.'_ He thought before picking up his clothes and walking off.

* * *

 **Panda: Alright everyone, it's safe to come out now…**

 **For now…**

 ***shines flashlight below my face and laughs manically***

Meanwhile in space, a massive ship had just appeared out of warp and was entering the asteroid belt that separates Element from the rest of the solar system.

"Give me a sitrep." Ice ordered as he stepped onto the bridge of the ship.

"Sire, we've had several energy fluctuations coming from the planet. The largest reading we have is 120 million." One of the aliens said.

"What?!" Ice bellowed. To have a power level so close to his was not good. "What about now?"

"There is one steady energy of 28 million currently, sire." Another alien informed.

"Plus, two others that are even at 30 million, sir." A third alien reported.

"Dammit..." Ice cursed under his breath. "The 3 lower powers will be easy for me to deal with, but that high one could prove problematic..." He mused before a thought occurred to him. "Give me a scan of the planet."

"I'm detecting roughly around 900 million Elementians and two Saiyan's, sire." The first alien reported.

"Saiyan's..." Ice growled. "So, a few survived after all..."

"Sire, scans show that those two Saiyan's are only half Saiyan and half Human." An alien replied.

"So, that means somewhere there are at least two full blooded Saiyan's." Ice mused. "Change of plans. Cloak the ship and secure a standard orbit around the planet. I will take a shuttle and retreat back to a further distance. Once you have established orbit, send several squads to the surface and flush out the Saiyan's. Once done, I will make my appearance."

"What? But sir. Even with their high-power levels you could easily defeat them all." One of his scientist proclaimed.

"You fool. The fact that you have detected constant fluctuations in power levels means that the lifeforms on Element can hide their power levels. Most likely the two Saiyans. By sending a squad down there to wreak havoc it will force the inhabitants of the world to act and reveal their true power level. Only then will I act." Ice lectured.

"Y-yes, sir." The scientist stammered.

"Good. Send a platoon of our best warriors. Around 30 soldiers. To the planet's surface. Have them establish a base while they are there and wait for my orders." Ice commanded.

"Yes, my lord." All the bridge crew said. Ice took his leave and headed towards the main shuttlebay. One way or another, he was going to succeed in this mission.

* * *

Meanwhile back on the planet, while Videl, Sakura and Naruto went at it, Gohan got dressed again and find a quiet place to meditate. He needed to be prepared for this threat. If nothing else, he could at least stop it. Then he sensed something peculiar.

 _'Well...that's odd.'_ Gohan thought. _'That frost demon is moving away...but, the rest of those energy signatures are moving closer...what is he planning...'_

Both energy signatures then disappeared and Gohan couldn't sense any of them.

 _'The Hell? They can cloak themselves?'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Something wrong, Gohan?'_ Videl thought to him.

 _'Our frost demon friend just disappeared, same with his army. I don't quite get it.'_ Gohan replied.

 _'Maybe they have a stealth system?'_ Videl thought, thinking of her favorite series Star Trek.

 _'That would be new. Freeza's ship never had that...at least I don't think so.'_

 _'Well this is a different universe, isn't it? Who's to say that these Frost Demons aren't more advanced than the one you're used to.'_ Videl stated.

 _'That is a possibility...in which case, we can't keep our guard down.'_

 _'But Baal said that we had three days for the Frost Demon to arrive. Doesn't that mean that we can keep our guard down until then?'_

 _'No, it doesn't. A threat like this is something you don't want to take lightly.'_ Gohan said seriously.

 _'I'm not. But I'm also in the middle of my first threeway, so I don't want to stop.'_

 _'That's fine. I'm not saying you should.'_

 _'Right. So we'll have our guard up tomorrow.'_ Videl thought.

 _'Very well then. I'm going to do some meditative training for a while.'_

 _'Have at it.'_

* * *

 **Panda: Lemon alert! Everyone back in their erotic fanfiction proof bunker!**

 ***sees a 12-year-old trying to sneak a peak. Cocks my shotgun* Get in the bunker, kid.**

After Gohan had left, Videl and Sakura had managed to force Naruto to succumb to their special service. After he exploded all over Videl's tits, Sakura grew bold and leaned over to lick the cum off of Videl's breasts. Starting from the left teat and circling all over and underneath her friend's left breast, while her free hand scooped up the drippings off of the half saiyan's right breast and smeared the dollop of man cream along Videl's lips. Videl tried to pleasure Sakura back, but it was clear that the pinkette was in control now, Videl and Naruto could only hold on for the ride.

Videl took the time to kiss and lick Sakura's ear, the scent of her shampoo filling Videl's nostrils. Finally, Sakura was satisfied with Videl's breast, as she had licked it clean and erect. She moved on to Videl's lips, delicate and sweet, like peaches.

Videl was hesitant at first to allow Sakura to take the lead, but Sakura was such a natural that Videl would be crazy to argue the point. Instead she stuck her tongue out to lick along Sakura's cherry lips, demanding entrance. Sakura was all too willing to oblige.

Meanwhile on Naruto's end, he recovered from his latest orgasm and chose to ignore what was happening between Videl and Sakura for now and focus on making Sakura-chan feel good.

Sakura had pushed Videl back onto her butt, sitting her in-between Naruto's open legs, and Sakura wasn't letting up her assault. Naruto took this as his excuse to come up from behind Sakura and suckle on that perfect ass of hers. His lips leaving little hickey marks trailing along her bottom. He worked his way up her spine, massaging her muscles where he could and leaving more of his trail of butterfly kisses until he got to her neck. The nape of her neck felt warm and creamy, untouched by the sun thanks to her habit of having her hair long.

His touches helped relax Sakura and thereby making her more confident when dealing with Videl.

 _'SAKURAAAAA SANDWICH!'_ Inner Sakura cried out in joy.

Naruto looked up to see Sakura returning every gesture Videl was giving her and he was eating it up.

 _'Oh, thank you multi-colored gods in the sky.'_ Naruto mused to himself.

Videl was glad Sakura accepted the gesture and decided to explore a little. A hand trailed down Sakura's body and cupped one of her breasts. They were significantly smaller than her own, but they seemed right for Sakura. She rubbed and squeezed Sakura's left breast, then she felt something unexpected, but welcoming. Sakura started doing the same to her!

 _'For someone who was so against this, you're really getting into it.'_ Videl said into Sakura's mind.

 _'Speak for yourself, Mrs. Touch my man and I'll fuck you up, Videl Satan.'_ Sakura teased back.

 _'Fair enough.'_ Videl giggled. Just then, Videl's breath hitched when she felt a hand on her sex. She could tell by the feel of it that it wasn't Sakura's.

"Oh my god... Mmmm..." Videl moaned.

Naruto was surprised at himself, he hadn't even realized that he had reached out to fondly Videl's sex, it had just happened on instinct, but his instincts seemed to be serving him well. Videl seemed wholeheartedly accepting him while pressing herself closer and closer into his palm.

Sakura meanwhile noticed this and while she had a pang of jealousy for Videl, she instead chose to embrace it. Using her free hand, she placed her palm over top Naruto's hand to encourage him to go deeper into Videl. Then she began to assist him and Videl found herself being fingered by two people at once.

"Ooooohhh...My gooooood... Mmmm..." Videl moaned in sheer pleasure. This was a completely new feeling for her, to have two people finger her like this was amazing.

Naruto had picked up on Sakura's minor jealousy and, with his other hand, dove into Sakura's shorts and fondled her as well.

"Mmmm... Yes..." Sakura breathed out.

The sound and smell of fingering two girls at once was so fucking erotic, Naruto felt like he was going to bust a nut right onto Sakura with his dick was pressed firmly in between her ass cheeks.

Sakura felt a poking sensation from behind her and smirked. With her free hand, she reached behind her and with a sudden motion, gripped Naruto's shaft. Sakura then pulled her other hand away from Videl, much to her silent protest. Once down far enough, Sakura placed Naruto's member between her inner thighs so that her folds could rub against his shaft.

Videl then took Naruto's hand to guide it towards her unshaven vagina. Naruto looked upon this and almost lost it right then and there as Videl pulled his hand back to fingering her pussy while rubbing his dick against Sakura's.

 _'You treat my wife right, Naruto. I can tell that so far you are doing a very good job. I trust you to properly satisfy my mate until I get over there.'_ Gohan said sternly into Naruto's mind.

Ironically, having Gohan in Naruto's mind was exactly what he need to calm down or else he was going to have sprayed the both of Sakura and Videl right then and there.

But what he didn't do, Videl did as he felt a sudden flood against his hand.

"OH YEEES!" Videl shouted as she reached her climax, spraying all over Naruto's hand and felt her knees tremble.

 _'Ha! You came first.'_ Sakura thought at Videl.

 _'O-oh y-yea...?'_ Videl stammered mentally as she traced Sakura's clit with a Ki charged finger. The feeling was like of a warm and vibrating sensation as it hit her most sensitive spot.

"Ooooooohhhhhh ggggooooooodddddd..." Sakura begged. Between Videl's magic finger and Naruto's hot pulsating dick, Sakura knew she wasn't going to last long. But she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Refocusing her attention on Naruto, she squeezed her thighs together to wrap Naruto's member inasmuch firm warmth as she could. She was going to milk him with her thighs.

Naruto grunted as he tried to keep it together. He was able to satisfy one woman, but he refused to let go until Sakura had reached her climax.

Sakura however began rubbing her thighs together back and forth, simulating a delicious kind of friction that Naruto was having a tough time resisting.

 _'Oh I don't think so, Sakura-chan...'_ Naruto thought as he did one thing that Sakura could never resist. He forced a finger in between his dick and her folds and pushed it right up inside.

That did it.

"AAAAAHHH! FUCK!" Sakura cried as she sprayed all over Naruto's hand and cock as well as Videl's hand.

"ARGH! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted as he finally blew his load, covering Sakura's thighs and Videl's hand and sex.

This caused Videl to climax a second time and before long, their bodies went limp on top of one another before they began panting and smiling.

* * *

 **Panda: Okay…all clear. Everyone keep their guard up though.**

"Okay..." Sakura gasped. "That was... a lot more fun than I thought..." Sakura admitted.

"See...? I told you..." Videl said with a grin.

 _'ARE YOU READY FOR A MIRACLE!?'_ Inner Sakura sang.

 _'READY AS I CAN BE!'_ Sakura's emotions sang back.

 _'ARE YOU READY FOR A MIR-A-CLE!?'_

 _'SPIRIT SET YOU FREE!'_

Sakura's personal mindscape was starting to sound like a Lightning Country's temple.

Without warning, Sakura suddenly blew Naruto and Videl away from her as she erupted into a glowing red ball of light. Something inside her was set free, what exactly was anyone's guess. As the aura died down, Sakura appeared before everyone, completely covered in a faded red color and a pulsating aura.

"What the hell?" Videl gasped in shock.

"W-what... happened..." Sakura gasped as she looked upon herself.

"Woah... Sakura-chan... What is this?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know... But I feel... powerful. Very powerful..." Sakura said as she flexed her muscles and when through a few stances.

"I think I just fucked some new powers into you." Naruto said, staring down in awe at his now flaccid penis. He vowed then and there only to use it for good.

"Hey fuck you, I was giving it to her good too ya know. Maybe I unlocked her new powers with my magic fingers." Videl exclaimed.

"I don't think it's either one... This feels like my Kami mode, but more complete and powerful..." Sakura guessed. _'Inner, what is this?'_ Sakura asked, hoping to get an answer.

 _'Hold on, final chorus.'_

 _'ARE YOU REAAAAAADY?!_

 _ARE YOU REAAAAAADY?!_

 _ARE YOU REAAAAAADY?!'_

 _'Inner...'_

 _'READY, READY, YES I AM!'_

 _'INNER!'_

 _'What?'_

 _'Why am I red and glowing?'_ Sakura said again.

It was then that it dawned on Inner what had just happened. _'Oops...'_

 _'"Oops?" What "Oops?"'_ Sakura asked.

Inner sighed. _'I guess I have some explaining to do...'_

 _'Too bad I'm not gonna do it! HIT IT!'_ Inner sang and the emotions choir exploded into song again.

 _'Oh, for fucks sake...'_ Sakura deadpanned.

 _'OOOOOOOHHHHHH, won't you take me home to-night!_

 _OOOOOOOHHHHHH, down beside that red fire liiight!_

 _OOOOOOOHHHHHH, you gonna let it all hang out!_

 _Fat bottomed girls, you make the ROCKIN' WORLD GO ROUND!'_ Inner and the choir sang.

 _'Oh, the hell with this...'_ Sakura huffed as she blocked out her inner self. "I wonder what all I can do with this power?" Sakura wondered.

"From what I can sense, you are on par with me at Super Saiyan." Videl said.

Sakura smirked, catching onto what Videl was getting at. But before anyone could act, they were stunned by a sudden shockwave of energy. They all peaked over the bushes and saw Gohan powering up and pushing his energy higher than he had ever pushed it.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Gohan yelled continuously as his energy rose higher with every passing moment. The ground shook, rocks lifted up from the earth beneath his feet. His golden aura started to fluctuate wildly as he began to change. His golden locks suddenly started growing longer, and longer. His facial features, most notably his brow, started getting more rigid. as the moments passed.

"Holy shit..." Videl gasped out in awe.

"Can you feel that energy?! It's insane!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It feels like the Kyuubi went Super Saiyan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Suddenly, all of their friends and many other ninjas had appeared at the sudden disturbance to see Gohan going through a very powerful transformation. Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Lee, Tenten, Neji, even Kakashi and Shizune all came out of the bushes from the direction of the village.

"What's going on here?!" Kakashi shouted.

"Gohan is transforming! He's trying to obtain Super Saiyan 3!" Videl shouted over all of the noise.

Shizune looked on in awe, but made sure to stand where there was something sturdy between her and Gohan. Namely Kakashi.

Then suddenly; "RAAAAAAHHHHH!" Gohan screamed as his aura exploded, sending out a massive shockwave and blinding the whole area.

As the dust and debris settled down and the blinding light subsided, everyone looked on in awe at Gohan's completed transformation. His hair increased greatly in length to where it was below his waist and his brow was protruding forward, the hair on his eyebrows now gone. His body stood more muscular than before. but for the ones who could sense Ki, this new energy was very intense.

"Unbelievable..." Kakashi gasped out.

"Holy shit!" Kiba exclaimed as Hinata clung to his sides out of intimidation.

"So, that's Super Saiyan 3..." Sakura gasped out, still in her transformation.

"YOOOOOOSH!" Lee let loose a resounding battle cry as the sight of Gohan powered up to a new level excited him. So much so that he opened his 8 inner gates without even realizing it.

"Sakura, can you sense the difference between Gohan and this new threat coming? They are virtually dead even..." Videl pointed out.

"You're right. We may actually have a chance after all!" Sakura cheered.

That was when Ino and the others took notice at Sakura, Videl and Naruto at their state of undress as Gohan collapsed, landing in Videl's arms when she rushed to his side.

"Somebody had a party." Ino whispered to Hinata while pointing at the Team 7 trio standing in the buff.

"What the hell, guys! Why are you naked?!" Tenten shouted, making the nude members of Team 7 freeze.

"Huh?" Videl asked as she looked down at herself, as did Sakura and Naruto. Then they looked back up at all their friends. "AIIIIEEEE!" Sakura screamed like Shizune as she hid behind Naruto. "Don't look!"

"Oh this is too good!" Ino squealed.

"What do you think we were doing?" Videl asked casually.

"Oh, I can guess." Ino smirked.

"Moving on..." Shikamaru said as half of the male teammates were all getting nosebleeds from the thought of Sakura and Videl in the nude and they need to focus on the matter at hand. "Could you three, like, change or something?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shit, yeah." Videl said as she used the transformation jutsu to quickly cloth herself, not willing to leave Gohan's side while he regained his strength. Naruto and Sakura however ducked back behind the bushes to put their clothes back on.

"Well...that was...rather embarrassing..." Videl muttered.

"It's just so refreshing to have a girlfriend that doesn't overreact like you do." Ino laughed, finding the whole situation way too amusing.

"Yea, yuk it up while you can, because you're next." Videl smirked.

"Hold that thought." Shikamaru said, holding up his hand to silence Videl. "Gohan, that form of yours, can you sustain it long enough to beat Ice?"

"Ugh..." Gohan groaned as he slowly sat up. "Man...if that doesn't leave you with the worst hangover imaginable I don't know what does..."

"Gohan!" Shikamaru pressed.

"Huh? What?"

"Can you beat Ice with that form you just achieved?" Shikamaru asked again.

"I...don't know." Gohan admitted. "I definitely need to practice more, that's for certain." Gohan groaned as Videl fed him a senzu bean.

"You were so powerful." Hinata praised. "It was almost inconceivable. Especially feeling it up close."

"Yeah, speaking of overwhelming power levels. Does anyone else feel a lack of one?" Ino asked.

"Well Gohan did just power down." Choji said.

"Not that. I'm talking about the alien we all sensed earlier." Ino clarified. "I didn't notice it until now, but I can't sense his energy at all."

"Now that you mention it, neither can I." Neji stated.

"We believe that the Frost Demon's ship is cloaked." Videl spoke up while helping Gohan to his feet.

"Come again?" Tenten asked.

"Cloaked. It's a science fiction term from our universe. It basically means that the alien spaceship has a device that makes the ship and its occupants undetectable. Apparently, this includes their Ki signatures." Gohan explained. "Don't mistake them for retreating though. I'm betting that this is all to put us under a false sense of security. The Frost Demon is still coming to us, only now we won't know exactly when or where."

The young ninjas and the two experienced adults all gulped.

"So, he could arrive tonight and we wouldn't even know it?" Kiba asked fearfully.

"No. If he could travel any faster, he would have done so already. The Frost Demon's I've fought were not known for their patience. We still have at least a few days until they reach our atmosphere. Afterwards we need to be on high alert at all times." Gohan said gravely.

"Great, that means we can still enjoy the festival tonight!" Ino cheered, earning concerned looks from everyone.

"How can you honestly think about the festival at time like this, pig?" Sakura asked.

"Hey. Between clan politics, the Akatsuki mucking about, all the gravity training we've been doing, that Hell tournament business, dismantling the underground black ops group operating under our village, and having these impossibly powerful alien lifeforms coming to our planet in a matter of days, I think we all deserve time to relax. Especially tonight of all nights." Ino stated.

The couples all looked at one another. It did seem like they had been engaged in non-stop excitement since the Sons had shown up. Perhaps they did deserve this break.

"Well, you do have a point…" Sakura admitted.

"Darn right I do. Now that that's settled, I think we all ought to get in on the fun that you three have been having." Ino said as she gestured over to Naruto, Sakura, and Videl.

"Pig…" Sakura growled.

"Oh relax Forehead, it's completely harmless and natural. I'm only disappointed that you didn't come to me first if you wanted to experiment. I thought we were friends." Ino pouted.

"Uh... W-well, it wasn't really my idea to do this..."

"It was mine and I wanted to invite all of you. But Sakura wasn't comfortable with it yet." Videl explained.

"Hinata!" Kiba cried. All eyes turned to him holding the Hyuga princess's limp body. "Sorry guys, she fainted, but please go on."

"Well, I guess Videl was right about Hinata not wanting to go along with it." Naruto commented.

"Actually, I'm willing to bet she would be all too open to the idea." Ino smirked, glancing over at Naruto.

"So, Forehead, how do you feel about it now?" Ino asked.

Sakura sighed. there was no point in hiding it now. "Honestly... It was... fun."

"Good, then we should all totally pair up." Ino exclaimed in delight.

"If everyone agrees with it then sure." Videl said excitedly.

"I don't mind." Gohan said.

"Here, let me set it up. Gohan will get with Videl and Sakura. When Hinata wakes up she'll be pleasantly surprised to have Kiba and Naruto to keep her company. I'll get Choji and Shikamaru, since we've been slacking on the team building exercises as of late. And Tenten...well I suppose you could go for a Team Gai gang bang as well. That just leaves Shino..." Ino listed off.

"Pass." Shino stated bluntly. He wouldn't be anyone's pity fuck, not to mention that he had his two dates waiting for him back at the festival. He would hardly call their relationship traditional or even official, but he respected them both enough not to cheat on them out of the blue.

"Oh, come on Shino. I'll bet Hinata's always fantasized about getting all three holes filled at once from the three most important guys in her life!" Ino called out to him.

"No thank you." Shino said simply.

"What about two?" Videl asked Kakashi and Shizune.

The two in question looked at one another and smiled. "Thanks for the offer, but no. You kids have fun though." Kakashi said simply.

"I just noticed. Kakashi-sensei... You don't have your mask on..." Naruto pointed out. Completely stunned by this new development. And why did Kakashi have a mole?

"Let's get out of here." Shizune whispered to Kakashi. And the two adults scurried away from these horny teenagers and their openness.

"Actually, I'm gonna have to say no as well, at least if it's gotta be with Naruto." Kiba stated.

"It doesn't have to be. You can pick whoever you want." Videl clarified.

"Anyone I want, huh?" Kiba said as he began to think.

"Sure, we're all friends here so why not?" Sakura said. Kiba became giddily. He eyed up all the girls like a teen picking out his favorite sports car to ride.

"Ugh..." Hinata moaned as she started to come to.

"You okay?" Kiba asked with concern.

"Y-yea... That just came out of the blue is all." Hinata admitted as she tried to stand back up.

"Well Ino was thinking of pairing you up with Kiba and Naruto, but Kiba was against that." Sakura informed.

"I am, too, honestly." Hinata said.

"Wait, really?" Sakura thought aloud. Of the two truths there were to this world. There was that Naruto loved ramen and Hinata loved Naruto. And here she was turning down sex with him.

"I'd rather not partake at all." Hinata meekly admitted as she pressed her fingers together in that cute way that she did.

"Okay, fair enough, I suppose." Sakura said, curious by the way that Hinata was looking at all of them.

"Well, if Hinata's not gonna do it, then I don't see a reason to partake either." Kiba declared.

"Really, Kiba? You're not...tempted?" Videl asked, putting an emphasis on the last word.

Kiba looked over at her and down her cleavage, but held his desires in check. "Yup, if Hinata-hime isn't comfortable with it, then I'm not doing it." He declared before holding out his elbow to his blue haired girlfriend. "Come on, babe, let's get back to the festival." Hinata graciously accepted his arm and the two left the love flock alone.

"So, that means I get Naruto and Gohan?" Sakura guessed.

 _'Don't you dare pass that up. If you do this, I'll tell you where that power came from.'_ Inner bribed.

 _'Well, in that case...'_ Sakura thought back. "Alright. that sounds like fun!"

"So, are we all agreed?" Ino asked as she looked upon the group before her.

Ino was happy to see that no one objected. "Perfect!"

"So, now there is a matter of when." Videl mused.

"What do you mean, 'when?' Now of course!" Ino exclaimed in excitement.

"Now? But what about the festival?" Videl questioned.

"I think I speak for everyone that we'd be too focused on all of this while at the festival to really enjoy ourselves." Ino clarified.

"Nah uh! I still wanna get plastered!" Sakura said, taking a page out of her master's book.

"And what fun would that be, forehead? You'd never remember it." Ino deadpanned.

"She does have a point." Videl agreed.

"Oh fine... After then..." Sakura counter offered.

"Agreed. Not then..." Ino said with lust in her tone as she began to remove her top.

* * *

 **Panda: Oh shit! The Lemons aren't over! The Lemons aren't over! Everyone run! *fires shotgun at the Lemons***

"Should we really be doing this out in the open like this?" Gohan questioned.

"Why not? The 3 of us did." Videl said as she pointed to herself, Naruto and Sakura.

"Yea, stop being a prune, Gohan." Ino said as she loosened her yukata, leaving her chest exposed. She then threw her belt over her head so that it landed on Shikamaru's head and then removed her bra, which she threw over to cover Choji's eyes.

"Come and get it boys!" She called back as she swaggered over to behind a nearby oak tree.

Taking a cue from Ino, Videl did the same and so did Sakura and Tenten.

Choji and Shikamaru fist bumped and followed behind Ino for some "team building". As did Neji and Lee, and Naruto and Gohan.

With Sakura, Naruto and Gohan. "Alright you two... Give me everything you've got." Sakura said in a sultry tone. She placed a glowing blue hand on her abdomen as she had done before. Even if their chances of surviving this crisis is slim, she didn't want to have a child on the off chance they would make it out of this.

 _'God I love her...'_ Naruto thought as she watched Sakura strip off what she had left.

"Are you two just going to stare or what?"

"I think she wants it, Naruto." Gohan smirked as she took off his shirt to reveal his perfectly sculpted body.

Naruto did the same and revealed his equally toned body. Upon close inspection, Sakura could honestly not tell the difference. Both of them looked equally yummy.

"Mmmm... Damn you two look hot..." Sakura cooed.

The both of them couldn't help but blush, which only made the two of them look even cuter.

Naruto decided to remove the rest of his clothes to reveal his member that Sakura had grown accustomed to seeing. But after doing a quick comparison to Gohan's, she confirmed that the half Saiyan was definitely larger.

"Well, now that I have a clear view of the both of you, Gohan is definitely bigger." Sakura smirked.

That made Naruto curious and of course looked at it. He couldn't help but be impressed at his size.

"Damn man...good for you." Naruto praised.

"But I still think I prefer Naruto." Sakura subtly added, not wanting her boyfriend to feel inadequate.

"I don't blame you. I have often felt bad for leaving Videl so sore she couldn't move for a few days..." Gohan admitted.

"Yea, I feel her pain...but just do what you did before and its cool. Can you get my back on this one, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked in a sultry tone, giving her ass a little wiggle. For she would only trust Naruto with her sensitive little behind.

"You know I do, Sakura-chan." Naruto softly growled.

Once again, he came up from behind Sakura and started feeling her up. Paying close attention to her backside and nipping at the nape of her neck. His nostrils filled with her shampoo's scent.

"Gohan, on the ground." Sakura ordered; to which Gohan immediately agreed to. Sakura then positioned herself above Gohan's fully erect 10 incher. "Naruto, as soon as he's in me, you know what to do..."

Naruto kissed the back of Sakura's head, tasting strawberries.

"Of course..." He whispered like a prayer. Sending shivers down Sakura's spine.

Sakura took hold of Gohan's member and positioned it to her opening. She slowly eased down on Gohan and she didn't even get it part of the way in when she started crying out. "OH GOD!"

Gohan channeled Ki through his member to help relax Sakura's muscles like before. To his pleasure, it worked as he went through Sakura's cervix.

"Uhhh... that feels amazing..." Sakura moaned.

On Naruto's end, he began massaging Sakura's shoulder blades. Working hands deep into her muscles while blowing light puffs of air onto her neck. This sense of ease made Sakura believe she was just laying with another one of Naruto's shadow clones, and her entrance opened even wider to receive him.

"Ooooooohhhhhh god." She moaned.

Sakura began to buck her hips to get herself even more relaxed. "Ohhhhh... N-now I see how... lucky Videl really is..." Sakura moaned.

Sakura bent forward and spread her ass cheeks apart. "Alright, Naruto baby...Put it in..."

Naruto took his dick in his hand, it's tip glazed with pre-cum, and scooped up a small amount on his finger. He then began to trace circles around Sakura's brown star. Gently massaging her until she finally relaxed enough to let his finger slip in.

"Aah!" Sakura moaned, feeling the slight penetration on both ends. Naruto started wiggling his digit in further. Soon was past the knuckle, and then the whole finger.

Gohan meanwhile continued to pump up into Sakura, making Naruto worried that she would cum before he got a chance to really get in on the action. Yet he didn't want to go too fast and end up hurting Sakura. They had tried that earlier in the week and it had not been a pleasant experience for anyone.

Finally, he managed to sneak a second finger in, then a third. Sakura had begun to shiver from all the attention she was receiving. Naruto knew this meant she could cum at any moment. He needed to act fast, it was now or never.

Naruto removed his fingers, causing Sakura to whine from the loss of some small part of Naruto filling her insides. But then her joy was renewed when she felt the unmistakable tip of his penis pressed firmly against her gaping hole, demanding entrance.

Slowly, Naruto pushed his way back in, his pre-cum lubricating the entrance and Sakura relished the feeling of being completely filled once again.

"Mmmm... Do it, Naruto-kun..." Sakura begged. Despite what Naruto may think, she could last a little longer.

Naruto growled like a dog in heat, or a fox. He dug his nails into Sakura's sides, his palms grazing her ass cheeks that felt so plump to him. He looked down at the contours of Sakura's back, up to her soft nape, and her bubblegum hair. He then caught a glimpse of Gohan and a sense of fury washed over Naruto's reasoning. Who was this man to come here and try to lay with his mate? He would show them both, you don't mess with a beast's meat.

Naruto began pumping, slowly at first but he quickly picked up speed as he fucked Sakura in the ass. His breath hot and in heavy gasps, but he didn't care. All he could see was his member disappearing inside her butt cheeks and her hair bouncing from the force he was exerting on her. All he could hear was her moans of delight.

* * *

 **Panda: And here is that subplot that generated all the fuss. Without which, I probably would have cut out 2/3rds of this chapter to spare us all from these threesomes.**

As this was happening, Ino was being double-teamed by Shikamaru and Choji, moaning and yelling out in sheer pleasure. Choji was plowed her pussy from behind, Shikamaru had traced his dick over Ino's lips, signaling to her to give him a blowjob. Which she happily provided.

"D-damn... At first I wasn't sure about this... But... I'm happy to be wrong..." Shikamaru moaned.

"Ya think that Temari will understand?" Choji asked as he kneaded Ino's white bottom like dough.

Shikamaru froze. He had completely forgotten about Temari when this all started.

"Oh shit..."

Shikamaru immediately pulled away. "I'm sorry..." Shikamaru said as he retrieved his clothes.

Ino swallowed his pre-cum.

"It's ok!" She said as Choji stopped pounding her ass.

"Just tell her it was my fault, that I took advantage of you while you were drunk or something. She'll be mad at me and then I'll deal with it."

"No, Ino... I'm just as much at fault for this for accepting it... I doubt she would forgive me..." Shikamaru said sadly as he put his pants back on.

"Shikamaru, wait!" Ino cried, still bent over with her boyfriend inside her.

"I have to go..." Shikamaru said as he grabbed the rest of his clothes and took to the sky.

"Damn it! Choji, do you mind?" Ino snapped. Disappointed, Choji pulled himself out and gathered up his own clothes.

"We'll finish this later. I promise." Ino soothed.

"I know, let's just go help Shikamaru." Choji said firmly. His blue balls would have to wait.

"Yes, of course." Ino said. _'Videl, can you hear me?'_

 _'Hey! How are thing going?'_ Videl said pleasantly.

 _'We forgot that Shikamaru is dating Temari. That's how it's going!'_

 _'Oh no... I'm so sorry...'_ Videl said sadly as she went on to inform the others who had long since finished.

"Fuck. Well this is a downer." Naruto stated after they had all regrouped in the center with their clothes on.

"I should never have allowed this..." Videl sulked.

"Hey, don't say that. You were just indulging your fantasy and we all got caught up in it. It's nobody's fault." Gohan said firmly.

"Someone needs to talk to Temari... Hopefully she'll forgive him... and us..." Sakura said.

"Let me do that..." Gohan said.

 _'Temari... Can you hear me? It's Gohan.'_

 _'Wait, what the fuck Gohan!'_ Sakura cried.

Gohan ignored Sakura as he tried to reach out to Temari.

 _'Gohan, don't ignore me! Temari needs to hear this from Shikamaru! Not from us!'_

' _I know what I'm doing, alright?!'_ Gohan spat.

 _'Hey, what's up?'_ Temari spoke up.

 _'Are you still in the Leaf right now?'_

 _'I'm actually on my way there now.'_

 _'Okay. How long before you arrive?'_

 _'Uh, a day or two. Why?'_

 _'Shikamaru needs you right now.'_

 _'Why? What's wrong? Is he okay?!'_ Temari exclaimed, almost in a panic.

 _'He is, somewhat. You need to ask him for more information.'_

 _'Oh ok...thanks for telling me.'_ She replied nervously.

 _'If you want, I can pick you up. He's... pretty messed up right now...'_

 _'I mean, saves me a butt load of walking. Sure, go ahead.'_ Temari replied. Gohan's mind immediately pictured Sakura getting pounded in the ass by Naruto not a few minutes ago.

 _'I'll see you soon.'_ Gohan said before shutting off the mental link.

"I'm going to pick up Temari. I'll be back shortly." Gohan announced before taking off in her direction at full speed.

"Alright, I'm gonna go pick up Temari. You guys... I don't know. Try to getting Shikamaru ready for her arrival. I should be back in 2 hours." Gohan said.

And just like that, what remained of Videl's impromptu swingers party was left alone out in the thick of the woods.

"This is all my fault..." Videl cried.

"Hey now, don't start that again." Naruto spoke up in the place of Gohan.

"WHEW! That was fun!" Came a voice from the woods. Everyone turned around to see Tenten and her team emerging from the bushes. Apparently Videl had forgotten all about them and so Team Gai was allowed to continue their fuck-fest while everyone else was busy with the whole ShikaTem fiasco.

Tenten looked like Lee after a rigorous bout of training and an epic youth speech from his master. There was an undeniable new pep in her step that for some reason her teammates didn't share. They both looked as mentally and physically exhausted as any of the young ninjas had ever seen them. Each of them clutching their backs having pulled various muscles.

"Wow... That's a different look for you." Ino commented.

"What are you talking about? I didn't change anything." Tenten said as she looked over herself to see if anything was out of order.

"I mean that you looked refreshed while the other two look like they just got steamrolled in training." Ino corrected.

"Oh them? Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with them. We were all having a great time and as soon as we finished up and got dressed they came crashing down." Tenten said, her eyebrow raised in curious thought.

"Pot...?" Videl asked, while they others raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Tenten replied.

Videl looked upon all of the confused faces before her. "...What? You've never heard of pot?" To her shock, every one of them shook their heads. "Marijuana? Dope? Weed? None of that?"

"Marijuana? That's a herb remedy our medics used to use. We still do sometimes in the field." Sakura explained.

"Yeah but we didn't use any herbs. We were just having sex like you said. Fucking mind blowing sex!" Tenten smiled as Neji and Lee groaned at the memory.

"Okay so I'm not crazy..." Videl sighed.

"Yeah, so what the hell are we all standing around for? We going for round two or are we gonna DRINK!?" Tenten exclaimed.

"DRINK!" Lee and Neji shouted as one.

"Not right now... We all didn't get to finish because we forgot that Shikamaru was dating Temari and... she didn't know about it..." Ino said timidly.

"Ah really? That's a bummer, doh well." Tenten replied as she brought Neji and Lee in close for a big friendly hug.

"Hey where's Gohan?" Tenten asked, hoping she could get some Super Saiyan 3 D.

"He left to go pick up Temari so that Shikamaru could confess to her what had happened face to face." Naruto explained.

"Well damn, no point in a round 2 then. Let's all get shit faced!" Tenten whooped.

"...Yea, why not. I got a stash of much stronger shit in my house. Follow me." Videl said as she lifted up off the ground.

"Uh, no Videl. You're not having any alcohol while you're pregnant." Sakura said sternly.

Neji and Lee let loose some weak whoops, but only because they both knew that they wouldn't survive a round two with Tenten the way she was.

"I know that... But you all can partake." Videl deadpanned.

"We've got our mule!" Tenten declared as she swaggered off with one teammate in each arm.

* * *

Moments later, they were all inside the new Son house.

"Alright, it's here, somewhere..." Videl said as she searched her walk-in pantry.

The others looked around the rather mansion sized house. They didn't believe Videl when she said it had 8 bedrooms, but much to their shock, she was right. Then they heard a crash coming from the pantry.

"I'm okay!" Videl shouted.

She later emerged from the now trashed pantry with 4 large boxes, two under each arm. "It sucks most of my stash got destroyed, but this is all I have left." Videl said as she set down the boxes.

Sakura and Tenten dove into the boxes of liquor and pulled out every bottle and jar that was in them. None of them were drinks anyone recognized.

"The hell is moonshine?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, be careful with that. That will fuck your shit right up." Videl warned.

"(Cough) what was that?" Naruto asked after chugging what was another bottle of moonshine.

Videl's mouth dropped to the floor. "You just slammed down an entire jar?! That is 200 proof alcohol! I can run a car off that shit!" Videl exclaimed.

"Hmmm..." Naruto said as he pounded his chest. "It does taste kinda strong."

"Car?" Neji asked.

"You remember the truck you rode on Snake Way, don't you?" Videl asked. "Similar to that."

"Oh that." Neji mused as he too took a swig.

He immediately pulled back as he started in with a coughing fit.

"Ha! Lightweight!" Naruto declared as he took another big sip. Not even shuttering as it went down.

"Sweet (cough) sage!" Neji coughed.

"Let me see that." Sakura said as she reached over for Naruto to hand her the bottle.

"Uhhh... This may be a little too strong for-"

"Gimme it..." Sakura growled and he handed the jar to Sakura.

"I think I still have my car... Let's see." Videl mused as she pulled out her capsule case and searched through her capsules. She pulled out one with a purple band with the number 70 on it. "There you are..." Videl said fondly. Being that her living room was huge and open, she opted in bringing it out in the house. She pressed the plunger and tossed it to the floor. Out of the smoke appeared a mint 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 R/T.

"Woah..." Naruto said in awe as he looked upon the car, shining in the light, the light reflecting off the purple paint.

"My dad got me this as a 16th birthday present." Videl said as she opened the driver's door and got inside. then a smirk came across her face. "Wanna hear it?"

"Hear it?" Sakura asked as she had finished her coughing fit.

Videl smirked. She pressed the gas pedal a few times to prime the carburetor and depressed the clutch. She turned the key and; "BbbrAAahhh...bbblembbblembbblem.." The car roared.

"Holy SHIT, that's loud!" Neji bellowed.

"That's the idea." Videl said as she revved the engine a few times, savoring in its melodic sound of 600 horsepower at her fingertips.

She sadly shut the car off and put it away. "Man, I miss that thing..." Videl said fondly.

* * *

As Videl and the others continued to drink, across town two of their friends were struggling desperately to prevent another from drinking at all.

"Will you both SERIOUSLY just piss off?" Shikamaru raved as he tried in vain to take a sip of his beer. Only for it to be slapped out of his hands by Ino and shattered all over the floor.

"Hey! I told you to stop breaking my glasses!" The bartender shouted over the partying crowd.

"Sorry, we'll pay for that too!" Choji shouted back, trying to play peacekeeper while Ino tried to take sense into Shikamaru.

"No! I told you drinking would be a bad idea. Especially if Temari is on her way here! You need to keep your head on straight!" Ino lectured.

"I haven't even had one beer because you keep smashing them! And it doesn't matter what I say to her because we both know I cheated and that she is going to break up with me as soon as she finds out! So why can't I have one drink to relax myself!?" Shikamaru ranted.

"She's not going to break up with you, Shikamaru! It was just one blow job and we didn't even finish!" Ino exclaimed. Thank God they were in a noisy pub.

"Say it louder why don't you?! Cause that's all we need! Word of this getting back to our clan leaders! I can't wait for your clan to condone you as a whore, my clan to condone me as an usurper of our alliance, and Choji's clan to call him weak for agreeing to this!"

 **SLAP!**

Shikamaru doubled over on his stool after Ino slapped him. A few nearby patrons halted their own conversations to observe the commotion.

"What are you looking at?" Choji growled, his usual teddy bear persona being replaced with a riley grizzly bear.

The men all returned back to their drinks.

"Thanks, Ino. I needed that." Shikamaru said as he rubbed his swollen cheek.

"Anytime. Now listen, what you need to do is just to come out and be honest with Temari...although a few white lies here and there might go a long way." Ino explained. Shikamaru just stared at her to make sure she was serious.

"Just some small ones. For example; you were thinking of her the entire time."

"But I wasn't, Ino! I wasn't thinking of her until the very end! That's why I stopped!" Shikamaru stated.

"So why weren't you thinking of her before?" Ino asked, hoping to subtly drill Shikamaru on what to say before Temari arrived.

"I don't know..." He admitted, oh how the temperature in Hell dropped when a Nara as gifted as Shikamaru admitted he didn't know something.

"I was just hanging out with you guys and everything happened so fast. One moment we were meeting up to go to the festival with all our friends and then the next were pairing off to go swinging. I didn't even have a say in it. But before I knew it you threw your shirt at me to entice me and Choji for a threesome and then..." Shikamaru sighed.

"So, it's my fault. You blame me, say that I seduced you or bribed you into a threesome, because let's be honest, I pretty much did." Ino said. Neither Shikamaru nor Choji nor the buzzed stranger still listening in could argue with her.

"No Ino. I won't shift the blame like that. I'm responsible for my actions and I could have stopped myself at any time, I should have stopped myself, but I didn't and now I have to own up to the consequences." Shikamaru stated.

"Even if it means losing Temari?" Choji asked, already knowing the answer.

"Especially if it means that. As troublesome a woman as she is. She deserves my honesty if we both want a shot at this to actually work. Besides, it's not like I'm one of those cool guys who can get away with being unfaithful thanks to their looks." Shikamaru said with conviction.

"Well said..." The buzzed wallflower said under his breath so that the ninja trio couldn't hear him.

Convinced in her team mate's words, Ino leaned forward to give Shikamaru a sisterly kiss on the cheek.

"You know something Shikamaru? You ARE one of those cool guys." Ino smiled. Choji patted his best friend on the back.

 _'I wholeheartedly agree.'_ Gohan said into each of their minds, startling them as always.

 _'Holy shit, Gohan, you need to stop doing that.'_ Ino thought. Even the Yamanaka's knew not to just contact people's minds like that.

 _'Sorry, couldn't resist. I just wanted to tell you guys that I've returned with Temari, half an hour ago.'_ Gohan slyly added.

 _'Half an hour?'_ Shikamaru thought. _'Don't tell me she's been listening in on our conversation via the mental link this entire time?'_

 _'Nah, I've been living with you ninjas for so long that I've learned not to be so obvious.'_ Gohan said. _'That's why I sent Temari in, hedged as that guy who's been sitting next to you this entire time.'_ Gohan admitted.

Just then, the man sitting next to them exploded into a cloud of smoke and revealed herself to be the Fan Mistress of the Sand village. Temari of the Sand.

"Hey, Little Boy." She smirked as she took another swig of her beer. Her cheeks were flush as she had been forced to keep up her disguise for some time.

"Temari...I...you..." Shikamaru sputtered. Very rarely was he ever at a loss for words. That was a testament if anything on the power Temari seemed to have on him.

She knocked back the rest of her stout and slammed it on the counter.

"Outside, now." She simply stated. Getting hastily up to walk.

"This one will pay for my tab." She pointed at Ino for the barkeep. The platinum blond wanted to protest, but thought better of it considering the circumstances.

Temari them dragged Shikamaru out of the bar by his ear, much to his protest.

"Ow OW! Damn it, woman!" He cried out in pain. It felt like his ear was gonna get ripped off.

"Zip it." Temari said sternly as she led him to a nearby alley.

The Sand Mistress then threw him into the side of a wall.

"You know, you're a real piece of work, little boy..." Temari scolded.

"Temari... I'm really sorry I did that. I honestly wasn't thinking..." Shikamaru said sadly. "I went and did that without your permission and I wouldn't blame you in the slightest if you dumped me here and now..."

"Oh save it." Temari said calmly.

"What?" Shikamaru said dumbfounded.

"Seriously, I don't know why you're getting so worked up about it? It was a heat of the moment thing, and we've only been dating for what? A week?" She stated calmly.

Shikamaru's jaw just dropped. Was this woman that he loved so much really not lashing out at him?

"Honestly. I admire your loyalty to me, I really do. But you were just getting head from your team mate for one. I don't see that as cheating. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't go farther. Everyone needs a release now and then and I don't blame you at all. I'm annoyed that you didn't think to invite me to your little party, but that's about it." Temari explained.

"But...but..." He tried to reply.

"But since you've decided that you want to make this thing we have serious all of the sudden, I'm gonna tell you right now that if you do anything like this again without my expressed permission, I WILL shove my fan up your ass and use you as a pinwheel." Temari smirked as she dropped her heavy metal fan onto the dirt street for good measure.

"Wait... so you're not mad?" Shikamaru asked in shock

"Of course, I'm mad. You cheated on me. Its your loyalty and your guilt that's getting you off Scott free." Temari said. "So, are we clear?" She asked, still holding that large fan in a threatening manner.

Shikamaru gulped. "Y-yes, of course."

Temari smiled. "Good." And returned the fan back onto her back.

"Now let's go check out this festival I've heard so much about." She forcibly grabbed Shikamaru's arm and wrapped both her own arms around it. Then she dragged him out into the street like they were a loving couple that had just taken a shortcut through the alleyway.

"And don't even think about getting lucky tonight. I'm not like those Leaf bitches who just give it up for free. We Sand Kunoichi have our pride."

"Heh, troublesome woman..." The Nara heir smirked.

"Wait, that's right... You didn't get off, did you?" Temari suddenly realized and smirked.

"No, I didn't." Shikamaru admitted.

"Well, it looks like you're going to bed with blue balls tonight then." Temari stated.

Shikamaru sighed; it sucked, but he deserved that. Still, the long-term victory was more than worth it.

The two genius love birds then wandered off into the downtown area where the festival was in full swing.

* * *

Meanwhile back in the Son's mansion.

"Sakura! Get off the table!" Videl demanded. Sakura had gotten so drunk that she was dancing on the table, swinging around her shirt as Videl's whole house stereo system played music.

"WHOOOHOOO! YEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!" Naruto shouted as he threw stacks of Ryo onto the table where Sakura was dancing. Apparently, all it took was half of Videl's liquor cabinet to finally get Naruto sufficiently buzzed. All thanks to the Kyuubi, no doubt.

Videl was practically pulling her hair out. She needed a drink, but couldn't because of her pregnancy. Oh how she wished the kids could hurry up and arrive.

She had to practically babysit Lee and keep him away from the booze. After Neji had told her how he gets as soon as a drop of liquor hits his tongue, she made sure that he didn't have any so that her house would still be standing.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Tenten shouted as she came leaping off the balcony from Videl's second floor and embedded a flying kick straight into the plaster walls. Leaving her hanging there, knee deep in the wall.

"God dammit Tenten!"

"BA-HAHAHA! HEY NEJI! Neji..." Tenten swung back on forth by her leg, like a kid on the monkey bars.

Videl sighed. _'This is what I get for being a good host to a bunch of rowdy teenagers...'_ Videl thought in defeat.

"Wha...whaahahahaha!?" Neji chuckled, having long since abandoned Videl in helping her maintain order in the group and had instead decided to join in on the fun.

"Lo-look at me...who do I recognize...?" Tenten giggled. Neji scrunched up his face in concentration.

 _'I've had enough of this.'_ Videl growled in her thoughts.

 _'Relax Videl and have fun! You used to love doing this.'_ Gohan eased.

 _'Yeah, when I was equally as drunk as they are! Thanks to you, I can't even have a fucking daiquiri!'_

 _'In my defense, you were in on it too.'_

 _'Yea, thanks to the fucking full moon!'_

"YOU'RE LEE!" Neji declared. The momentum from his deduction sending him flying backwards into the couch.

"NO, I'M GAI!" Tenten laughed.

"What's the difference?!" Neji replied and they both howled with laughter.

"ENOUGH!" Videl shouted as her aura exploded, sending everyone to their butts, now gaining their full attention. Videl then sighed and powered down. "Alright you drunken idiots. I'm going to make this real clear, right now. You can party and have fun, BUT STOP BREAKING MY SHIT!"

 **CRACK!**

That's when the table Sakura was dancing on collapsed under her combined weight with all the fat stacks Naruto was raining down.

"GAH-HAHAHAHAHA!" Sakura shrieked in delight, not even feeling pain anymore.

A vein popped on Videl's forehead as her eyes started to go pure white and her hair changing color. Naruto picked up on this and gulped hard. Summoning up what was left of his sober brain, he slowly picked Sakura up from the pile of broken table. She giggled and clung to Naruto like a long lost babe to its mother.

"V-Videl... We'll replace the table." Naruto said nervously. He knew that Videl was a whole lot stronger than him and her rage was greater than Tsunade and Sakura's put together.

Videl relaxed and sighed. "Forget about it..."

"No seriously, just use all the money I threw at Sakura to pay for a new table. God willing Sakura-chan won't remember this anyway."

"Thank you, but no... It's not like it was very expensive. Ninja pay isn't the greatest and you need a new place to live still so just keep your money." Videl said.

"Are you sure? I can just stay at Sakura's place for a bit longer. Save up some more money."

"Yes, I'm sure. Just, take her upstairs so she can sleep this off. you're welcome to stay as well. Just make sure she has a bucket in case she-"

"BLUEGH!" Sakura threw up all over Naruto's chest.

"... gets sick..." Videl groaned. "Lee, can you go get a towel and a fresh Gi from Gohan's closet? It's in our bedroom." Videl asked the only other sober person of the group.

"Yosh, right away." He replied as he finished retrieving Tenten from the wall.

"You going to be alright, Naruto?" Videl asked, worried that he would be sick as well.

"Yeah I'm fine. Turns out that the Kyuubi's chakra treats alcohol like a poison. So I've got to drink a massive amount constantly if I ever want to get sick."

"I meant from Sakura puking on you."

"Oh that. Honestly I'm trying not to think about it." Naruto shrugged. Sakura still clinging to him and giggling like he had told the funniest joke in the world.

"Well, once Lee gets back, you two can use the shower to clean yourself up and Sakura. It's upstairs, right hallway, third room on the left."

"That's Videl. We owe you one." Naruto said as he hoisted Sakura up on his back. While Sakura demonstrated her impression of a baby koala.

"Yes you do. And you can repay me by helping us defeat whatever this is coming for us."

"I'm back." Lee announced and handed Videl the towel and Gi. Videl set the Gi aside and used the towel to get the bulk of Sakura's vomit off of Naruto so he could venture upstairs to shower.

"Leave your clothes in the basket in the bathroom and I'll get them washed up." Videl said.

"Can do. Just as soon as we both sober up." Naruto replied.

"Horsey!" Sakura cried as she grabbed Naruto by the flaps on his headband and kicked his sides. "Giddy-up!"

Naruto then trotted up the stairs and disappeared into the bathroom.

Videl took the soiled towel and put it in the washer. She then returned to retrieve the orange and blue gi that Lee grabbed and went upstairs. She entered the bathroom to see Naruto getting Sakura undressed to get her cleaned up first.

"I'll get her one of my outfits." Videl said as she laid the Gi on the bathroom counter.

"Thanks." Naruto said as he continued to strip Sakura of all her nasty clothes.

 _'So much for the Festival.'_ He thought.

 _'Yea...but at least we had fun during the Kyuubi festival.'_ Videl said back as she was picking out an outfit for Sakura to wear.

 _'You did, huh? Well that's good.'_ Naruto said listlessly.

 _'Yeah, I really wish you guys could have joined us.'_ Videl thought.

 _'I'm not.'_ Naruto stated.

"What? Why is that?" Videl asked, concerned. Naruto sighed to gather up his thoughts.

"Heh, it's funny. I never used to look forward to that festival. Back in the day I was downright ecstatic when I missed it. I remember back when me and Sakura-chan were still Genin we had this mission that took us out of the Leaf for over a week. We completely missed the festival. Sasuke and Kakashi were completely indifferent, and Sakura-chan was so bummed out that she missed it. But me? It felt like Christmas." Naruto mused as he lifted Sakura up and placed her in the tub.

"Remind me what that festival is about again?" Videl said as she picked out an outfit for Sakura. It was one of her oversized white shirts she wore during high school. Sadly, she had no underwear that would fit Sakura nor did she have pants that would fit her. "Well, looks like Sakura will just have to deal with a shirt. That's all I have that will fit her." Videl said from across the hall.

"Really? No one has told you? It's practically in the name." Naruto explained as he began washing Sakura's naked limbs with the detachable shower head. Oh, if the him from 3 months ago could see him now. To be bathing Sakura-chan without fear of death? Not even his wildest dreams were that good.

"Well I must have overlooked it. Now come on, what is it?" Videl asked, growing impatient.

"It's the Demon Fox's festival. The festival that commemorates the Fourth Hokage and all the other Shinobi that died fighting the Nine Tails Demon Fox on that tragic day, October 10th."

"In other words, the day your dad sealed Kurama inside you." Videl summed up.

"Yup. The start of the festival usually begins right on my birthday. As such, even though it was kept secret for years, people still associated me with the Demon Fox just because I was born on the same day as the tragedy. Although the Fox whiskers were probably the biggest tip off." Naruto mused.

"Yes, but now the villagers know that you are the son of the 4th and that you have been the jailer of the Kyuubi. to think, your time in Hell has made you the most famous ninja in the village." Videl said as she laid the large white shirt on the counter.

"I guess, but do you think that's the real reason they have suddenly become so nice to me? Just because I'm the son of the 4th? Not because of anything I did?" Naruto asked, finally finishing up on cleaning Sakura of all her puke.

"No, but it's part of it. The other part is your dedication to your friends and going so far as to risk your life by going to Hell and saving Sasuke's soul. That alone has made you a true hero, Naruto. Not even Gohan's dad has gone that far."

"I guess I'll just have to keep being a true hero until my father's legacy is the least interesting thing about me." Naruto declared while drying off Sakura.

"As strong as you have gotten in such a short amount of time, I don't think that will be very difficult for you."

"Unless of course, Gohan becomes a Super Saiyan 4. Then I might have to settle for second best in terms of strength." Naruto joked.

"Anything is possible. Even as you are now, you are stronger than me with your transformation. You've even mastered 20x Kaio-ken. Even I haven't done that."

"Yeah, plus with Kyuubi mode to pile on top of that, and I'm rivaled only by Gohan." Naruto smirked.

"Add your unlimited Stamina on top of that, too. Gohan's super Saiyan 3 only lasts for a short time, So, you would have to take the reins in the battle after Gohan can't go anymore. I haven't even managed to get to Ascended Super Saiyan, but with x10 Kaio-ken added to my super Saiyan transformation, I can do something at least. Also, Sakura still has my Ki in her seal. I'm sure you've noticed by now that her seal is golden instead of purple."

"Mmmm...shut the fuck up, pleaseeeeee..." Sakura groaned, her head feeling like it was being split open with a battle ax.

"Well, someone finally recovered." Videl said softly. "I told you to take it easy..."

"Mmmm, shad-up..." She groaned again, her only comfort came from the strong sturdy arms she found herself clinging too.

 _'Naruto, I'll take her into a bedroom and put the shirt on her. You get cleaned up.'_ Videl said into Naruto's mind.

 _'Can do.'_ He replied. Although as he tried to pry himself away, he found that Sakura only held onto his arm tighter. She was not about to let go of the one thing in her life that kept the room from spinning.

"Nooooooo..."

"Sakura..." Videl said just barely above a whisper. "You threw up on Naruto and he needs to get cleaned up. I'm just going to lay you down and get you dressed so he can clean up. He'll be done in a little bit." Videl said softly, now taking Sakura's role as a caregiver.

"But I don't wanna..." She whined.

"He can't get clean if you're clinging onto him like that... I'll stay with you until he's done."

"Shhhh..." Naruto soothed as he rocked Sakura like a tired baby. _'It's okay. I got it.'_ Naruto said into Videl's mind.

 _'Alright.'_ Videl said with a soft smile.

As gently as he could, Naruto lifted Sakura up and carried her like a princess to the guest bedroom. Even in her drunken state, he couldn't help but find her adorable. The way she instinctively nestled against his warm chest made his heart race.

He hummed a lullaby softly that his mom did for him when he was gravely injured in Hell to help relax Sakura so she would fall asleep. To his joy, she did just that as she started snoring softly after a few minutes. Videl looked on, witnessing the tender moment between her two friends. It was like something out of a romance movie as Naruto gently laid Sakura on the bed and covered up her naked form to keep her warm.

No words were said as Naruto passed by Videl on the way back to the bathroom. However, she did catch a big smile on his face as he walked around her.

 _'I'll watch over her while you clean up.'_ Videl said into his mind.

 _'Thank you.'_ Naruto thought back. The bathroom door shut and Videl once again heard the sound of running water.

Videl sat on the edge of the bed and acted as a guard while Sakura slept.

 _'Hey Lee. How are things going down there? I'm not hearing much.'_ Videl asked.

 _'I've got Neji off of the chandelier and all the blood rushed to Tenten's head while she was hanging from the wall. So, she's passed out. She should be fine though.'_

 _'Alright. I'll help you get Neji and Tenten settled into guest rooms after I'm done here.'_

 _'Yosh, thank you so much, Videl. Again, I must apologize for my girlfriend and my teammate's inappropriate conduct.'_

 _'It's fine. We'll assess the damage in the morning.'_

 _'Thank you.'_ Lee said as lifted both his teammates over his shoulder and brought them upstairs to the other guest bedroom.

After a little while, Naruto emerged from the bathroom, wearing the orange pants from the Gi, the rest of it under his arm as well as the shirt for Sakura. he set them on top of the nearby dresser and looked upon the sleeping form of Sakura.

 _'I'm going to help Lee with Tenten and Neji. She's all yours.'_ Videl said into Naruto's mind.

Naruto thanked Videl again and crept into the bedroom where Sakura was sleeping.

Wasting no time, he crawled beneath the covers with her. Once he felt her tucked securely in his arms, did he allow himself to drift off to sleep.

Videl walked down the hall where he saw Lee tucking Neji into a bed while Tenten was still draped over his shoulders.

"Need help?" Videl asked in a whisper.

"It's alright. I've got it from here." Lee whispered back.

"Alright. I'm going to do laundry in the morning so if you want, I can get you and Tenten some outfits to wear while I add your clothes to the load." Videl offered.

"Thank you Videl." Lee said simply.

"She looks like she would be able to wear my size, so I'll get her something. As for you, I can lend you one of Gohan's Gi's. Orange or blue?"

"Blue is fine." Lee said as he fought back a yawn.

"Take the room next to this one. Sleep well. I'll let all the families know where everyone is." Videl whispered as she went back to her room to gather some more fresh clothes.

"You're an angel... yawn."

"That's funny since my name means 'Devil.' sleep well." Videl said as she left the room.

She picked out a blue gi for Lee and one of Videl's training sets, which consisted of a white shirt and spandex shorts. She returned to the room where Lee and Tenten would be sleeping to see that they had both gotten into bed and fell asleep. Smiling softly, she placed the fresh outfits on the dresser and left. she then sent a brief message to Tenten's father, Gai and Hiashi to let them know where her friends were and why.

Shortly after that, she got ready for bed and started reading her book as she waited for Gohan to return.

Sadly, Videl found it hard to focus on her book. With all that was happening and everything that was about to happen. that, and her children were moving about in her belly. Videl smiled as she tenderly rubbed her belly.

 _'It's okay, little ones. Mommy won't let anything happen to you...'_ Videl thought sweetly. unaware that it went into Tenten's mind. She still hasn't been able to shut her mind off from other people she is close with yet.

"Videl?" Videl heard a voice from her doorway. She looked up to see a completely hung over Tenten.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Videl asked softly.

"I was sleeping and your thoughts woke me up..." Tenten stated sourly.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to, honestly." Videl defended, feeling bad that she woke her up.

"Not your fault. I seem to have hazy memories of kicking you wall in, so I apologize."

"Don't worry about it. Sakura was dancing topless on my table and broke it and I'm not really that upset.

"Still... By the way, since when do you wear glasses?" Tenten asked as she saw Videl wearing narrow frames with a book in hand.

"Oh these? I only use them for reading." Videl clarified.

"Oh, no way, me too." Tenten replied.

"Wait, really?" Videl asked, now genuinely curious.

To prove it to her, the weapon's mistress pulled out a tiny scroll of miscellaneous things and out popped a pain of lime green rimmed spectacles.

"Oh wow. Green isn't really my color. Here, come sit for a while if you want."

"They suit me, I think." Tenten said as she sat down with Videl.

Videl had never really had the time to talk with Tenten much and she was curious if there was more she had in common with her.

Tenten then noticed Videl's choice of book; Make Out Paradise.

"Oh wow, didn't know you were into that kind of smut, Videl."

"Huh?" Videl questioned as she looked at the book in her hand. "Oh no. I don't read this for the smut. It's actually a pretty good romance novel."

"Oh really? Who's your favorite character?"

"I have to say James is a very sweet romantic. He reminds me, in a lot of ways, of Gohan."

"Oh hoo, you poor bitch. Just wait until the first 1/3rd of Make Out Violence." Tenten snickered.

"No spoilers, please." Videl giggled.

"No promises." Tenten giggled as she pulled out her own copy of Make Out Paradise.

"Oh cool! You know, I feel we haven't had much time to actually sit and talk."

"I know, right? Turns out we've got a lot in common. Do you know how hard it is to find another girl in this town who'll admit that she reads the Make Out series, and not just for the smut?"

"I didn't know there was any. Haha, you should have seen the look on Naruto's and Sakura's faces when I whipped this out." Videl laughed.

"Ooh, did it look like this?" Tenten made a perfect impression showing both being shocked and disgusted at the same time. Which made Videl laugh when she got it spot on.

"I tried to subtly ask Sakura about it one time, back before you guys came to the village and she went into a rant about how it was a book for perverts. "Like Naruto," she'd rave to a quite suspect degree." Tenten smirked.

"And come to find out, she's just as perverted as he is. I never would have imagined she would get in on a swinger's party."

"Oh yeah. I tell you that was fun. Me and Lee hadn't actually done anything like that. I think it was because he thought I wouldn't want to just up and have sex with him. But last night really helped him come out of his shell, I hope." Tenten said.

"Yeah, here's hoping." Videl smiled as she went back into reading her book.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the desolate streets of the Hidden Leaf, a man in an orange spiral mask stumbled along down the road, looking like any other drunk from the Festival that had partied the night away. No one, not even the ANBU stationed all around the city paid him any mind when his body language immediately sobered up and he waltzed right to the eastern edge of the village. As he walked, the Halloween lanterns that had glowed through the long night became fewer and fewer. The man walked with purpose, even as the cobblestone path gave way to unkempt dirt roads. Finally he reached his destination, the abandoned clan compound of the Uchiha.

The man strolls right in, paying no mind to the warning signs informing all those who enter that the site will soon be under construction to serve as a memorial site for the Uchiha to honor them. The man passed by graffiti painted on the walls of buildings that he used to pass on his way to the Academy every morning. What were once little shops and homes inhabited by smiling relatives now looked like crack houses used by the degenerates of the Leaf village. The man entered the courtyard of the main house of the compound that to see three Academy students in costumes standing by the front door with their bags of candy held tightly in their little hands.

"I'm not going in, you go in." One of the shorter boys spoke nervously.

"Ahh, I'm waiting for Jin to take the lead." The tallest boy replied in a similar tone.

"What're you both, chicken?" The medium sized boy named Jin spoke with a cocky additude.

"Let's just get out of here. I heard from my mom that going in here is disrespectful." The short boy begged.

"You really are a chicken, Akio. Ya wanna go back home to mommy too, don't cha?" Jin mocked.

"Ahh, guys?" The tall kid spoke, poking at Jin and Akio until they looked down the courtyard and saw a hooded figure approaching them.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Akio screamed before Jin covered his mouth.

"Shh, shut up." Jin hissed. "Um, hey mister, we were just...um...we were just…" Jin tried to explain, but the hooded man wouldn't even acknowledge the boys, instead he kept walking towards them.

"Uh, mister?" The poor boy asked as the man walked closer towards him. The only sound came from the crunch of pebbles beneath his boots.

"Mister?" Jin squeaked before his friends watched him be enveloped by the man's form. Before they could even cry out Jin's name the boy reappeared out the back of the man, looking petrified. The man kept walking past the boys and through the sealed door like an illusion.

"GHOST!" The man heard the boys cry from inside the house. They all scampered back home, crying for their mommies while the man walked past the sitting room with the faded white tape on the floor and into the clan's meeting hall. There he walked through the third floor panel on the right, down the secret staircase to a chamber hidden from even the piercing gaze of the Byakugan. There another figure awaited him, one that appeared to be a man caught in the jaws of a monsterous venus fly trap.

"Having a little fun with the children I see." The figure spoke.

"Report." The man ordered.

"Security seems to be growing around the remaining jinchuriki. While they are all still under observation, the Kages grow more cautious by the day. Gohan Son has convinced them to take the Akatsuki seriously."

"Then it seems that we must redouble our efforts. Have you located the Three Tails yet?"

"Yes, but its ability to travel from any body of water to another at will makes reassuring its location difficult." The figure replied.

"Then focus your entire attention on the beast. With the other jinchuriki on lock-down, we need not concern ourselves with their location. Not if the Kages are smart." The man said.

"Understood." The figure replied.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, our suspicions were confirmed by the two Saiyans. Another alien, one from our universe it seems, is coming to our planet. We can sense it ourselves that it is more powerful than even Gohan Son. If it comes here intending to destroy or enslave the planet, there is little that we can do." The figure stated, making the man scoff.

"As always, Zetsu, you fail to see the possibilities presented in front of us."

"Do I, master Obito?" Zetsu asked.

"Yes." Obito said as he gazed upon the stone tablet that held the secret history of his clan in writing only discernible to those with blessed eyes. "I believe it is time for the Akatsuki to extend a hand of friendship."

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Okay, we got that out of our system. I think we are all properly amused/aroused/weirded out to not need another chapter like this for a while. Which means we can get back on track with the plot. Ice the Frost Demon is coming to Element with his army of minions bent on eradicating any powerful individuals on the planet. Old foes make an appearance. The stars align, granting our heroes a unique opportunity to cripple all of their enemies in one fell swoop, yet the dominoes could easily fall against them as well. Tune in next time for the beginning of the Ice Arc.**


	34. Chapter 34: Find the Three Tails

**Author's Note from Panda: Your patience has been rewarded. Here it is. The beginning of the Ice Arc.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

It was late one evening in the dense swamps located in the Land of Hot Water, northeast of the Land of Fire, where a ragged group of six marched through the impenetrable waist high muck and mud.

Overhead, the thick forest canopy made navigating all but impossible at night. Without light from the moon or any guidance from the stars, yet the group of shinobi trudged through.

 **SPLAT**

Until one of them tripped and fell face first into the mud.

"Ack! YUCK!" The white-haired teen yelled as his front was covered in mud and his limbs began merging with the dirty water.

The spiky purple haired lady behind him passed him without a second thought as she carried a miserable child on her back.

"FUCK! Tell me again why we are hiking through all this shit?!" The young man bellowed at the group's hooded leader.

"Oh give it a rest, Suigetsu!" The bossy red head behind him lectured. "We got sick of your bitching back in the Land of Iron. Just shut up and keep walking."

"Fuck off, Karin!" Suigetsu shouted back. "I got sick of your bitching after a first met you. I swear, I liked you better back when Sas-gay was still ali-IIIIIEEEE!" Suigetsu cried out as he was impaled through the chest by a wispy kunai at the end of the girl's Chakra chains.

"NEVER. SAY THAT. IN FRONT OF ME. AGAIN." Karin hissed, her eyes burning like hellfire. Making even the boy made of water start to sweat.

"Please you two, don't fight." Said the gentle giant marching behind them.

"Oh what do you care, Juugo!?" Suigetsu spat as Karin removed the Chakra chain from the swordsman's chest.

"I don't like to see violence. It makes me **anxious."** Juugo said as he began to grow anxious, his skin turning darker, his eyes shining yellow, and a sick grin splitting his face.

"Ah shit!" Suigetsu cursed.

"Down Juugo!" Karin barked as she tightened her Chakra chain leash around Juugo's neck. The cursed man gagged on the chains and was yanked forward into the muck, splashing both of his irate companions. He quickly reemerged back to his calm, normal self.

Near the front of the group, the little boy began to stir.

"Oh great, you idiots woke up Yukimaru." The woman snapped at them.

"Shove it, Gurren! Tell that brat that he can start whining when he starts walking." Karin ranted.

"I'll walk..." Yukimaru said softly, wanting everyone to stop being mad at each other. It had been like this for weeks now.

"No Yukimaru, just rest..." Gurren soothed, trying to let the poor boy rest. For god sakes, he was a child. He needed his rest.

"Okay..." Yukimaru said sadly. Letting the gentle warmth of Gurren's back relax him.

"All of you shut up and keep moving." The hooded figure hissed, in a tone that conveyed his lack of patience for them all.

"We've been moving for three days straight you four eyed bastard. Can't we rest?" Suigetsu whined.

The figure looked back at Suigetsu with absolute murder in his eyes. The eyes of a predator upon his prey.

"What was that?"

Suigetsu paused when he realized what he just said. "I just...um..." He didn't get to finish his thought. For the figure raised up his arm and a snake shot out of his coat and bit Suigetsu right in the neck. The man made of water through the snake aside, but it was too late, the poison had seeped into his system.

"A slow acting poison. Stimulates your pain receivers for three hours before killing you." The hooded figure explained. "Keep quiet for another few miles and I shall administer the anti-venom before then."

Suigetsu could only frantically nod. It felt like his every nerve ending was being pricked with a pin.

"As for the rest of you. Karin, keep a tighter grip on Juugo's leash. We've already lost Gurren's men to his rages. I won't lose any of you. And Yukimaru, go back to sleep. We need you to be rested properly for our mission to be a success."

"Yes, Kabuto-san..." Yukimaru said. The man in question pulled back his hood enough for his underlings to see his face. His right cheek had patches of snake scales and was as white as bone. His right eye had also changed yellow with a slit pupil. Kabuto then looked over to see if there was any defiance left to be stamped out. Satisfied, he pressed on through the muck and mud, where his future could be secured.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Leaf, the heroes of the village were all on high alert. A week ago, Gohan had sensed that Ice and his crew of alien soldiers would arrive on Element in three days. That was before the Frost Demon seemed to activate his ship's cloaking device and effectively dropped off the Ki sensing radar. Four days since their predicted arrival on the surface and neither the Ki users nor the entire world wide shinobi spy network had seen hide nor hair of the Frost Demon and his minions. Yet Gohan and the others were certain that Ice was on world and was merely waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. When everyone's guard was dropped.

So of course, the obvious counter to that was to have everyone stay on high alert. And the best way to maintain that was to get back to gravity training. Which leads us to the Leaf villages newest number 1 ninja power couple, Naruto and Sakura, having some early morning sparring together in the gravity room.

"Whew...you've gotten...a lot stronger, Sakura-chan..." Naruto panted.

Sakura blew her bangs out of her face as she held her stance. "Thanks for noticing." She smirked. "Maybe I'll be the one saving your butt from the big baddie this time."

"Oh yea?" Naruto smirked before erupting into golden flames.

"Bout time you got serious." Sakura smirked before erupting into her second level of Kami Mode.

Naruto charged at Sakura from above while Sakura kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. He threw a quick three punch combo that Sakura was able to smack away. He then followed up with a low aiming front kick while Sakura's defenses were focused above her head. She snapped her arms down and just managed to block his kick. Naruto thought he was in the clear until he felt Sakura's grip on his ankle.

She threw him hard across the room.

"WAAAAH!" Naruto cried out before slamming against the wall.

He then slumped against the wall and rubbed his head. Sakura just crossed her arms, unimpressed.

"What's up, babe? You're not gonna burst into smoke to reveal that you were a Shadow Clone all along while the real you attacks me from my blind spot?" Sakura asked. Naruto just chuckled.

"Nah, I'm trying to practice my clone's durability." The clone said before the real Naruto got behind Sakura and landed a kick on her shoulders. Then the clone Sakura had thrown exploded into smoke.

Sakura was sent flying but stopped herself in midair.

"Not bad." Sakura smirked.

"Ooh, someone copied my trick." Naruto smirked.

"I've been practicing my flying. Almost as good as Videl now."

"Nice. That's my girl." Naruto praised as he took to the air as well.

"How about you? How did your training with Videl and Kakashi-sensei go?"

Naruto actually winced at the memory. He didn't want to show it, but Sakura could see him subtly grabbing his right arm. "It's...coming. But we decided to take a few days off to recuperate."

"Uh huh..." Sakura mused. "Computer, return gravity to normal." She ordered. The machine hummed and the counter dropped from 300 to 1. Sakura then landed back on the floor and returned to her normal state. "Is something wrong with this jutsu?"

"I really don't want to worry you about it." Naruto admitted, hoping in vain that it would be enough to placate her.

"If I was, I would have been checking out your arm already." Sakura pointed out.

Naruto chuckled. "Of course, I couldn't fool your eyes."

"Yea, so what's up?" Sakura asked.

"Well..." Naruto said as he unwrapped the bandages tied around his right palm, the same bandage that Sakura had overlooked, thinking it was just typical injuries you'd get from training. Yet when Naruto showed her his palm she knew these were no ordinary cuts and bruises. His palm looked like he had been high fiving a blender. The scraps left perfect swirls on his hand. Sakura had never seen patterns like that outside of injuries by Rasengan. But they were usually received by, not on Naruto.

"Oh my god! What the hell have you been doing?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Perfecting the ultimate jutsu." Naruto said as Sakura ran her fingers over his palm.

"Sweet Kai...I've never seen Chakra burns like this. Is Videl-"

"In the same boat? Oh yea..." Naruto answered. "Although she has actual burns. Mine are just cuts."

"I can see that...Is Kurama healing them?"

"He's been trying, but hmmrmm..." Naruto muttered.

"What was that?" Sakura growled, hating being given the ring around. Which Naruto was quick to remember once she applied pressure on his sore palms.

"The jutsu uses my wind chakra, only it cuts really finely. So finely that it occasionally severs my chakra network in my palm, so Kurama can't send his chakra to heal my hand." Naruto hastily explained.

"Sounds to me that this jutsu is too dangerous for you to continue." Sakura said seriously as she pulled out a syringe.

"I have to keep using it, and the heck is that?" Naruto asked, pointing at the needle.

"Something that will heal your hand, now hold still." Sakura said before jabbing it into the back of his hand.

"Ouch!" Naruto cried.

"Oh stop you big baby. Almost done." Sakura said as she injected the rest of the fluid out of the needle and pulled it out. Almost instantly, Naruto noticed that his cuts slowly disappeared and he could move it a lot better.

"Woah, you fixed it." Naruto said in awe.

"Senzu extract." Sakura said simply.

"No way, I got that from Gohan and it didn't fix me up." Naruto said as he gave his hand a few test squeezes and sure enough it was good as new.

"This is my own recipe that I've been fiddling around with. Twice as potent." Sakura stated proudly.

"Aw man, I love having a kick ass medic girlfriend." Naruto smirked.

 _ **'More like a future wife.'**_ Kurama teased.

 _'Like there is any doubt at this point.'_ Naruto thought.

"I heard that." Sakura snickered.

"Well we both know it's true." Naruto smirked.

"Yeah..." Sakura said fondly before smacking Naruto upside the head. "Now don't use that jutsu again!"

"Ouch! But I have to!" Naruto defended.

"I'll make it a formal medical order if I have to, mister!" Sakura shot back.

"Sakura-chan, you don't understand. If Gohan can't beat this Ice guy, then I'm the only other fighter strong enough to back him up. Videl is pregnant and you're the best medic we've got. I can't match Gohan's level, but this jutsu could give me the edge I need." Naruto argued.

"At the cost of your hand? If your chakra network is severed in your hand, that's the end of your ninja career and your dream. You won't be able to weave signs if you lose your right hand. What then?" Sakura argued back.

"And if Ice destroys the world? It won't matter if I can become Hokage or not. If taking my hand is what it costs to beat Ice, then I'll gladly pay that price." Naruto declared.

Sakura sighed heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "God you're stubborn..."

"Yeah, and so are you. But that's what I love about you." Naruto said, hoping to placate her.

She sighed again, rubbing her hands down her face. "Fine...master this jutsu if you must. But, and I'm going to tell Videl the same thing, do NOT use it unless you absolutely have to. Is that understood?"

"I won't... I promise." He said with a sealing kiss on Sakura's forehead.

"Good. Now I gotta check to see how bad Videl's hand is." Sakura said as she motioned him to follow her out of the gravity room.

"Gohan said he's already taking care of that." Naruto said.

"I still wanna check it."

"Why if Gohan is taking care of it?" Naruto asked.

"Because he's still a novice." Sakura said simply as they walked closer to the Son home. "Think of it as our excuse to visit them today." Sakura added as they made their way through the streets. Walking past all the morning shoppers, all of them had strange looks on their faces whenever they noticed the blond and pink haired duo. At first Naruto tried to ignore them as usual. He had gotten used to this treatment after becoming a ninja, everyone stopped outright messing with him once they knew he could fight back. Now all Naruto hoped for that a residual hatred they might have for him wouldn't be directed at Sakura.

That was when one of the shop keepers walked up to the duo and handed them each an apple. "Good morning to you, Naruto!" He said brightly.

Naruto didn't recognize the man, but figured he should be polite. "Good morning to you too." He waved.

"These are for you as a token of thanks." He said.

"Huh, what?" Naruto asked as the man handed him a bag filled with apples.

"It's only a small token of gratitude, although, you deserve much more." The man bowed.

"Oh no, you don't have to..." Naruto said, unsure of how to react to this new generosity from a stranger.

"Yes I do. You may not remember me, but I'm the owner of this fruit stand." He said pointing to the place in question.

"Um, this specific stand?" Naruto asked, trying not to be rude, but this wasn't the only fruit stand in town.

"Yes it is...do you remember 5 years ago when you tried to take an orange?" The owner asked shamefully.

"Um...no not really..." Naruto said.

"Wait a minute...didn't you say that this was the fruit stand where you were chased away with a hammer?" Sakura asked.

Naruto paused in thought as he looked up and crossed his arms. "Gonna have to be more specific than that."

 _'It was the day before Kyuubi day and we got out of school early.'_ Sakura thought to him.

 _'Again, gonna have to be more specific. I've had a lot of birthdays.'_ Naruto thought.

 _'He said 5 years ago.'_ Sakura reminded him.

 _'Yeah, and I was chased away by like, three fruit vendors that day.'_ Naruto said before just giving up. "Sure, I remember you."

"Son...listen...I deeply regret treating you the way I did. It was wrong of me. You are by far the bravest soul this world or the next could possibly hope to be blessed with..." The man bowed.

Now Naruto was just embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head. "Wow...thanks..."

"Uh...Naruto..." Sakura said to him in astonishment. He look back at her, then around him. One by one, people were dropping what they were doing and bowed in respect for him.

 _ **'Wow...how about that...'**_ Kurama said in equal astonishment.

Naruto was so stunned at what he was seeing. he was absolutely speechless as he looked upon all the shop keepers and shoppers who were still bowing to him. It was surreal. He had essentially earned the respect and admiration of everyone in the village overnight. It overwhelmed him so much that he couldn't help but shed a tear of joy.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay...?" Sakura asked in a comforting tone.

"Huh, what?" Naruto said as he noticed the tear running down his cheek and wiped it away.

"Are you okay, hun?" She asked again.

"Yeah, I'm...I don't know what I am...I think I'm fine." He said.

 _ **'I think overwhelming joy is the proper response.'**_ Kurama said.

Naruto thought about it and looked on to the crowd surrounding him. How many times had he fantasied about this exact moment? He'd be the hero of the Leaf with all the people who'd mocked him bowing while Sakura-chan lovingly stood by his side. And yet now it all felt wrong.

"Hey now, none of that, everybody stand up." Naruto ordered as he moved towards the fruit stand owner and grabbed him by the armpit, hoping to gently lift him up.

"I'm sorry?" The stand owner asked as he stood back up.

"I'm no Lord or Hokage, you don't need to bow to me." Naruto said as he tried to pick someone else up.

"Young man, with all due respect, we have wronged you. We owe you a great deal for what we have done." The shop keeper argued.

"That doesn't mean you need to bow to me. I did what any ninja of this village would do. All I want is for you to treat me the same way you'd treat any Chunin." Naruto consoled.

"Naruto...you went far and beyond what any ninja would ever dare to do." Sakura reminded him. "You went to hell to save Sasuke's soul. You fought foes that made Gohan quiver in his shoes. Foes who have destroyed millions of people and/or worlds. No ninja in history has ever done what you did."

"Who cares? I didn't do it for fame or admiration. Plus, this is seriously embarrassing." Naruto whispered.

"Well obviously they care. Plus from our view here, everyone saw you for what you really were. You weren't a spawn of a demon...you were a scared orphan...and they feel bad for the way they've treated you. I told you this back in Hell. Everyone in the village was right there, cheering you on." Sakura said.

"Fine, just make them stop bowing at me." Naruto said.

Sakura just smiled before turning to everyone. "Alright everyone. You can stop bowing now."

"Yes, M'Lady." The fruit vendor said while one by one the rest of the crowd started standing back up.

 _'M'lady?'_ Sakura thought to herself.

 _'Peons gotta learn sometime.'_ Inner Sakura thought.

 _'Huh? But that doesn't make sense. I'm no one special.'_

 _'You're the girlfriend of said hero of the Leaf and future wife of the Hokage.'_ Inner reminded her.

 _'Yea, but I mean right now.'_

 _'Well right now you are a kick ass kunoichi, equal to said hero of the Leaf, plus the number one medical ninja in the Leaf and therefore the world, apprentice to the Slug Queen Sannin and Lady Hokage Tsuande Senju. So yeah, represent, bitch.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Well...I guess...'_ Sakura said, a little unsure of her inner's reasoning.

 _'Guess nothing, strut your stuff and own it.'_ Inner stated.

 _'Yea, I'm not like that.'_ Sakura said before turning to Naruto. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, please." Naruto said as some old lady was trying to kiss his feet.

"Ma'am, please stop that." Sakura said, trying to get her on her feet.

"Yes, M'Lady." The old lady said.

 _'That's gonna take some getting used to...'_ Sakura mused to herself. "Come on, Naruto. Let's take to the sky."

"Please." Naruto repeated as he started hovering over everyone's head, making the wives and young children all ooh and aww.

Sakura then did the same and the two of them flew towards the Son home.

"THEY CAN FLY?!" One young boy exclaimed.

"Of course, they can, stupid. Don't you know anything?" Another bratty boy replied before Naruto and Sakura could fly above the rooftops and out of hearing distance.

"Geez, I can't believe I'm saying this but I'd almost rather go back to them slightly hating me." Naruto said.

"Now I know you're bullshitting me." Sakura scoffed.

"Maybe not that far back, but back before I went to Hell. I always wanted to he admired, but this bowing thing is way too far in that direction." Naruto clarified as he flew around the smoke coming from a chimney.

"Maybe...but if they do this now, imagine how they'll react when you become Hokage."

"Yeah, I'm not having people bow in my presence and not even look me in the eye. That is not happening." Naruto insisted.

"Then make it law." Sakura chuckled.

"I don't wanna force people either. I just want everyone to treat me like everybody else." Naruto said seriously.

"You know I was kidding. Just say that during your inauguration." Sakura said.

"I don't want to wait until then."

Sakura sighed. "Well then I don't know what to tell you, Naruto. You're special and everyone knows it now. So you're just going to have to deal with it."

"I guess you're right..." The two of them then flew in silence, thinking that they had reached an agreement. "But what if I threw this really elaborate prank to make people hate me again?"

"No." Sakura shot that down right then and there.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Son's house.

"Will you stop fussing?! It's fine!" Videl snapped.

"You nearly burned your skin right down to your nerves. 'Fine' is not the word I would use." Gohan lectured.

"Oh wow...so my hand is a little burnt. Big deal...both my hands were in worse shape during that fire. You know the one." Videl reminded him.

"No they weren't and you know it. You almost lost your ability to generate chakra in your hands. AND Ki." Gohan said as he kept tracing his mystic palms over Videl's burnt palms.

"Oh that's bullshit and you know it. You can focus Ki out of any part of your body. Need I remind you of the time your dad fought King Piccolo and he made a Kamehameha through his feet. Or when Broly shot a Ki blast at you with his chest." Videl countered.

"You want to limit yourself to chest beams and feet Kamehameha waves for the rest of your life? Cause that's what'll happen if you don't stop abusing this jutsu." Gohan snapped.

"Abusing it?!" Videl snapped back. "Our job is to perfect it!"

"And my job as a medic is to tell you when you've gone too far! And guess what?" Gohan shouted as he took Videl's hands and placed them in the bowl of cool water he kept in between their knees. Instantly Videl could feel the treated water soothing into her pores. Videl just glared at her future husband with absolute fury. Even so, Gohan would not back down. Thank God that they heard a knock at the door though.

"You gonna get that or what?" Videl spat.

"Yes I am. Keep your hands submerged." Gohan ordered as he stood up to go answer the door, but not without looking back one last time to make sure that Videl was doing as instructed.

"Yes, worry wart. I'm not going anywhere." She grumbled.

Gohan grumbled at her attitude and went to open the door. On the other side, who should he see but his two best friends Naruto and Sakura.

"Having a bad day?" Sakura asked.

"How can you tell?" Gohan snarled as he stood aside to let the two of them in.

"Oh, let me guess. She's putting up a fight about that jutsu, isn't she?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto stepped inside.

"She's being stubborn is what she is. I told her to be careful with that jutsu. That it might destroy her charka and Ki network. But does she listen? No, I'm just overreacting!" Gohan ranted.

"You kinda are, man." Naruto said.

"No he is not. We just had this conversation." Sakura said.

 _'I know, but I didn't pitch a fit.'_ Naruto responded mentally.

 _'Well neither of them can claim the high ground on this one.'_ Sakura thought. "Look, let me take over with Videl. Give you a break. You and Naruto can go make breakfast or lunch or something."

"Brunch?" Naruto suggested hopefully.

"Sure, whatever..." Gohan sighed.

Naruto leapt for joy as he grabbed Gohan into the kitchen, leaving Sakura to walk into the next room over where Videl was sitting on a leg rest.

"What's up?" Sakura greeted.

"Dealing with an overprotective butthead...What else is new?" Videl grumbled.

"Same thing on my end. Only I just found out that my overprotective butthead was hiding his injuries from me." Sakura replied.

"Huh, maybe I should have done that. But seriously, my hand feels fine so I don't know what his issue is."

"For one thing, they look like you've been sticking them in sandwich toasters. So you telling me that you aren't in pain is my first warning sign." Sakura said as she double checked Gohan's handy work.

"Please...I've dealt with worse pain." Videl scoffed.

"Maybe...Well, I'd say you're lucky. Your networks aren't as damaged as Naruto's was. But these burns are no laughing matter."

"So I got burned a little bit." Videl shrugged off.

"Videl, that's not what I meant. You don't feel pain because your nerves were burned away. You can't feel pain. Not in certain spots anyway." Sakura stated.

"Wait...Really...?" Videl asked, now feeling nervous.

"You tell me. I've been jabbing you with this tiny needle for a while now and you still haven't reacted." Sakura stated. Videl looked down to see Sakura holding a needle the size of a thumb tack and repeated poking Videl in one of the black burnt swirling lines along her palm. She then switched over to where Videl's skin was merely red and the Half Saiyan yelped at the sharp poke.

Videl gulped. "Is...Is that bad...?"

"It's serious. Third degree burns are no laughing matter. I've had to recommend Jounin give up on their ninja careers after they lost their nerves in their hands. Never mind losing feeling in their hands, losing the ability to weave chakra through hand signs is fatal to most shinobi. You're lucky this is as minor as it is." Sakura lectured as she reached into her bag and pulled out another one of her personal Senzu syringes.

"Nerve ending, especially chakra nerve ending doesn't just grow back. It takes time and it doesn't away happen." Sakura said.

Now Videl just felt terrible for snapping at Gohan about this. Even if he was being a little over the top.

"But it's okay, because this should fix you right up." Sakura said after she capped her syringe.

"A Senzu Syringe? Gohan already tried that and it didn't work." Videl said.

"Check again." Sakura smiled.

Videl looked down at her hand to see it slowly turning back to its healthy state. The chard, blackened skin turning healthy and pink and she noticed that she was regaining her feeling in that hand.

"H-how...did you..."

"My special blend. It's twice as potent as the one Lady Tsunade made." Sakura stated proudly.

Videl tried squeezing her hand, only to wince when she felt the burn lines.

"Got your feeling back I see." Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah. But shouldn't it be healed completely?" Videl asked.

"You're not Naruto. Be grateful that it healed your nerves at all." Sakura said as she started gently pumping healing chakra into Videl's palms. "This will take time."

"Alright..." Videl sighed in defeat.

As they were sitting in the living room, their better halves were cooking French toast in the kitchen.

"Cooking always helped me relax." Gohan said as he mixed the batter to dip the bread in.

"Yeah, what was that all about if you don't mind me asking?"

Gohan sighed heavily. "She severely burned her hand and she's just being infuriatingly stubborn..."

"Is that really all it is?" Naruto asked as he mixed more eggs with cinnamon.

"Sigh...She doesn't seem to understand the severity of her situation...The majority of the nerves in her hand were destroyed and she had 3rd degree burns all over. She'll be lucky if she ever has use of that hand again and she sees it as no big deal."

"Yeah, me and Sakura-chan had a similar argument earlier." Naruto said while Gohan put on a few more egg soaked slices of toast. "Of course, I was hiding my injuries from Sakura. I didn't want to worry her."

"Well Videl didn't do that. I think learning this jutsu is a mistake." Gohan said.

"And the two of us would strongly disagree." Naruto said.

"I know. But with Videl, she's two months pregnant. If it exploded in her face prematurely, what then?" Gohan countered.

"What if she fights Ice and has no defense besides the jutsu we've both learned?"

"I don't want her to fight Ice." Gohan said firmly.

"Well, what if she didn't have a choice?" Naruto countered.

"You know...There is something my friend Yamaha used to say. 'What if in one hand, shit in the other. Which one fills up first?'"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto asked.

"It means that it doesn't do any good to speculate if there is no definitive answer." They heard a female voice from the doorway. they turned to see Videl, whose hand was back to 100% and Sakura next to her.

"Gohan..." Videl said softly, like she had difficulty getting out what she wanted to say.

"Dinner is almost ready..." Gohan said listlessly, hoping to avoid another confrontation.

"Gohan...Can we talk, please?" Videl asked.

"I know already, I was being too overbearing. Can we just drop it." Gohan pleaded. He had enough on his mind with Ice's inevitable reveal that he didn't need to be fighting.

"No...I was out of line..." Videl said shamefully.

Gohan stopped right in the middle of the doorway to the kitchen. "Come again?"

"I said...I was out of line...I didn't realize how serious it was until Sakura better explained it..."

"You mean it?" Gohan asked as he turned back to her.

Videl sniffed before burying her face into his chest. "I'm sorry..." She sobbed.

"Videl?" Gohan said astonished before returning her hug.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Videl continued to cry. And just like that, all of his anger vanished. What was a man to do when his woman was crying into his chest? He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"Gohan..." Videl whispered.

"Shhh...It's okay..." Gohan soothed.

"Is something burning?" She asked.

"Just the french toast. Oh shoot, the French toast!" Gohan cried.

"I got it!" Naruto shouts as he runs back into the kitchen.

"Let me help." Sakura said as she got by Naruto's side. The two of them made their way into the kitchen where the French toast was already burning on the hot skillet.

"Ah shoot!" Naruto cried as he ran to save their brunch. To his dismay, he found what was to be their breakfast burnt on one side and uncooked on the other. "Damn it all." Naruto said, mildly frustrated.

"Well, we can still salvage the rest of it. It's just a few slices." Sakura consoled.

"Yeah, it's just frustrating." Naruto admitted before throwing the wasted food in the trash.

"Hey, how do you think I..." Sakura paused when she noticed a white bird on the window sill. "Naruto, open the window. Now."

Naruto did just as requested and the little white bird hopped inside. The bird nodded its little head at both of the ninjas three times each and then flew into the living room, searching for Gohan and Videl.

"It's a summons from Lady Tsunade...High priority." Sakura informed.

"So much for brunch." Naruto said as he shut off the stove.

"Ack! Who opened the window?" Videl cried from the living room.

"It's a summoning bird, Videl!" Sakura called.

"Who summoned it?" Gohan called back.

"Not summoning like a jutsu. It's a messenger bird from the Hokage Tower. Did it nod as you two or land on your shoulder?" Naruto called.

"Yeah...What does that mean?" Videl asked as the bird flew out of the window it came in.

"We've all been summoned to Tsunade's office, high priority." Sakura repeated.

"Wha-for what?" Videl asked.

"No idea, but if its white it most likely means an emergency mission. Pack your gear, we'll meet you at the Hokage's office." Sakura ordered.

"Sakura, Videl is on maternity leave. She can't-"

"If she was summoned then she has to go as well. Now move." Sakura ordered.

Naruto and Sakura then vanished into a blur, leaving the half Saiyans alone in their house. Gohan looked at Videl, uncertain if this was the call they had both been dreading since the Festival.

"Do you sense anything?" Videl asked.

"No." Gohan said, double checking his own feelings. "I don't know if that is supposed to make me more or less nervous."

Videl sighed. "Well...We need to go."

"Right." Gohan said as they both headed upstairs to start gathering their things. Five minutes later, they were both out the door, flying straight towards the Hokage Tower. Below them they could see acres of forest give way to a colorful and bustling cityscape seemingly at the drop of a hat. From there they flew over the densely-packed village that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. How such a large urban city could remain "Hidden in the Leaves" the two dimension hoppers would never know. Almost as equally impressive were the five gigantic head statues cared into the mountainside, hanging over the Hokage Tower and the Academy like a disaster waiting to happen.

Gohan and Videl swooped down to land at the front entrance to the Hokage Tower, but saw that the window to Tsunade's office had been left open to them and flew in that way. Inside the whole crew was waiting for them; Tsunade, Shizune, the Konoha 11, their Jounin sensei save for Kurenai, and even Captain Yamato, the ANBU Captain who had joined Videl and the rest of team 7 on her first mission.

"Glad you two could make it." Tsunade said.

"Sorry we're late." Gohan bowed to the Hokage who waved it off.

"Nonsense, you both are right on time. Just stand over there and we can begin." Tsunade gestured over to the rest of the Konoha 11. Specifically, next to Naruto and Sakura.

The two did just that and were two steps away when they felt a cool sensation they could only describe as walking through a wall of air.

"What the?" Videl asked in confusion.

"Don't mind the anti-genjutsu barrier." Kakashi said casually as one would mention the incline in front of a door.

"Oh..." Videl and Gohan just shuffled into place. Whatever was going on had to be big.

"Is everyone here?" Tsunade asked, wanting to be certain.

"Yes, m'lady, that's everyone." Shizune answered from her seat next to Kakashi. Morning sickness had not been kind to her.

"Good, then I'll begin." Tsunade stated as she pulled out a tiny slip of paper no larger than a post card from a thin file she had on her desk. The file and one rather alarmingly pink crystal were the only two things on her desk besides the usual stacks of papers.

 _'Curiouser and curiouser.'_ Videl thought.

"We've received some intriguing new intel this morning. Intel that I believe to be a game changer if acted on swiftly enough."

"Approximately three days ago, one of our ANBU squads stationed in the Land of Hot Water was killed. A lone survivor managed to send us a coded message before snuffing out his own life-" Tsunade was then interrupted by Gohan. "He killed himself?" He asked, astonished

"Yes, Gohan. No doubt he had received injuries that were too grave for him to soldier on and he fulfilled his duties to burn his own body rather than be captured by the enemy." Tsunade explained.

"That sounds familiar. Ninja of our world, not the one you saw in Hell, lived by the same code. To die without leaving a corpse." Videl said.

"That's exactly right, Videl." Kakashi said.

"That's how we'll all leave the world, we ninja." Asuma said as he chewed on his unlit cigarette. "Burned to ashes along with all our secrets."

"Couldn't have said it better. Now, may I continue?" Tsunade asked.

"Of course." Asuma said.

"Good. As I was saying, the message was as follows: Team dead

Ridu Lake

Kabuto

Orochimaru

Small enemy squad

Searching for

Three Tailed Beast."

Sakura gulped. "The...Three Tails...?"

"Yes, evidently. Kabuto has assembled a small squad of ninjas and is searching for the Three Tails near Ridu Lake. What we can't seem to place is why the mention of Orochimaru. He's dead." Tsunade stated.

"That is odd..." Gohan mused.

"Yes, but it's not what is important. Jiraiya " Tsunade said out of the blue. It took a second for Gohan and Videl to realize that Tsunade was inviting Jiraiya inside. Neither of them had even sensed him until he entered through the window. He was old, but he was no slouch.

"I just double checked with my sources. The Akatsuki have no clue where the Three Tails is located." Jiraiya stated.

"Perfect, then the operation can get underway." Tsunade stated.

Tsunade paused, thinking someone would ask her, "what operation?" When no one did, it felt very awkward indeed.

"The operation that will disrupt both the Akatsuki plans and cripple the remaining Sound ninja for good. Boys and girls, I am sending the Konoha 11 out to capture the Three Tails and bring it back to the Leaf." Hoping that this got a reaction out of the young ninjas.

"Any word on Ice?" Gohan asked what was on everyone's minds.

"No." Tsunade stated. "We've received no word on sightings of any high-powered individual or any creatures matching your descriptions. If they did land on the surface than this so called cloaking device you mentioned must be very effective indeed."

"Damn..." Gohan muttered.

"This however is just as important. If Kabuto is looking for the Three Tails, then he is desperate. Ever since Videl killed Orochimaru, the Sound village has been a monster with its head cut off. I'm willing to bet that Kabuto plans to capture the Three Tails himself."

"I personally would like to see his head on a pike." Videl growled.

"I'd ask you to hold off on that. Killing Kabuto would take out the heart of the Sound village, but it's individual parts would scatter to the wind. If we capture him alive, we could interrogate him and rid the world of Orochimaru's evil completely." Tsunade said.

"How do know for certain that Kabuto means to capture a Tailed Beast? That was never Orochimaru's itinerary before." Shikamaru spoke.

"It would make sense. Capturing a Tailed Beast might reignite vigor into the Sound ninjas who have all been on the run since Orochimaru was killed. Having a Tailed Beast under their control might even give the Sound village some legitimacy amongst the local lords." Tsunade said darkly, indicating that this was the last thing they wanted to happen. A Sound village to rise again. "At the very least, he could use this as a bargaining chip with the Akatsuki. Which brings me to my second point on why this is such a great opportunity."

"What? Do you want us to capture him?" Naruto asked.

"Kabuto? If possible." Tsunade said.

"I mean the 3 Tails." Naruto clarified. Everyone was surprised at this. Partially because the Three Tails was a boy and that anyone cared.

"Yes, capturing the Three Tails could strike a critical blow to-"

"Isobu." Naruto interrupted.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tsunade asked.

"Isobu, the Three Tails's name is Isobu." Naruto repeated like it was common knowledge.

"Does every tailed beast have a name?" Gohan asked.

"Yes, of course they do." Naruto said, almost offended.

"Who cares?" Kiba said bluntly, earning a hated glare from Naruto.

"Kiba. That's enough." Hinata scolded.

"At any rate. Naruto, as fascinating as that is, I need to finish this briefing." Tsunade said.

"I just don't like the idea of capturing him and stuffing him into a sealing scroll or another kid." Naruto said.

"It's not an endangered tiger we can just relocate to a sanctuary, Naruto. This is a demon with tremendous power that Kabuto or the Akatsuki will exploit for their own nefarious purposes. Better it be sealed away under our protection than be roaming around. And that will be the last I will hear of it today or you will be barred from this mission." Tsunade stated firmly.

Naruto grumbled to himself, but kept his mouth shut. _'Such bullshit.'_ He thought.

"How would we seal him?" Videl asked.

"I'll get to that in a second, but I want to know. Are you well enough to go on this mission?" Tsunade asked.

"I should be okay. From the sounds of it, you need any able set of hands you can get."

"Need I remind you that you're halfway through your pregnancy."

"Yes, I know. But I'm fine. I can handle this." Videl assured.

"Then take this." Gohan said, handing her a capsule. "It's my Saiyan armor from when I was on Namek. It will protect you and our children."

Videl took the capsule and smiled at him. "You're amazing."

"Yeah, we'll have to cut off the shoulder pads before we have you wear it though. They are kind of ridiculous." Gohan said.

"You're not going, Gohan." Tsunade stated.

"Huh? I'm not?" Gohan asked with concern.

"No, you're not. I have another task for you that we can get into once I am done briefing this lot."

"Uh...Okay then."

"The sealing of the 3 Tails will be led by Shizune, using the Four Corner Seal. She will need 3 others with exceptional chakra control to pull it off." Tsunade said.

"That would be Sakura, Ino, and Hinata." Shizune stated.

"Huh, me?" Ino exclaimed. "I don't think my chakra control is good enough for that."

"Nonsense. The report I got after your intense training with Gohan and Videl, your chakra control has nearly tripled since your promotion to Chunin." Tsunade waved off.

"Yeah, but I'm still not as good as Sakura or Hinata." Ino said.

"Ino, you'll do fine." Sakura promised.

"Yea, seriously. Your control is better than mine in some cases." Videl agreed.

"Okay, fine I'll do it." Ino said.

"Good. With that out of the way I'll explain to you all what you can expect." Tsunade said as she rolled the pink crystal in between her thumbs and forefingers. Videl got a good look at the crystal and it looked like a perfect gem, except for some inconsistency- _'Is that a finger?_ ' She thought to herself. Encased in the crystal was a severed human finger.

"Is that...A finger...?" Hinata asked.

Tsunade placed the crystal on her desk with an audible click. "Yes, which we can only guess belonged to one of the dead ANBU. It was sealed inside the coded message. Obviously as a warning about one of the ninja Kabuto is traveling with." Tsunade said.

Might Gai, who had been oddly quiet throughout the whole briefing now stepped close to inspect the crystal. "This can't be what I think it is. There's no way."

"What is it, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

"This is a crystal from a Crystal Kekkei Genkai user. One of the deadliest offensive bloodline techniques in the world." Gai stated.

"I think a well-placed Ki blast would destroy it." Kiba smirked.

"That is something to test out, but I would be cautious." Gai warned. "These crystals are made of pure chakra. An experienced user can alter the density of the crystals they make at will. Turning them as solid as diamonds or as fragile as glass. Their edges are also known to have the slicing power of wind chakra. These crystals could easily absorb Ki blasts or even reflect them based on the will of their user."

"I wouldn't test it in here." Gohan cautioned. Then he thought of something. "Actually, wait. Let me see it really quick."

Tsunade nodded, allowing Gohan to walk up and inspect the crystal. As soon as he picked it up, it cut his thumb.

"Damn, that is sharp." Gohan said in astonishment.

"So then we must exercise extreme caution around this opponent should we run into him." Shino said, stating the obvious.

Gohan charged a Ki blade though his index finger to see if he could penetrate it. As soon as his energy touched the crystal, it bounced off of it, causing it to dissipate.

"Well that answers that question." Sakura said.

"This is some seriously incredible stuff." Gohan said in awe.

"Indeed. So like Shino said, use extreme caution with the crystal user." Tsunade said.

"Do we know about anyone else that Kabuto has teamed up with?" Naruto asked.

"We can only speculate on what agents we know about. Expect curse seal users and those with unique Kekkei Genkai." Tsunade said. They all nodded in understanding.

"Alright. Last thing we need to do is confirm squads. Since Videl has confirmed that she is fit to complete the mission, team 7 will remain as it is. As will team 10." Tsunade said, earning a nod from Asuma. "Team 8, since Kurenai is pregnant and has chosen to begin her maternity leave, you will be led by Captain Yamato." Kiba, Hinata, and Shino all looked over at their new Jounin leader.

"I look forward to working with you all." Yamato greeted politely.

"Team 3, you will be joined by Shizune. I expect you to place her protection on top of your list of priorities. She is the most knowledgeable about the Four Point Sealing jutsu. If she is incapacitated I will have to send in Jiraiya as a replacement." Tsunade ordered.

"Yosh, we will defend her with our lives." Lee declared, earning praise from his mentor and Jounin sensei.

"Wait, if Jiraiya is such a good seal master then why isn't he coming with us in the first place?" Videl interjected.

"Because I am being sent with a team of ANBU to go look for the Three Tails in a completely different direction. Which we are hoping that the Akatsuki will see as a juicier target than the four Chunin squads sent to handle an Orochimaru base clean up mission." Jiraiya stated.

"Yea, that makes our job so much easier..." Ino said sarcastically.

"Don't rely on it though. You're still traveling with Naruto. If the Akatsuki spies are as good as we think they are, they'll send their agents after you lot as well." Jiraiya warned. "Get this mission done and get it done quickly."

"But what about Ice?" Gohan asked again. "What if he makes an appearance while they are all gone? Or Kami forbid comes to the village? I'm not sure I can defeat him without Naruto or Sakura's help."

"If it comes to that, then I'll call upon Baal and Nayru. The way I see it, Ice was their responsibility." Tsunade stated.

"That won't work." Gohan said. "I've talked to Baal and said that Ice has his blessing to kill and enslave any race he comes across. Just so long as he doesn't destroy the actual planet." Gohan said.

"Well isn't that nice of him..." Sakura grumbled.

"He doesn't want it to be that way, but he has no choice." Gohan added.

"He is the destroyer of worlds. But gods cannot interfere with freewill of lifeforms." Videl said.

Tsunade sighed. "Then we'll just have to make do with what we have."

She then stood up from her chair. "If that's all, you're all dismissed. Gohan, Videl, Sakura, please remain."

While everyone else shuffled out to meet up at the front gate, Naruto lingered behind to give a curious stare at the trio that was selected without him.

"This is a personal concern, Naruto. You don't need to remain." Tsunade said.

"Alright, I guess. Meet you guys at the gate." Naruto said before departing with a wave goodbye.

Once the door closed, Tsunade turned to her ward. "Sakura...I want you to watch Videl like a hawk. While you were in Hell, I caught her lighting up a cigarette."

Videl flinched at Tsunade's words.

Sakura just looked annoyed at the pregnant Saiyan. "Really, Videl? How could you be so stupid?"

"I-I've stopped! I haven't had one since!" Videl said nervously. "Gohan has been watching me like a hawk!"

"And now the torch passes to me. You'd better pray I don't find any cancer sticks sealed away in your bag when get to the lake." Sakura threatened.

"You won't. I made sure there were none in the house." Gohan said.

"I uh...Honestly didn't know they cause birth defects..." Videl admitted.

"How could you not? You'll hear it up and down the street that cigarettes are bad for you. How would that change for a developing fetus?"

"I didn't know! I'm sorry!" Videl defended.

"Good. Just don't do it again and with luck we shouldn't have any complications." Sakura said.

Videl gulped, but nodded.

"Good. Also, keep an eye on Shizune. She's pregnant as well." Tsunade said.

"Of course." Sakura nodded.

"You two may go. I have to talk to Gohan." Tsunade said.

"Yes, M'Lady." Sakura bowed before leaving with Videl.

"What's going on?" Gohan asked.

"I actually have a solution to your dilemma on fighting Ice alone." Tsunade stated, grabbing the man's complete attention.

"Really? Well I'd like to hear it." Gohan said.

"Your request for volunteers from the other shinobi villages finally came through. Two ninjas from the Sand, one ninja from Rock, four from Lightning, and two from Mist."

Gohan's jaw dropped. "A-are you serious?!" He exclaimed happily.

"Very." Tsunade smiled as she pressed her intercom underneath her desk. "Send them in."

The door opened and in walked 9 people of various sizes. Two of which Gohan recognized immediately.

"Temari? Kankuro? You accepted?" Gohan asked.

"Yup. Sad as it is to say, our little brother doesn't need us anymore. He's got more than enough trusted advisors counseling him. So, we thought that we'd do some good in the world by representing the Sand." Kankuro stated.

"Bullshit." Temari snapped. "I heard you telling Gaara, "I'll make sure she doesn't stay in the Leaf." Like you think I only accepted Gohan's offer to be with Shikamaru." Temari snapped, her tone icy enough to freeze over all of Wind Country

"Whatever the case is, welcome aboard." Gohan said.

"And allow me to formally welcome you all to the Hidden Leaf village. If you have any troubles with housing or harassment or the like, you come to Gohan and Gohan, you come directly to me." Tsunade said regally.

"Understood." They all said.

"Alright, let's get introductions out of the way." Tsunade said.

"I'm Jinkura, Hidden Mist Jounin and this is my daughter, Chiro. She's a Chunin with an amazing amount of talent." The eldest of the group introduced.

"Thank you for having us." Chiro bowed.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "A Chunin at your age? How old are you?"

"I'm 12, Lady Hokage." Chiro said.

"12? That is impressive. You must be very skilled." Tsunade praised.

"She is." Jinkura said proudly.

Tsunade then motioned to Gohan to come in close. Gohan nodded and walked over to her. "What's up?" He whispered.

"Are you sure you want someone so young serving in the Neo Z Fighters? She's a Chunin, yes, but she is also a pre-pubescent child." Tsunade whispered to him.

"I was 5 when I started protecting my world." Gohan reminded her.

"The girl is not a Saiyan, none of them are, and you would have them fight Ice at the drop of the hat. Remember that." Tsunade warned.

"I know...But I got a good feeling about this lot. If there was one thing I learned about ninjas, is to trust in their skills."

Tsunade nodded. She had said her piece.

"Moving along, and you four are?" Gohan addressed the four Lightning ninjas.

"I'm Rai." The red-haired man from lightning informed. "These are my colleagues, Din, Juta, and Shin."

"Your ranks?" Tsunade asked.

"All Jounin, Ma'am. Our Raikage wanted us to put our best foot forward." Rai said as he recalled the Raikage demanding that they wipe the floor with whatever wimps the other nations were to send to join the Neo Z Fighters.

"Well, welcome aboard." Gohan nodded before turning to the girl with green hair. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Fu. I'm a Chunin from the Hidden Rock." Fu said, a little nervous.

Gohan smiled. "Good to meet you all. I must warn you, my training is extremely aggressive and brutal. you will be put through the most grueling training you've ever had to endure. That includes excessive weights and increased gravity. If you want to back out now, this is your chance. Because I'm going to train you to fight an intergalactic terror who is stronger than all of the Biju combined."

"Um...what?" Din asked.

"That's a load of bologna." Chiro deadpanned.

"It is not. You've all heard about Ice from your respective Kages, right?" Gohan asked.

Most of them looked at one another before nodding.

"First I've heard of it." Fu said.

"I'll tell you soon enough. At any rate, Lady Tsunade? Care to give them their gifts?" Gohan asked.

"Yes." Tsunade said as she pulled out a scroll from beneath her desk and unraveled it. The scroll then exploded into smoke to reveal nine golden headbands embroidered with the insignias of one of the four ninja villages, all of them surrounded with the letter Z, signifying their alliance to their homes and to the world above all else.

"But I believe the honor should be yours. You are their leader."

Gohan nodded before picking up the headbands and started handing them out. The designs of the bands are what got the attention of the others.

"If anyone is willing to join my cause, then take a headband for your respective village. Just know that upon joining the Neo Z Fighters, you will not just fight for your village anymore. You will fight for every village. Wherever there is evil and injustice, that is where we will fight. We will protect this world." Gohan stated, his voice carrying the strength of a hero.

"Yes sir!" they all said with determination. Everyone then reached over and took a headband bearing their village's symbol on it.

"Hey, what gives?" Rai cried as he grabbed the only remaining headband, one bearing the symbol of the Hidden Rock village.

"Oops...my bad." Fu said sheepishly when she realized she grabbed the wrong headband.

"Geez, don't you know your own village insignia?" Rai mocked as he grabbed his Lightning Z headband.

"Hey, none of that. You're all teammates now. Act like it or return the headbands." Gohan warned. He would have no infighting in his organization.

"Sorry, sir..." Rai said before tying his headband on.

"Now then...I will now take you to my personal training area. There is where we can start our training." Gohan said.

"What's this about Ice now? Just how strong is he? How strong are you for that matter?" Fu inquired.

"I'll explain everything when we get there. For now, connect yourselves to me." Gohan instructed.

"Come again?" Temari asked, weirded out.

"Just do as he says." Tsunade said.

They were a little unsure at first, but they all put a hand on his shoulders.

"Alright, here we go." Gohan smirked before placing his index and middle fingers to his forehead. He focused his senses on the seal Naruto and Mebuki had placed inside the Son compound, allowing for Instant Transmission even when no one was actually inside the house. In an instant, they all vanished from Tsunade's office and suddenly found themselves at the Son's home, where Videl was suddenly startled from a group of people that appeared out of nowhere.

"Sweet Kami! Don't do that!" Videl exclaimed.

"Videl? Shouldn't you be at the gate?" Gohan exclaimed.

"I was just getting some extra water. I'm leaving...who are they?"

"My team for the Neo Z Fighters. Now get going."

"Uh...right. Alright, see you soon." Videl said before pecking him on the lips and blasting off into the sky.

"Who-who was that?" Fu gasped.

"That would be my fiancé. She's a Half Saiyan like me." Gohan explained briefly.

"Better question...HOW DID WE GET HERE SO FAST?!" Din exclaimed.

"Oh that. That was a technique called Instant Transmission. It allows me to teleport to any location instantly, so long as I have an energy signature to lock onto." Gohan said.

"Wait, then why did you act surprised when you saw your fiancé? You weren't locked on to her?" Jinkura asked.

"I was surprised to see her here. She's supposed to be leaving on a mission." Gohan said.

Fu shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

"I guess..." Jinkura said.

"So what do we do first?" Chino asked.

"Well, first I want to gauge your skills, strength, speed and stamina. The best way to do that is to pair you all up and spar." Gohan said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Videl had just flew back to the village's front gates where her team and team 8 were waiting for her.

"Sorry bout that..." Videl said sheepishly.

"Well, it was only 2 minutes. No big deal." Sakura waved off.

"I found out what Gohan is doing." Videl said.

"Can it wait until we get on the road? We've got a bit of a dilemma." Kakashi said as Videl noticed that Shizune was still with them and not with team 3, wherever they were.

"Yes of course." Videl said. "Want me to carry you or Shizune?"

"Actually, we were thinking you could carry Akamaru." Kakashi said, gesturing to the white hound the size of a small horse.

"Hmm...yea I suppose I could." Videl said.

"If you can't, Naruto can just make another Shadow Clone. We need him to carry me, Shino, and Yamato."

"I can carry Akamaru. Geez, I'm pregnant, not helpless." Videl said annoyed.

"Woof." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Alright then. Get to it. That goes for everyone else. Carry those who can't fly. Carry two or more if you have to. We leave now." Kakashi ordered. Everyone obeyed. Sakura grabbed Shizune, Kiba grabbed Hinata, Naruto and his clones grabbed Kakashi, Shino, and Yamata, and Videl grabbed a squirming Akamaru.

"Ugh. Easy boy, it's okay." Videl tried to calm him.

Akamaru just whimpered for mercy, trying desperately to escape Videl's grasp.

"What's wrong with him?" Videl asked as she got a face full of tail.

"Sorry, he doesn't like flying." Kiba said.

"Ah...I got an idea." Videl said before she reached into her bag pocket and pulled out a can of spam. "This is all yours if you be a good boy and stay still till we get there." Videl offered sweetly.

"Nice one, Videl. Akamaru can't resist that stuff." Kiba praised.

His words were proven true as Akamaru immediately snapped the can out of Videl's hand with his teeth.

"That's a good boy, Akamaru. I'll be sure to fly carefully." Videl smiled.

Akamaru however seemed more fixated on biting the can open to get to the tasty meat inside.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry. He'll chew through that can in minutes." Kiba warned as he took to the skies with Hinata in his arms.

"Alright, hang on boy." Videl said before taking to the sky

"(Okay!)" Akamaru barked.

Videl quickly caught up with the others who were flying in close formation.

"So what's Gohan up to?" Sakura asked.

"He's training the new Neo Z Fighters that just came in." Videl informed.

"Oh that's great. Do you think he'll have them ready to fight Ice when he appears?" Sakura asked.

"Hard to say...They all seem about average, save for the green haired one and the two from the Sand."

"Anyone we know?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Temari and Kankuro." Videl said.

"Oh no way, they volunteered? That's awesome!" Naruto whooped.

"Yes they did. But there is one that has a lot of hidden energy...Almost as much as yours when we met you, Naruto."

Naruto's face filled up with surprise. "What are you saying? That this guy is a jinchuriki like me?"

"Girl, and I don't know." Videl said.

Naruto looked back for one brief second. Everyone knew what he must be thinking. How much he wanted to turn around and introduce himself to another jinchuriki. Someone just like him. It was a sign of his growth that he kept flying forward. "I've got to meet her once this mission is over." Naruto promised to himself.

"Sounds good." Videl smiled. "There is also 4 from Cloud and two from Mist."

 _ **'Hey, Kit...She's right on the money suspecting another Jinchuriki. I sense my brother, the 7 Tails close by.'**_ Kurama said.

 _'The Seven Tails, huh? What's he like?'_ Naruto wondered as they flew over the endless forests of Fire Country.

 _ **'His name is Chomei. He's the 7 Tailed Beatle...And a damn goodie two-shoes.'**_

 _'A goodie two-shoes?'_ Naruto thought, trying to imagine what a kind hearted tailed beast would look like.

 _ **'Yeah, he's all happy-go-lucky to the point that it pisses me off.'**_

 _'Huh...Well I still wanna meet this girl.'_ Naruto said.

 _ **'Did I try to stop you? I didn't notice.'**_ Kurama said sarcastically.

 _'Love you too.'_ Naruto teased

"Really? She's only 12?" Kakashi asked in awe.

"That's what Gohan just told me." Videl confirmed.

"Huh, what was that?" Naruto asked.

"Weren't you paying attention?" Sakura deadpanned.

"No, I was talking to Kurama. The jinchuriki Videl was talking about is the vessel for the Seven Tails, Chomei." Naruto admitted.

"Wait...so, my suspicions were correct?" Videl asked.

"Yeah, Kurama can apparently sense other Tailed Beasts when they're nearby. Who knew?" Naruto said.

"So we have a Jinchuriki in the village is what you're saying." Kakashi stated.

"Yes, and apparently, she signed up to be a Neo Z Fighter." Naruto replied.

"So the 7 Tails Jinchuriki...and you said she was from Rock, Videl?"

"Yes, sensei." Videl confirmed.

"I see. That's surprising. I wouldn't think that Rock would trust the Leaf with its jinchuriki." Kakashi said.

"Anything is possible I guess. Maybe the Tsuchekage thought we needed all the aces we could get." Videl said.

"Perhaps." Kakashi said skeptically.

"Anyway, how far are we from this place?" Videl asked.

"Ridu Lake is in the Land of Hot Water, North of Fire Country. Which is normally a 2 day long leap through the trees. At our speed? We should arrive in an hour where teams Asuma and Gai should be waiting for us." Kakashi said over the wind.

"We could get there in 20 minutes if we pour it on." Sakura said.

"Some of us aren't that skilled in flying. And I'm not just referring to myself." Kiba said, eluding to the ki users from the two teams ahead of them.

"Have patience, Sakura. Those who run into every situation headlong will eventually run into a wall." Shizune said as she shifted her position in Sakura's arms.

"I guess..." Sakura sighed.

"Just relax and enjoy the view, Sakura." Videl smiled. "It's good to get out of the Gravity chamber once in a while and take a nice cruise."

Sakura wanted to argue that it was hard to relax when they were on a mission that could proactively safeguard her boyfriend's life, but she stopped herself. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't want to sound like an overbearing girlfriend. That, and as soon as she looked off to the horizon, really looked at it, she could see what Videl meant. From as high as the birds, the view was breath taking. The treetops seem to ebb and flow on to the horizon like mighty waves of the sea frozen in time. Mountain peaks could be seen far off in the distance. To their east was a small village built off of a perfect blue lake. As quick as Sakura spotted it, they flew past it. Above them the clouds were as varied as the imagination, all hanging below a delicate blue sky. Sakura could not believe she had never noticed this before. But it was hardly surprising, for she had mastered flight with Ki, but that was always focused on training and fighting. Never before had she taken the time to truly appreciate her powers for the fantastic gifts that they were. She was flying! Free as a bird! Heck, she was even freer, not restricted by the will of the winds, she decided where she could go and when. They all could.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gohan had paired everyone off into 5 2 man teams to spar. Jinkura against Din, Chino against Kankuro, Temari against Rai, Juta against Shin and Fu against Gohan.

"Hey, you're not bad, Fu. But your form is a little sloppy." Gohan said.

"My form? What's sloppy about it?" Fu asked.

"Your feet for starters." Gohan said as he walked up to Fu while she held her stance. He then shoved her right side and she stumbled to recover. "It's solid enough if you're being attacked from the front, but anyone coming at you from your sides or behind can knock you off balance. Bend your knees more."

Fu was actually in shock. She had thought her stance was pretty good. But seeing as this was her sensei now, she did as she was instructed and bent her knees a little more.

"Arch your back too. Curve your spine and it will be like a spring filled with power, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice."

"Uh...okay." Fu said as she bent her back a little more. She felt ridiculous standing like this.

"Not that much." Gohan corrected. Fu straightened up a little bit more.

"Very good. You were stiff as a board before." Gohan said.

"I feel...more relaxed now." Fu said.

"You had the right idea, being light on your feet. Just the wrong execution." Gohan said as he looked over at the other spars taking place.

"Right...well, I would like to try again." Fu said.

"Hold on, I need to observe them too."

Fu nodded and relaxed her stance. She looked on at the others who were obviously more skilled than she was. Even that little girl from the mist seemed better than she was.

 _'How can I compete with that? They're way more talented than me.'_ She thought.

 _ **'Well, that's what this training is for. To get you stronger.'**_ Her friend said.

As Fu was having this conversation, Gohan was carefully observing the other fights. The most interesting had to be Chino vs Kankuro. As expected, the puppet master from the Sand had earned his reputation. He had brought out a life sized human looking puppet that looked a little too lifelike for Gohan's taste. It also had more hidden traps built into it than Gohan would have expected. What was even more surprising was Chino who, despite only being a Chunin, was quite adapt at dodging the Sand Jounin's puppet. She seemed to always find the last possible second to dodge around the attack. Like she was flowing water transformed into a little girl.

Then he moved to the spar with Jinkura and Din. The two of them were facing off in a sword duel. Din's light and nimble katana vs. Jinkura's...sword? Gohan wasn't sure if he could call the massive hunk of metal Jinkura was swinging around effortlessly a sword. It was as tall as he was and was nearly as wide as his waist. It was also red and bumpy, like it was made of coral. Whatever the case, Din seemed to recognize it and was going out of his way to avoid it, almost desperately so. It wasn't until the massive blade scratched Din's arm that Gohan had an idea why. Almost instantly, Din screamed in pain like his whole arm was chopped off with a hack saw. He dropped his katana and fell to his knees, clutching his arm. Gohan and everyone else had to stop in their tracks. Din was in tears.

"Din! Are you okay?!" Gohan called out as he quickly dashed to his side.

"Gohan, sir, wait!" Jinkura shouted as he stopped Gohan from touching Din.

"I'm a medic." Gohan answered.

"Still, let me handle this." Jinkura said as he flashed through some hand signs. As soon as he was finished he touched the scrap on Din's arm. The rash that had formed suddenly began to recede and Din began to relax.

"My sword is built with the properties of the toxic stonefish. A single touch injects an incredibly pain toxic into the skin that spreads throughout the body. The pain itself can kill you even with immediate medical attention. Unless you have my clan's specific jutsu."

"That's...Okay, I wasn't clear before but I think from now on, sparring should be limited to taijutsu. I don't want another incident like this happening again." Gohan said.

"You said for us to show off our abilities. And I warned him of my sword's abilities." Jinkura said.

"No you didn't. You said you were a new Seven Swordsman of the Mist!" Din shouted.

"Alright, enough." Gohan said firmly. " We need to learn how to work together. That's what part of this training is about."

"Fine." Jinkura said as he hoisted his blade onto his shoulder.

"Now then...I think we need to air out some frustrations. The best way I can think of to do that is to use the gravity room."

"What the heck is a gravity room?" Rai asked.

"I'm glad you asked. You see that round building over there?" Gohan pointed behind them.

"That giant sphere?" Kankuro asked.

"Yes. That's the gravity chamber. It-"

"Changes the gravity to a localized area, increasing gravity by several hundred times. Yes, I know about it." Temari said.

"Shikamaru told you?" Gohan guessed.

"That, and he took me in there for a little bit."Temari shrugged.

"Took you in there?" One of the Lightning Jounin snickered.

"Very funny, but I'm not like the Lightning Kunoichi from your village. I was curious and he showed me what it was." Temari said.

"Moving right along. What setting of gravity did you reach?" Gohan asked.

"Um...4 times normal." Temari answered.

"That's a fair start. Since Temari has reached a higher level, I'll be training with her on one side of the gravity room while you all train on the other. I will be going back and forth so no one can claim favorites." Gohan instructed.

"Better take off your training weights if you have any. You won't be able to move otherwise." Temari warned.

"Good advice. We are on a time crunch."

One by one, they all stripped themselves of their weights and proceeded to follow Gohan to this magic room where gravity increases.

"Alright, Temari, stand on my right and the rest of you stand on my left. Temari you'll be practicing in 5x gravity while the rest of you practice in 2x gravity. We'll break after an hour." Gohan said as he input the commands into the computer. They all heard a humming noise while they moved to their separate areas. Almost instantly, their bodies buckled under the new weight, save for Gohan and Temari.

"I don't want anyone to act brave and not speak up if they can't handle the gravity. I need you trained, not injured." Gohan reminded them.

"H-how...Is this...Even possible...?" Din grunted.

"It's tech that is a few hundred years more advanced than anything of this world." Gohan said vaguely.

"Then where did it come from?" Rai grunted.

"Never mind that now. We have work to do." Gohan ordered.

"How are we supposed to move..." Chino whined.

"As best as you can until you get used to the gravity." Gohan said.

"Ugh...h-how come...you're not straining in this...?" Fu asked.

"Because I train at 500x gravity." Gohan answered simply.

"F-five hundred times?" Chino sputtered.

"Yes, just look at Temari." Gohan said as he pointed out Temari shadow boxing.

"You should all be at least at her level before the day is up. Now get to it." Gohan ordered.

* * *

An hour later, the 3 Tails platoon had finally touched down at the area where they were going to set up camp. As soon as Videl landed, Akamaru immediately jumped out of her arms and dove into a nearby bush.

"What's his deal?" Videl wondered.

"What do you think?" Kiba asked. "He'll be back in a minute."

"Oh...well, okay then." Videl said.

"Where are the other guys?" Naruto asked.

"They should be nearby. Hopefully finding a suitable place to set up our campsite." Kakashi said. "Videl, can you sense them?"

"Yea, they're nearby. Not far." Kiba confirmed, having picked up their scent.

"Good. Let's regroup and get our strategy underway." Kakashi stated. Everyone readjusted their packs and headed deeper into the woods in a single file line. Each of them calling upon their ninja training on how not to leave a trail in their wake. No broken twigs or bent tree branches for the enemy to pick up on. For several minutes, there was nothing to do but stay alert and enjoy the simple majesty of the deep forest untouched by humans. Videl couldn't help but reflect on her life as it had become. Three months ago she was just your average insanely rich, popular, crime fighting high school girl with the most famous man in the world as her father. And now she was the expecting mother of two half alien babies (or was it quarter? She was a half alien too.) And a ninja off on a mission with her new friends to seal away a gigantic and powerful demon to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. Life sure had a funny way of turning out.

"Halt, who goes there?" A familiar voice spoke from above them, hidden in the tree leaves.

"Lee?" Videl asked as the whole convoy stopped.

"Videl?" Lee asked before descending from the trees.

"What's up?" Videl asked.

"You were about to step on our trip wire, that's what." Lee pointed at the ground. Upon closer inspection Videl realized that it was actually a super thin strand of ninja wire frosted forest green.

"Oh, didn't even notice."

"You weren't supposed to." Kakashi said as he stepped over the wire.

"Ah...Right..." Videl said sheepishly as she stepped over the wire.

Followed by the rest of the group. Lee then led them through a path in the forest to a wide open clearing where Gai, Asuma, and Shino were huddled together over a map with everyone's backpacks bundled together nearby.

"Give me a sitrep." Kakashi ordered.

The three men looked up when they heard Kakashi's voice. "Kakashi, my youthful rival, you're late as always." Gai smirked.

"Well we would have gotten here sooner if he let us fly faster." Videl grumbled.

"We needed to be stealthy. If Kabuto sees you coming a mile away, there is a good chance he won't stick around for a fight." Sakura reminded her.

"Yea I know..." Videl sighed.

"Now what is the situation?" Kakashi asked again.

"We've got this surrounding area secured. Neji, Lee, Ino, and Choji are engaging in a four point patrol to guard all four sides while Tenten is gathering firewood. We've also discovered a source of freshwater. So this area is the best spot as we are going to find." Asuma said.

"Sounds good. Alright, Tenzo, do your thing." Kakashi said.

"On it." Yamato said as he clapped his hands together and Videl could feel the earth shaking beneath her feet. Like a flower blooming a high speeds, pillars of wood sprung out of the ground and twisted around each other until they formed a traditional Japanese style home, two stories tall.

"Not bad." Videl said.

"I'd like to see you make a house that quick." Yamato said as he grabbed his pack and stepped inside.

"I can't...I don't have someone else's Kekkei Genkai..." Videl mumbled before following him in.

"Kind of a dick thing to say." Naruto whispered as he passed Videl on the way inside.

Videl sighed. _'Damn hormones...'_

"Come on you two, group meeting." Kakashi ordered as the ninja that weren't guarding the perimeter were gathering in the center of the ground floor. Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Yamato, Shizune, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Akamaru, Sakura, and even Tenten who had since returned from gathering firewood had already sat down.

Naruto sat down next to Sakura whereas Videl sat in between Sakura and Kakashi.

"Okay, first things first." Kakashi spoke. "Videl, can you sense Kabuto or anyone with a high power level?"

Videl closed her eyes to really concentrate on sensing the area surrounding them. Only to sigh in defeat a few seconds later.

"Nothing. I can't sense anyone. Come to think of it, I can't sense any of you either." Videl said in astonishment. "Actually, that's not true. I can sense you, but it's like, when you can just barely see someone standing in thick fog."

Kakashi nodded. "I figured as much. The Three Tails is most definitely here. He has so much chakra that his mere presence is blanketing this entire region. So chakra and Ki sensing is damn near useless."

"So then how do we find Kabuto or the Three Tails?" Videl asked.

"The old fashioned way." Kakashi said as he stood up. "On your feet, Team Kurenai. You're going to be assisting me in tracking down Kabuto. Yamato, I'm placing you in charge of Team 7 for now. Asuma, grab your team and go scout Lake Ridu. Do not engage groups of enemies if you can't help it. Naruto and Tenten, go relieve Choji and Ino from guard duty. Gai, I'm placing you in charge until I get back. Everyone else, maintain and defend this base." Kakashi ordered in quick succession, almost like a machine. So fast that it made Videl's head spin. "Questions?"

"Um...I didn't...Quite catch all of that." Videl spoke.

"Come on, help me secure some water." Gai requested from Videl.

"Uh...Right." Videl nodded.

"Sakura, you and I will set up an emergency medical station. I don't want to leave anything to chance." Shizune said.

"Right." Sakura nodded.

"I guess that means that I'm setting up the radio." Yamato said. Secretly, he always hated that duty.

While Sakura and Shizune began unloading their supplies and setting up an operating table, Videl followed Gai outside to see Kakashi, Asuma, and their teams about to head out.

"We're heading out. If anything comes...Well, you know what to do." Kakashi stated.

"What should I do?" Videl asked.

"Whatever Gai, Yamato, and Shizune tell you to do. If we need you for battle, we will order you." Kakashi said.

"Right, but I mean on the slight off chance Ice would show up."

"Then we will deal with it as a team. And by that I mean we will regroup and contact the Leaf village."

Videl nodded.

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Videl's shoulder. "Stay safe. All of you."

"Don't worry. We will be." Videl assured.

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask and patted Videl on the shoulder before he and the rest of Team Kurenai vanished into a blur and sprinted off into the woods.

"Guess that means we're off too." Asuma waved as he and his team casually walked into the foliage.

"And that just leaves us I guess." Videl said before she took a empty water bottle off her sash. "I guess we go get that water now, Gai-sensei."

"Yes, except we won't just be filling our water bottles up." Gai said as he pulled out a scroll and unsealed a jar so large Videl could sleep in it.

"Holy! That's a huge jar!" Videl exclaimed.

"Impressive, isn't it? I had Tenten's father craft a dozen of these, but I believe four will suffice to hold enough drinking water. What do you think?" Gai asked as he hoisted the jar up like it was made of Styrofoam and held it on his shoulder.

A smirk came across Videl's face. "I have an alternative."

"Oh? Some advanced technology you brought with you from another dimension? I've heard so much about it yet I've only experienced the gravity room." Gai said excited.

"Oh no. I left my capsules at home, save for the armor Gohan gave me. No, I have a better idea."

She jumped up and grabbed the jar from his hands. "You said you have more of these. I propose a challenge since it's been a while since you've trained with us. Whoever fills up and carries the most jars back to camp in under 5 minutes wins."

"A fantastic idea, Videl. If only you had chosen me as your first instructor." Gai said gleefully.

"Your team was already full." Videl reminded him.

"Yet you trained with Kurenai."

"Well, yes. But that was for chakra and genjutsu training. The physical training came from Gohan."

"Of course, but I believe you and I would have gotten along swimmingly. We think a lot alike."

"True." Videl laughed. "Now let's get to it. Oh, and I won't transform or fly or use my energy. I will only use my strength."

"Just be careful, and don't spill any water. If this becomes a long operation and the enemy poisons our water supply, this could be our lifeline." Gai warned.

"Right, I understand." Videl nodded.

"Then let's go!" Gai said as he dashed off into the woods, followed closely behind by Videl.

As that was happening, Sakura briefly looked out the window to see Videl and Gai taking off to a nearby water source.

"Sigh...just what we need, another Rock Lee..." Sakura sighed, but shook her head and chuckled.

"So long as she doesn't start talking about 'youth.'" Shizune said, surprising Sakura with her bluntness. The two medics stared at one another before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh my god I can see it now! She'd be calling herself the 'Youthful Saiyan of the Leaf'!" Sakura laughed.

Shizune slapped her knee, her laughter turning silent. "Oh-oh God! I can see her in that green spandex!" She howled with laughter. Sakura was laughing so hard she was holding her stomach.

Across the room, Yamato just rolled his eyes at the duo and what they considered to be hilarious before one of the assembling radio circuits zapped him. "Youch!"

That was when the two women stopped laughing. "You okay?" Sakura asked.

"I'm fine, just nicked myself!" Yamato said as he stuck his finger in his mouth. "But do you think you could keep it down? I need to concentrate on putting this hunk of junk together."

"Right, sorry." Shizune said.

"First!" They heard out of the window. They looked out the window to see Videl carrying 8 jars of water.

"Ha ha!" Videl laughed victoriously as Gai came right up behind her carrying the other four jars of water.

"Don't they know we have a finite amount of floor space?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sure they'll figure it out." Shizune shrugged.

* * *

A half an hour later, after all the jars had been capped, they were transported inside and the duo indeed noticed the problem. Especially once the jars took up half of all the floor space.

"I guess we seal away some for now." Videl said.

"I guessed. But sealed away water always tends to taste like pond water in my experience." Gai said, realizing that he might have gone overboard.

"So, what do we do?"

"We seal them away like you said. It's still drinking water. Just pray we don't run out of the regular stuff." Gai said as he unraveled his storage scroll.

"Right...Well, if you've got that, I need to go change."

"Go change?" Gai asked, curious.

Videl took out the capsule Gohan gave her. "The armor Gohan gave me."

"I'd save changing until after all the chores are done."

"Alright, what all needs to be done?"

"Well, with all other jobs being taken care of, we could use a kitchen and a hot meal ready for dinner. That will provide our comrades with energy and a moral boost to defeat their enemy." Gai declared.

"Leave that to me." Videl said before creating 5 clones. "Alright, girls. Listen up. We need dinner to feed an army. Use whatever you can find in the forest. Now get to it."

"Wait!" Gai called out. "We have food here. Although it wouldn't be a bad idea to go forging. Just keep your search within the boundary of our guarded circle." Gai said as he unsealed a portable kerosene stove and a metal pot.

"Understood." The clones said at once. Two clones then left the house while three remained to assess what they had for supplies and to start prep work.

Videl sighed contently as she stretched her body. "Ahhh...It's so relaxing here."

"I wouldn't get too comfortable. Odds are it won't stay relaxing." Gai said as he unpacked the ready to cook venison.

"I mean this world...It's a sharp contrast from the hustle and bustle of living in a big city."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"The fresh air, the people, the scenery...So much better than walking though crowded streets full of millions of people, cars and trucks spewing out loads of carbon monoxide, skyscrapers some hundreds of feet tall, trash everywhere you walk...Yea this world is great."

"Yeah, I suppose we have enjoyed our two decades of prosperity." Gai said listlessly and he began slicing the venison into bite sized strips.

"What do you mean?" Videl asked.

"Oh, I meant since our last war concluded." Gai said.

Videl paused to remember what it was he was talking about. Then it hit her. "You mean...The 3rd Shinobi war?"

Gai nodded. "I do. Over 18 years ago the 6 year war finally ended. I was 14."

Videl sat down on the floor across from Gai while one of her clones took the strips of Venison from Gai. "What happened..?"

"Some trade disputes between lords from minor nations that our Fire Daimyo at the time and the Earth Daimyo from Earth country got involved in. So of course, the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Rock were brought in against one another. A few battles happened at the Sygo River and it looked like the matter would be resolved within the year. But then the 3rd Raikage saw an opportunity to grab their own piece of the pie and deliver a humiliating blow against the Rock and the Leaf. That dragged the war out for another two years, which prompted the Sand and the Mist to jump onto the pile and by the fourth year, everybody was fighting everybody else." Gai explained as he chopped up more venison.

"My god...Just like the Fallout Wars..." Videl gasped out.

"What were the Fallout Wars?" Gai asked.

"According to my worlds history books, our world was divided and torn 300 years ago. Back when the turn of the century introduced new technology in an all-out arms race for dominance for control of the world...weapons, chemicals, things I hope this world never sees. Weapons that could throw a planet into complete darkness. Then...A scientist known as Dr. Gero created the first nuclear weapon and tested it...Much to our worlds chagrin, it was a success. He sold his invention to the major warring factions and they used them on one another...Billions were killed and our world was thrown into several nuclear winters."

"That sounds impossible. How any world can be so thrown into such chaos and survive?" Gai said, astonished.

"Some did...But it wasn't easy. After nearly 200 years of constant war, one man rose above the warring nations and put a stop to the wars and he eventually became our King. But...While the world was at peace...It was plunged into darkness once again with the rise of King Piccolo. But that's another story..."

"Yes, I'm afraid we don't have any stories that could quite match up to that one. But I doubt you've ever been in a war yourself."

"No...I haven't. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to step over your story."

"It's fine. It's not a competition." Gai said as he got up to fill the metal cooking pot with the water from the jars. It was pretty impressive watching Gai pour that incredibly bulky jar into the cooking pot without spilling a drop.

"Um, I'd love to hear your experience in the war if you were willing to tell me."

"No, I don't think you want to hear about all that. Not the most youthful stories." Gai said as he put the water jar back in the corner.

Videl sighed. "Honestly... this whole thing with Ice scares me...I don't know if he can be beaten...Not going by what we sensed."

Gai actually chuckled.

"What?" Videl asked.

"That actually reminds me of battle I fought alongside my team in the early days of the war. I was probably 12." Gai said as he looked up at the ceiling, recalling those memories.

"It was us and whole platoon against a platoon of Lightning ninjas, over control of a stretch of the front. There was little strategic importance to the area, the whole assignment was to stand opposite the enemy from our trenches and look intimidating. Until the order came to attack." Gai said, remembering exactly where he was and which way the wind was blowing when he heard those words spoken aloud.

"So, by the order of our Jounin sensei, we went over the wall and charged at the enemy. The whole field was clear from the battles that had been fought there previously. Those were months ago, of course. So there were no bodies. Just husks of trees embedded with a hundred different rusty kunai. The grass had started to grow back in patches. It looked like the training fields back home." Gai said, and he swore he could still hear the screaming. "I dodged a hail of shuriken, ducked underneath a katana that was swung at me, and then I saw her."

"Saw who?" Videl asked eagerly.

"This Lightning kunoichi. I couldn't tell you her name, but I could tell you everything about her. The color of her eyes, her hair, what she was wearing, her attack styles, the timber of her voice, her right ear that she always had her long hair tucked behind, even this cute little scar she had running down the right side of her lips." Gai said as he traced the imagined scar on his own face. "Ninja battles like that, where both sides charge at one another usually devolve into ninjas fighting one of the enemy ninja one on one. And that day, chance had paired me against her."

"Am I sensing that the great Gai-sensei had a crush?" Videl teased.

"W-what? No, I...she was just the most interesting thing to see back in those days." Gai said, a mix of flustered and sad.

"She was very youthful though. Her lightning chakra made her as fast as me, even though we were both genin. We were dead even in our fight. I just couldn't seem to get past her defenses and she couldn't get a good hit in on me. After we fought for what seemed like hours a general retreat was called for both sides and I returned to the line, not certain if I had done my duty or not."

"How could you not have done your duty? You fought." Videl asked.

"Yes, but I had not suffered. I looked along the line and saw fewer comrades than I had that morning. Some were clutching sword wounds. Others were howling in pain, cursing the Lightning ninjas, screaming for their friends, or their mothers, or a medic. I had bumps and cuts, but I wasn't hurt. I was one of the lucky ones. Other boys my age had their eyes sunken in, yet I kept my innocence. Like I had skipped my baptism by fire and let the whole platoon down in doing so." Gai said.

"I don't think that...I think you fought better than what most would have hoped."

"Thank you. I certainly felt lucky coming back. My teammates and our Jounin sensei came back as well without major injuries. But as the wounded and the dead were carted off and the evening rations were handed out, I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I had gotten. I kept replaying the battle in my head over and over. If I hadn't dodged those shuriken and those katanas. If I had been injured before my fight against the kunoichi. If someone would have defeated their own opponent and come to my aid and I was forced to fight another." Gai said as he started chopping vegetables, remembering how he couldn't stop crushing the whole vegetables in his stew that night until they were mush. "I didn't sleep that night. All I could think about was her, that Lightning kunoichi and all the times I was so close to defeating her." Gai scrapped the chopped vegetables into the stew. "So I resolved to think only of how I would defeat her if we met on the field of battle the next day. I thought about it right up to the next morning when the attack began again. And sure enough, as soon as both sides popped their heads over the trenches, I saw her. Once again, both sides clashed, and once again, I found her amidst the confusion. I thought that this time for sure I would beat her. But alas, we were still dead even. It seemed that she had been thinking about me all night as well. For she knew how to counter my attacks and how to close up the openings in her defenses."

Gai sighed as he turned the stove on. "So once again, the battle ended in a tie and both sides retreated. More cries and more pain. More youth wasted."

"And that's how it went on for 16 more days. Stalemate after stalemate. And each time I became less and less sure of myself. On the surface, I told my teammates that I had found a rival better than Kakashi. A true equal. Yet underneath I could never imagine myself winning one of our duels. I figured that either one of her comrades would sneak up behind me the next day and finish me off. Or one of my comrades would get the drop on her and finish her off. Or maybe she would finally kill me. I just gave up expecting to see home or my father again. And I was okay with that."

Gai shut the pot to let it simmer. "She spoke to me once."

"She did?" Videl asked.

"Yes, she said, 'Die already.'" Gai smiled fondly.

Videl couldn't help but chuckle. "What ever happened to her?"

Gai started sorting through the portable spice cabinet. "She died. Killed on the field of battle." He said without skipping a beat.

"Oh...I see..." Videl said listlessly.

"Yes. I didn't catch her on the battlefield one day. And I never did again. For three more days, we fought, neither side still giving ground. And then one morning, the order to attack never came. The men in charge of the plans deemed the area unnecessary for a Leaf victory. So a ceasefire was called in that area and both sides were allowed to collect their dead." Gai said.

"My god..."

"Yes." Gai said as he remembered stepping over the bodies of dozens of his enemies and friends. Some of them having been laying there since the battle began. Yet nothing was as sobering as when he pulled one of his comrades off another Lightning kunoichi. One with a chilling little scar running down the right side of her lip. The two of them had fallen into a death struggle and Gai pulled his dead comrade back to line. He didn't eat dinner that night.

"I just hope something like that doesn't happen again. I pray we will all be strong enough to defeat Ice."

"I do too. But the best thing we can do is have faith in ourselves and faith in our comrades." Gai counseled.

"Yea, you're right." Videl smiled before standing up. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Gai asked.

"Bathroom. Haven't gone since before the briefing." Videl said.

"Oh that's right. We forgot to dig a latrine." Gai said.

"Oh hell...How long is that gonna take?" Videl groaned.

"It shouldn't take long. You can just dig your own hole if you can't wait."

"No I can't. These kids are pushing on my bladder and I gotta go." Videl said urgently before making her way to the door.

Shizune couldn't help but sweat dropping, knowing that was to be her fate in a few short months.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Oh nothing, just thinking thoughts." Shizune waved off.

"Ah I get ya...yea, not looking forward to being a mother anytime soon." Sakura sighed.

"And yet you almost were." Shizune pointed out.

"Well that's different." Sakura defended.

"Why? Because I'm older?" Shizune said annoyed.

"No." Sakura said nervously. Shizune could be as scary as Tsunade when she was pissed off enough. "I meant, haven't you been together with Kakashi-sensei longer?"

Shizune sighed. "Hardly. I think the term that better described us was friends with benefits."

Sakura blushed. "O-oh..."

"Yup."

"B-but...why...why would you?"

"Oh, don't give me that. Who was it who had a swinger's party last week?" Shizune reminded her.

"That's... that was a onetime thing." Sakura sputtered.

Shizune looked down at the surgery equipment she was organizing. "I guess I was lonely. Between working at the hospital, as a medical Jounin, and as Lady Tsunade's assistant, I didn't have time to try dating. I just wanted some stress relief and I thought Kakashi did too."

"But you weren't expecting him to propose, were you?" Sakura asked.

Shizune looked down sadly. "No. I wasn't expecting to tell him either."

"Tell him what?"

Shizune looked at Sakura with a very serious, very pained face. The face of someone who had nearly done the unspeakable. "Sakura, before I was captured by Danzo's thugs, I was on my way to have my fetus aborted."

A spare needle for a syringe fell to the floor and Sakura clearly heard the ping.

"You were WHAT?!" Sakura exclaimed.

Shizune slapped her hand over Sakura's open mouth, silencing her cries. "Keep your voice down. We are in hostile territory." She hissed.

Sakura sweat dropped, but nodded.

"Don't think for one second this was a decision I made lightly. I specifically did not tell you and Lady Tsunade because I knew this was how you'd both react." Shizune stated firmly.

"And why wouldn't we?" Sakura snapped.

"Because it is not your decision. It is mine." Shizune hissed. "I wasn't expecting Kakashi to want this and I wasn't about to force it upon him. I didn't even want a child."

"Still, Shizune. Lady Tsunade and I, we're your friends. You're like an older sister to me. You could have confided in me and Lady Tsunade." Sakura begged for Shizune to understand.

"I was scared, okay?!" Shizune hissed.

Sakura them wrapped up Shizune in a tight hug that the older kunoichi readily embraced.

"I was scared too...Scared that I wasn't ready to become a mother yet. Scared on how Naruto would feel about having a family so soon...But he embraced the idea. He was excited that there was the possibility of starting a family. He was actually sad when Kakashi-sensei used his Sharingan on me and saw nothing."

"Well that's different, isn't it? You were dating Naruto. He's been in love with you for longer than I've known him and you love him back. It wasn't so cut and dry with me and Kakashi."

"I know...But still."

"Sakura, just drop it. I made my choice and things didn't work out like I planned. But they still worked out." Shizune said, hoping to quell this uncomfortable conversation.

"Alright...But just remember, we're always here if you need to tell us something." Sakura assured.

"I know..." Shizune said before putting away the last of the syringes. "Thank you, Sakura. Truly."

"Anytime." Sakura waved off as Videl came back in.

"Alright, latrine is made." Videl said.

"Great. How is dinner coming along?" Sakura asked.

"I checked on my clones and dinner is coming along well. Another 2 hours or so."

"Excellent. You can help us test the heart rate monitor. You're due for a check-up." Sakura said as she ripped open the Velcro armband.

"Oh joy." Videl grumbled.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the scouting squad, Team Asuma had reached the shore of Ridu Lake. All was quiet and undisturbed. The lake was like a mirror; pristine, yet eerie. The four-man team hid perfectly amongst the leaves, a Leaf ninja specialty. Asuma and Shikamaru were scanning the opposite shore line for movement, Choji was guarding the team's flank, and Ino had taken control of a native falcon and was preforming an aerial sweep of the lake and shore line.

It was a peculiar thing, taking control over the mind of a bird. Ino's long legs with just the right amount of muscle on them had been replaced with fragile little twigs, her entire body was covered with feathers; she couldn't feel her lips anymore, only a hard beak; her fingers became an extension of her wings; her body felt so light and her heart beat so fast. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying to the untrained. Fortunately for Ino, she was anything but untrained.

 _'I gotta find time to learn how to fly for real.'_ Ino thought to herself. Her new falcon eyes continued to scan the treetops, looking for anything that might escape the eye of a human.

 _'Any luck, Ino?'_ Asuma said over the mental link Ino had established among the team.

 _'I've got a tiny plume of smoke coming out of the trees north of the lake. Possible old camp fire.'_

 _'What else do you see?'_ Asuma asked.

 _'Hold on, I'll take a closer look.'_ Ino replied as she tilted her wing and banked to the left, gliding down the winds in a corkscrew path to the treetops.

 _'Be careful. Kabuto might be paranoid of an overly friendly bird.'_ Asuma warned her.

 _'Understood.'_

Ino flew low until she could feel the leaves slapping against her underbelly. She banked right and looked down at the clear remains of a fire pit. She nosedived right into the forest and landed next to the burnt log hastily covered in dirt. Ino could feel the warm resonating onto her feathers.

 _'Asuma-sensei, this was definitely manmade. No idea if it was Kabuto's campfire or a random traveler's.'_ Ino reported.

 _'Very good. I'll inform Kakashi and his team can check it out.'_ Asuma replied. _'Keep scanning the forest.'_

 _'Will do.'_ Ino thought before flapping her wings to take flight again.

Asuma meanwhile ducked back behind the tree leaves to switch on the short-range radio. He clicked the receiver once, sending a blip to everyone listening in on the randomized short ranged frequency. Three seconds passed before two blips were sent back over the wavelength, indicating that the other party was safe to talk.

"Kakashi." Asuma spoke.

"Go ahead." Kakashi replied.

"Ino has found the remains of a camp fire near your position." Asuma reported.

"Roger, can you give me an exact location?" Kakashi requested.

"Hang on, I'll have Ino circle around the spot. Look for a red vested falcon." Asuma stated.

"Roger." Kakashi replied before nodding at Hinata. The Hyuga mistress nodded in understanding and activated her Byakugan. Her vision pierced the thick forest canopy and spotted a falcon flying very deliberately in a circle.

"Directly ahead." Hinata stated.

"Alright, Hinata." Kiba praised as he and Akamaru took point heading towards the objective.

A few prickly bushes later, the team arrived at the campsite. A spot of trot upon dirt with patches of grass just barely getting enough sunlight. The exact spot an experienced shinobi would choose as a campsite.

"Spread out and search for clues." Kakashi ordered as he knelt down by the campfire to inspect it. Kiba and Akamaru circled around the edge of the campsite, sniffing the air for anything out of the ordinary. Likewise, Shino sent his beetles out to investigate all the nooks and crannies that ninjas might overlook, and Hinata scanned the entire area with her Byakugan to see the broader picture.

"I see footprints leading away from the campsite. They seem to be heading towards the lake." Hinata informed.

"Akamaru and I have got six different scents. A man, a woman, two teenage boys around our age, a teen girl menstruating, and a prepubescent boy." Kiba reported.

"Woof." Akamaru barked.

"Right, and none of them have bathed in a while." Kiba added.

Kakashi shifted through the burnt wood and took his own sniff of the ashes. "They must be having a miserable time." He stated.

"What makes you say that?" Hinata asked.

"That fire pit smells like cooked iguana." Kiba stated. "You don't cook up iguana if you're having a good time."

"I've never had it so I wouldn't know." Hinata said.

"Take my word for it. It's not a filling meal. Especially if you had to forage for it." Kiba said as Shino come up to them with a closed fist.

"My beetles found something." Shino said as he opened his palm and produced a white scale.

"What is that?" Hinata asked.

"Let me see that." Kiba said. Shino handed him the scale and Kiba took a whiff of it. "It definitely smells like a reptile's scale. A snake maybe. But strangely it also smells...almost human."

"Kabuto, no doubt." Kakashi said.

"Kabuto? I mean it's not a huge leap to say he was here, but how can you say this scale belongs to him?" Kiba inquired.

"Because he is more like Orochimaru than you think."

"Yeah, but he doesn't actually have snake skin like Orochimaru. He's not that crazy." Kiba said.

"That you know of...Hinata. we need to follow those tracks. We can't let him get to the 3 Tails." Kakashi ordered.

"I'll do my best." Hinata stated as she reactivated her Byakugan.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ino's falcon moved off when she saw Kakashi's group move off down the path, figuring they found what they needed to give chase to whoever was there last. She flew around the perimeter of the lake when she felt a sudden wall of cool air as she came up to a rounded clearing.

 _'What the...?'_ She wondered in thought.

 _'What is it Ino?'_ Asuma asked.

 _'I'm not sure. I just felt an odd sensation while...Wait a minute.'_ She paused when she spotted something weird.

The air around her shimmered and the forest changed. A large chunk of trees faded away and was replaced by what Ino would describe as crappy modern art. It was a saucer painted black and yellow with legs sticking out of the sides like crab legs.

 _'What the hell is that?'_ She wondered.

 _'What is it?'_ Asuma asked impatiently.

 _'I have no earthly idea. I think it's a building, but I've never seen one as oddly shaped as this one.'_

 _'Oddly shaped?'_ Asuma thought before he sensed something. _'Wait.'_ Asuma thought as he drew his trench knifes.

Asuma's action made Choji and Shikamaru pay attention. Choji refocused his glare at the trees, but he couldn't sense anything. Asuma just put his hand on Choji's shoulder to make him wait. He redirected their attention to a certain tree 20 meter away from them. He looked over at Shikamaru and the tactical genius nodded before flashing through his clan's signature hand signs. The young man's shadow grew a tail and snaked along the grass, over a rock and circled around the tree until it found its mark. A being hiding just behind the tree was now frozen stiff in the Nara clan's jutsu.

Before the victim could cry out, Asuma flash stepped behind him and karate chopped the figure's neck. Only then did Asuma see that it was not a man he had knocked out, but a humanoid looking dinosaur. An alien wearing familiar looking armor. More so, the alien wasn't alone.

Asuma looked to his left and his right and only saw more alien soldiers. One of them, an alien with some kind of mushroom helmet on, pointed his blaster gauntlet at the Jounin and received a trench knife to the eye for his troubles.

"AMBUSH!" Asuma shouted at the top of his lungs.

Choji and Shikamaru, utilizing their training from King Kai, prepared for whatever was about to come.

"Really bad timing for this to happen." Choji commented.

"Focus!" Shikamaru shouted as Asuma was being surrounded by four Ice soldiers, each of them trying to attack from a different angle. Asuma cut down the first three but felt the kick from his last assailant. And for the three he injured, five more were ready to take their place.

 _'Ino! Get back to your body immediately! Undo the jutsu!'_ Shikamaru thought frantically as he dodged the barrage of laser fire aimed at him and Choji.

 _'On it!'_ Ino said before her vision went black from undoing the jutsu.

"HAAA!" Choji shouted, releasing a ki blast from his left hand, knocking back several soldiers.

Choji's brief moment of triumph was cut short when more laser fire came at him from the bushes, nearly taking his head off. "Shit, we need to retreat!" Choji shouted, knowing that they could do a lot more damage if they weren't surrounded by all sides.

"Agreed, where is Asuma?" Shikamaru asked as he carried Ino's woozy body down from the tree under heavy fire. Choji unleashed another scatter shot Ki blast at the trees. Two aliens cried out in pain.

"Careful boys! Their power levels are 20,000!" The lead attacker informed to the rest of his platoon.

"Shut up, Cherry, we got this." One of the soldiers shouted back before Shikamaru put an impact Ki beam right between his eyes.

"Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru shouted, trying to locate the man, while Choji uprooted two trees and stacked them in front of the three friends to grant them a sliver of cover.

"Oh god..." Ino groaned as she regained her senses.

"How you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Hung over...but I'll be alright." Ino answered.

"Well I'd get over it quick." Shikamaru said as an explosion ripped through their wooden cover like paper.

* * *

Miles away, Naruto turned his head to the sound of explosions echoing through the forest. He could sense four power levels flickering like candles.

"Shit." He said.


	35. Chapter 35: Search and Recovery

**Author's Note from Panda: Happy Valentine's Day everyone. To celebrate, here is a chapter that has very little of romance to speak of. So to compensate, me and Cmartin are thinking of doing a one shot Valentine's Day inspired separate story. Maybe. Probably. You'll have to see. Maybe it'll be a spin-off of Five Year Mission, or Transfer Students, or just an AU we thought up. Maybe we'll scrap it entirely.**

 **Until then, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Back at camp, Videl and Sakura immediately picked up on 4 power levels fading fast, followed by several high levels of energy surrounding them.

"You sensed that, right?" Videl asked.

"Yes...I think we're in trouble..." Sakura said grimly.

"What? What is it?" Gai asked.

"I think Ice is here...I'm picking up several high power levels surrounding Asuma-sensei's group." Videl informed.

"High nothing, those are all grunts." Sakura said, having sensed them more clearly. Another series of explosions rang out like thunderclaps.

"Well, whatever their ranks are, we need to help them." Videl urged.

"Hold it." Gai interjected.

Videl and Sakura looked at the man in charge. "What? What are we waiting for?" Videl asked.

"We need to stay here to guard our camp." Yamato spoke.

"What? But they're in trouble!" Videl countered.

"So, will we if we all go running off halfcocked." Yamato said.

"Need we remind you of the last time you did that, Videl?" Shizune pointed out.

"Fine, I've screwed up in the past! But our friends are being attacked right now. We can't just stand around here and do nothing." Videl argued.

"Unless they call for our aid, we will stay put. That's an order." Yamato said firmly.

"How can they call for us when they are under attack right this second?" Videl demanded.

"Videl...Just drop it." Sakura sighed.

"Fine, then what about Naruto?"

"What about Naruto? He's standing guard like he is supposed to." Sakura said.

"No he's not. I can clearly sense him sprinting towards the battle." Videl informed.

"He's what?!" Sakura exclaimed before remembering how common place this was. She exhaled, finding her center. "I shouldn't be surprised. I know he'd do this."

"But we can't just let him." Videl pressed.

"No, we can't. Sakura, Videl, go back up Naruto. We'll defend the base here." Gai ordered.

"You got it." Videl said before digging out her capsule. "I gotta put this on first. Add some extra protection for my kids."

"Hurry it up. I don't like leaving Naruto out in the field all by himself." Sakura said as she tightened her black gloves.

"Got it." Videl nodded before she sprinted upstairs.

Less than a minute later, Videl rushed down stairs, now wearing a blue spandex suit, white boots, white gloves, white torso plate with gold shoulder pads and gold place on the upper abdomen.

"Alright, I'm ready." Videl said.

"Good. Let's move." Sakura said as she bolted out the door.

Videl followed her lead and the two of them blasted off into the air once they were out the door. White aura trails were left in their wake as they flew as fast as they possibly could.

* * *

Meanwhile, miles ahead of them, Naruto was sprinting through the trees as fast as he could. Determined not to let his teammates down ever again.

 _'Just hold on guys. Just a little longer.'_ He thought as he heard the sounds of battle a stone's throw away.

When he finally came across the battlefield it was a horrific sight. Everything in a 50 yard radius looked like it had been bombed back to the stone age. Bodies of aliens littered the craters. _'Is that the same armor the Ginyu Force was wearing?'_ Naruto thought before putting it aside for now. He couldn't see the members of Team Asuma anywhere.

 _'YOU IDIOT!'_ Naruto heard what sounded like two women screaming in his mind.

 _ **'And this is why you don't keep two mates.'**_ Kurama thought.

 _'You're just as bad so zip it before I come in there and string you up by your tails and beat you like a pinata!'_ Sakura threatened.

Inside of the seal, Kurama just shuffled back away from the cell bars.

Naruto then turned around to see his ticked off girlfriend and his...good friend Videl coming at them.

"Just what do you think you're doing you idiot..." Sakura growled as soon as they landed near him, but their anger soon turned into shock and fear when they saw the bodies of the aliens littered on the ground.

"Oh shit..." Videl gasped in fear.

"What?" Naruto asked before looking at what she was looking at. "Yea, who are they?"

"It's started...Ice's invasion has started..." Videl said shakily.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the lake, Kakashi was calling base over the radio. "Hunter team to base. What was that explosion?"

"This is base, Videl and Sakura had sensed several power levels around Asuma's team. We believe they were under attack. They have left to intercept Naruto who was already en route to render aid." Yamato spoke.

"Is it Kabuto's team?"

"Negative. Videl said she sensed several strong power levels."

"Stronger than an average ninja?"

"That would be my guess."

"Have they made contact with Team Asuma?" Kakashi asked.

"This is Videl. We have made contact with Naruto, but we can't find Team Asuma. But that's not the worst of it." Videl cut in.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, having a good idea of what could be worse.

"The ground is littered with what I firmly believe to be soldiers serving under Ice."

Everyone's blood froze upon hearing that. Now, of all times, this was the exact worst case scenario.

"You believe or you know? I need a clear, no BS, assessment. Are they Ice's soldiers?" Kakashi stated firmly.

"They are. They are aliens and they are wearing the same armor as Freeza's soldiers back in my universe." Videl stated.

"Send up a flare so we can pinpoint your location. After that, we need to search for Team Asuma." Kakashi ordered.

"Understood. Also I think we should notify the Leaf." Videl said.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei." Kiba held up his hand as he sniffled the ground along with Akamaru.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"What's going on?" Videl asked.

"Standby, Videl." Kakashi responded.

"We've picked up the trail. It's sweat, but it's distinct." Kiba informed.

"Is it Kabuto's?" Kakashi asked.

"Hard to say without knowing his scent. But it matches the scent of that scale we found."

"Then we'll follow it." Kakashi said before queuing up his radio. "Videl, you, Sakura and Naruto looked for Team Asuma. We may have just found Kabuto's trail."

"Alright, I'll contact Gohan and tell him we found Ice." Videl said.

"You do that, but tell Gohan not to come just yet." Kakashi ordered.

"Well, it's his decision regardless."

"Yes, but we haven't seen Ice yet. Those men you see could just be scouts a hundred miles from their commander. And even if they weren't, we don't need to provoke Ice into coming out prematurely. So recommend to him that he continue training his Neo Z Forces until we can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ice is here and looking for a fight." Kakashi stated, leaving Videl in awe of his ability to think ahead.

"Alright...Team 7 out." Videl said before cutting off the radio and then turned to her teammates. "Did you get that?"

"Mostly. We're not calling Gohan and the Neo Z Fighters until after we spot Ice himself." Sakura summarized.

"Right. And we're going to look for Team Asuma."

Videl then opened a mental link to Gohan. _'Dear...We have a problem.'_

* * *

Back at the Leaf, Gohan received Videl's message as they were all training. _'What's wrong?'_

 _'Team Asuma has been attacked and are missing. We're going to search for them, but Gohan, the spot where they were attacked is littered with the corpses of Ice Soldiers.'_ Videl thought urgently.

Gohan felt the temperature in the gravity room drop 100 degrees. This was something he was hoping he wouldn't have to hear. _'...What...'_

 _'We haven't spotted Ice yet though. These guys could just be scouts or something searching the planet.'_

 _'That's all the reason I need to mobilize my team.'_

 _'No wait, Kakashi told me to tell you not to.'_ Videl thought frantically.

 _'Why? Ice is a global threat.'_

 _'And we haven't spotted him yet, nor can we sense him.'_

 _'So why not send my forces there to help you search?'_

 _'Because it was Kakashi's orders. Naruto, Sakura and I should be able to handle it for right now.'_

 _'Videl...'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Gohan, what level of gravity training have your new recruits achieved?'_ Videl cut him off.

 _'They're at ten times right now.'_

 _'Then spend as much time as you can, getting them even stronger. It can only help us in the long run.'_ Videl suggested.

 _'Alright...'_ Gohan sighed. _'But the moment you spot Ice, you let me know immediately.'_

 _'We will, I promise.'_ Videl thought. _'I love you.'_

 _'I love you too...'_ Gohan severed the mental link and frowned.

"What's up, Gohan?" Chino asked.

"We're doubling up our training. I was just notified that Ice's forces are planet side."

"What? Doubling?" Din exclaimed as he got clonked upside the head by one of the training drones.

"Didn't you hear him? Ice's invasion force has landed." Temari stated.

"Yeah I heard him. I just don't know why we're wasting time doubling up on already insane training instead of just going after this Ice guy. We're all Jounin, aren't we?" Rai stated.

Gohan sweat dropped. "Listen carefully...Ice is by far the strongest opponent I have ever sensed. If he felt like it, he could obliterate this entire planet with everyone on it with just a blink of an eye."

The adults from Lightning and Mist all burst out laughing.

"He's not joking." Temari stated, Kankuro nodded.

"Oh yea right. No one is that strong!" Rai laughed.

 _'You might have to explain it in a different way.'_ Temari thought to Gohan.

 _'Working on it.'_ Gohan thought back. "Maybe you need to hear my story...for starters, this fuzzy brown thing isn't a belt or a genjutsu." He started before unraveling his tail, letting it wiggle around for them. Everyone was too busy laughing at the man's outrageous claim to notice.

 _'That's not what I meant.'_ Temari thought.

 _'Well I don't know what you mean.'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Just repeat after me.'_ Temari thought, earning Gohan's nod.

"Listen up, it doesn't matter what you believe. Ice and his men are real and they are powerful. And that means if I tell you to train, we will train until I say otherwise. Anyone who has a problem with that can leave." Gohan stated, repeating Temari's thoughts to the word.

"Well, I believe him." Fu spoke up.

"Bah, fine, whatever, we'll train." Din gave in.

"Good, now if anyone still doubts me, you're welcome to spar with me." Gohan challenged.

Rai cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Sure, I'll fight you. Honestly, I think this Ice character is a load of bologna as are your claims of training in 500x gravity."

"Then by all means, come prove me wrong. Mind you, your Raikage fought and lost to me."

"Um, Gohan? Don't we have to hurry and train?" Fu asked.

"Oh...right..." Gohan said sheepishly before turning to the computer. "Starting now, your training will go beyond the limits I wanted set for you. But given the situation, I have no other choice. I'm increasing the gravity to 12 times and it will go up gradually as time passes. I wanted to teach you all how to manipulate Ki and to fly but we just don't have the time."

"Hey, don't give me that. You're just trying to get out of our spar." Rai said, ticking Gohan off.

"Fine, you want to spar? Let's make this interesting. Throw me a kunai." Gohan ordered.

"You're funeral." Rai smirked before he tossed a Kunai as hard as he could, aimed right at Gohan's face.

With lightning speed, Gohan caught it with just two fingers.

The Lightning Jounin just smirked. He had used the same trick to impress the Genin he had trained.

"I am going to press this kunai against your throat. Feel free to stop me anyway you can. I'll even count down to when I begin to move." Gohan said.

"Go ahead. If you can." Rai smirked.

"9..." Gohan started.

Rai spread his feet and began to flash through his hand signs to activate the jutsu the Raikage himself taught him.

"8..." Gohan counted.

Rai's entire body exploded with lightning, he was completely covered in lightning chakra. The Jounin from Lightning all smirked. Now Rai was three times as fast as before. The only person alive faster than Rai right now was the Raikage.

"7..." Gohan continued, seemingly unimpressed.

"Might as well quit while you can." Temari said.

"What she said." Rai smirked.

"I was talking to you, numbnuts."

"6..." Gohan continued.

"Yea, right. Nobody can match Rai's speed now." Din gloated.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Kankuro said as Gohan kept counting down.

"Oh, zip it. You have no idea what you're talking about." Juta said smugly.

"How about you all zip it." Jinkura said firmly.

"5..." Gohan counted.

"Oh just fucking go already." Rai said, annoyed.

Before he could even blink, he felt cold steal against his throat. "1..." Gohan finished.

All the adults went wide eyed. They didn't even see Gohan move and yet here he was, holding a Kunai against Rai's throat while sparks of lightning chakra danced on his arms. But what really shocked them was that this lightning chakra wasn't even phasing the Saiyan.

"Now get to training. All of you." Gohan growled.

Rai gulped hard. He made a serious miscalculation. "Y-yes, sensei..."

"Good." Gohan said before pulling the Kunai away and grinding it into dust with his bare hands. "If I can do that with only a small fraction of my power, imagine what I could do if I was going all out." He added before walking back to the computer. "And Ice is stronger than me."

Now the adults understood better on what they were about to face. Without wasting another second, they got right back to training.

 _'Good job putting them in their place.'_ Temari thought to Gohan.

 _'Thank you for your advice. I couldn't do it without you.'_ Gohan thought.

 _'Don't sweat it. Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine.'_

 _'Likewise.'_ Gohan smiled before facing the rest of his recruits with a frown. "What are you all standing around for? The gravity won't stop increasing just because you all slack off. Now work!" Gohan ordered.

"Yes sensei!" They all said before getting right back to training.

* * *

Meanwhile, back with Team 7...

Naruto had created a hundred Shadow Clones to scour the battlefield, searching for Team Asuma. His clones made sure not to leave any stone (or enemy corpse) unturned. As he was doing this, Sakura and Videl were focusing on another tried and true ninja method of information gathering: interrogation. With only one major problem.

"I said put press down on the artery!" Sakura ordered as she futilely pumped more healing chakra into the forehead of the dying Ice soldier.

"I am!" Videl barked back as she pushed down on the purple spotted alien's leg. His blood was seeping through Videl's fingers and even Sakura's best medical jutsu seemed to have no effect on the man. He was just too far gone.

"Try a senzu extract." Videl suggested.

"That would bring him back to-"

"If he starts fighting, I'll hold him down."

The alien coughed out blood, his incessant shaking stopped, and Sakura felt his breath exhaled on her face. "Shit." Sakura said.

"Dammit...now what?" Videl asked.

"Can you read is mind?" Sakura asked.

"How? He's dead." Videl pointed out.

"The brain stays alive for 10 seconds. Now hurry." Sakura said as she pumped more healing chakra into his head to try and extend its life.

"Alright, I'll take a crack at it." Videl said as she placed her hand on the aliens head in an attempt to gather the info they needed.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, sifting around in his brain to find anything useful.

 _'Let's see...what do you...ah, there we go.'_ Videl thought as she found what she was looking for. but after a few moments of digging into this guy's mind, it all went blank.

Videl opened her eyes and removed her hand. "Well...good news is Team Asuma is alive."

"And the bad news?" Sakura asked as she used her water bottle to wash her hands.

"This is only a scouting party...and half of it at that."

Sakura stopped ringing out her fingers and looked around at the twenty bodies littering the ground. "You're kidding."

Videl shook her head. "There are 60 soldiers in total and they're all just grunts. Their ship is in orbit around Element with another 2000 waiting for us."

Sakura felt her heart stop in her chest for a brief moment. "I-I'm sorry...what? I blacked out for a second..."

"2,000. Geez, I thought you were a professional soldier or something. Not some frightened lamb." Videl said.

"It's different when you have an army of soldiers that could wipe out an entire continent." Sakura snapped.

"Alright...Geez..."

"Hey guys." Naruto called out. They both looked over to see the orange ninja carrying two alien corpses on his shoulders.

"Hey...Did you get anything out of them?" Videl asked.

"Huh? No, these guys are dead." Naruto said as he plopped them both down on the ground in front of the two women. "But they did have something interesting on them."

"What are you- gasp!" Videl cried as she noticed the two highly damaged devices that looked like ear muffs with attached visor.

"Scouters...They knew about us all along..." Videl breathed out.

"I'm sorry. What is a Scouter?" Sakura asked.

"It's a tracking device...It detects and homes in on energy signatures and it also acts as a two-way radio..."

"No way, does it still work?" Naruto asked, excited.

"I don't know...But we need to take these with us. We may be able to use these to our advantage." Videl suggested.

She then bent down and picked one up off the ground and placed it on her left ear. "Let's see...if I go by Gohan's memories, then this should activate it." She said before pressing a red button on the side.

The device emitted a piercing static white noise from the ear piece before exploding with sparks.

"Ack! Dammit..."

"Shit, you okay?" Naruto asked as he knelt by Videl's side.

"Yea I'm fine. Just surprised me is all."

"Well what about the other Scouter?" Sakura asked.

Videl looked down at the remaining intact Scouter more cautiously. "I think I'll check this one out later." She said as she pocketed the Scouter in her ninja pouch. "What about Team Asuma? Did you find any clues?"

"None...I was hoping to find one of these bastard's alive, but no good." Naruto said

"Well I was able to read one of their minds before he died. Team Asuma is still alive, but we're in for one hell of a shit storm." Videl said grimly.

"Well that's good. Wait, how does some dead guy know they're alive?" Naruto asked.

"It's fuzzy, but I know I saw the four of them getting away in that dead guy's memories. They were still under fire though. I don't know what that tells us." Videl said.

"Did you see which direction they ran off too?" Sakura asked.

"Um..." Videl said, looking for a landmark from the memory she could reference from.

"I think they headed northeast from this position."

"Northeast? They didn't head southwest, back to the base?" Naruto thought aloud.

"Maybe they were disoriented, maybe they didn't want to lead the enemy back to our base. Either way, it's the best lead we've got." Sakura said.

"I can't sense them. Isobu's Chakra is too intense here." Videl said.

"Well then we'll just have to search for them the old fashioned way, won't we?" Naruto said as he created another handful of Shadow Clones.

* * *

An unknown distance away, a battered and broken man peaked his head out from the hollowed-out tree he was hiding inside. His breathing was heavy and his head felt light. A jolt of pain shot up his leg and he clutched his thigh to try and numb it away. He hissed.

"I think I heard something." A deep, raspy voice called out. The injured ninja did not recognize the voice and quickly hid back in his hole, just as two alien figures broke through the wall of bushes. The two aliens looked like a man crossed with a boar and a rhino respectively. Each of them wearing the exact same armor the ninja had seen on the Ginyu Force during his time in Hell and both of them had Scouters.

"Do you detect anything?" One asked.

"No. I just know that I heard something." The other replied.

"Check your scouter. It may be Lord Ice trying to get a hold of us."

"I know what Lord Ice's voice sounds like, idiot. This was something else." The other guy said as he looked under a nearby boulder.

"And it's underneath that rock?" His buddy mocked.

 _'Ice... So, this is the start of the invasion...'_ Choji thought.

"Shut up and help me look." The alien snapped.

"Don't order me around, Kiwi."

"I said shut up, Raspberry!" Kiwi snapped again.

"Whose gonna make me?! Last time I checked, my power is 22,000 and yours is 16,000."

"Last I checked, I won our last spar."

"I was sick with the Talarian flu!"

"That's what you said the time before that." Kiwi smirked.

"Alright, enough." One spoke behind them. Kiwi and Raspberry turned around to see their commanding officer who had long black spiky hair. "You two have a job to do. Now do it."

"Ah, Captain! Of course, sir!" Razzberry saluted.

"Useless grunts...why Lord Ice employed you I'll never understand." The Captain grumbled.

 _'Who is this guy?'_ Choji thought. He couldn't peak out his head to get a good look at the guy without giving away his hiding spot and he was in no condition to get in another fight.

The two grunts scurried away to continue their mission.

"Captain to base." The man spoke over his scouter. "Area is not secure yet...negative, the local populace is stronger than we thought...acknowledged, do you have a location?...send squad 6 to deal with them. Has there been any more contact with our friends?...understood."

 _'Friends? Who would these guys call friends? They're alien invaders.'_ Choji thought right before another wave of pain shot up his leg and made him whimper. Choji could hear the crunching of the fallen leaves cease as the Captain stopped mid step. The clan heir knew he was found out and braced himself for a fight. The Captain quickly turned around and fired a Ki blast at the source of the noise. Choji grit his teeth, but the blast never came to him. Instead, a dead robin fell out of the tree nearby where Choji was hiding.

"Damn birds..." The Captain grumbled before taking to the air.

"Jeez, jumpy, aren't you sir?" Razzberry joked.

The Captain narrowed his eyes at the underling who dared to mock him. "Excuse you?"

"Um, nothing sir. It was a great shot." Razzberry said quickly.

"Damn right it was. Look at the hole in its chest. Dead center mass. Now come on. You two are joining up with Squad 6. We've got one of those cornered rats captured and I want the other three."

 _'What...?'_ Choji thought in fear.

"Yes, sir!" Both soldiers barked as they scurried off like dogs after their master. Leaving Choji just enough room to breathe a sigh of relief.

 _'This isn't good.'_ Choji thought as his leg flinched again. He grabbed his thigh and felt something warm and wet. Sure enough it was his own blood, leaking out from the stump that used to be his left leg. _'Case in point.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, with Kakashi and Team Kurenai.

"Anything yet, Hinata?" Kakashi asked.

"No, Kakashi-sensei." Hinata said as they walked through the woods. Kiba was guiding her over the logs and rocks while Akamaru led the pack by following the scent of their pack. All the while, Shino brought up the rear of the group.

"The trail hasn't broken yet. We'll find these guys eventually." Kiba reassured.

"The sooner we do, the better. We have a more serious situation we need to tend to."

"To be fair, this is just as serious." Shino said.

"There is an army of powerful and armed aliens here. They already attacked Team Asuma and we don't know where they are or how many more soldiers are here. That right there is enough to convince me that the safety of our world is greater than this mission." Kakashi stated seriously.

"Then why aren't we dropping this search and going to help fight Ice right now?" Kiba asked.

"Because the long-term safety of the world is just as important as the short term." Kakashi reminded them.

"Oh!" Hinata suddenly said, stopping in her tracks.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"I see something. 200 yards away. Signs of a battle." Hinata reported.

"Lead the way." Kakashi ordered.

Hinata nodded and took to the trees faster than Kakashi had ever see her go, followed by Kiba.

"I think I need to start taking gravity training more seriously." Kakashi said to Shino.

"Agreed." Shino said before attempting to catch up to them.

The couple meanwhile had already reached the battlefield that looked more like a warzone. Trees were knocked aside like toothpicks or riddled with claw marks. The earth looked churned up with rocks scattered about. But was most surprising was the bodies that littered the ground. All of them looked humanoid, but not entirely human, and they all wore the same outfits as those Freeza lackeys that Kiba fought back in Hell.

The two looked in awe of the destruction until Hinata noticed something. "Kiba, look." She pointed at a specific corpse and the pink gems sticking out of its back like daggers.

"That crystal user." Kiba said as he grabbed the gem and cut his hand. "Ow, damn it."

"I think we should call for backup." Hinata suggested.

"We will do no such thing." Kakashi said as he, Shino, and Akamaru cane up behind them.

"What? But... Lady Tsunade said..."

"That I am in charge. Therefore, I decide when we call for back up." Kakashi cut her off as he examined the bloody crystal.

"Now wait a minute. Lady Tsunade said we have to use caution around this crystal user." Kiba said.

"He's right. As strong as Kiba has gotten, he may not be enough to defeat the crystal user." Shino stated.

"The crystal user might be difficult for me to defeat." Kakashi the Jounin and ex-ANBU spoke. "But with the four of you helping me, I have every confidence that we'll be able to overcome this crystal user and anyone else we might encounter."

Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru looked at one another before nodding.

"I'm game." Kiba said.

"I am too." Hinata nodded.

"Same here." Shino added.

"(Hell yeah!)" Akamaru barked.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Good to hear. Now, remain on alert. I doubt we'll run into them here, but with those Ice soldiers still about we have enough to be careful."

Before any of them could reply with, "yes, sensei," they heard a ruffling and all five of them assumed battle stances at the source of the noise. They saw a large pile of dead Ice soldiers shift around and then a hand appeared trying to claw its way out.

"Hinata." Kakashi said.

"Right... Byakugan!"

Hinata scanned the pile and saw a man inside the pile trying to crawl out of the pile it was hard to guess the man's height with all the other bodies piled on top of him. He was also wearing clothes of this planet.

"Wait! he's Human!" Hinata exclaimed.

"What? Shit!" Kiba cried as he ran to help the poor man.

"Kiba, wait!" Kakashi shouted as they all ran after him, but the Inuzuka heir was faster than any of them and was throwing bodies off the pile before they could even break into a proper sprint. He managed to hoist three alien corpses off before the trapped survivor could lift his chest up and suckle in a blessed gasp of fresh air. The man looked no older than Kiba with orange hair, matching eyes, and a rounded jaw. He also looked like he had been mud wrestling for the past few weeks without a day or rest or a proper meal. Just as quickly as his torso escaped the pile, he collapsed on top of the bodies, completely exhausted.

"Hey man, you alright?" Kiba asked. The young man just hacked up his lungs as Hinata came in close while Kakashi and Shino kept their distance.

"This doesn't feel right...My insects are acting very agitated around this man." Shino said.

"Do you think he's a threat?" Kakashi asked.

"He's hurt." Hinata said as she scanned his body with her Byakugan. His body was beat to Hell. His muscles all strained and his bones cracked.

"The way my insects are acting, I'm inclined to believe that." Shino said.

"Does anyone have a senzu bean?" Kiba asked.

"No, Kiba." Kakashi said.

"Shit, hey buddy, can you hear us?" Kiba slapped his face a few times.

"I meant to leave him."

"What? But he's injured." Kiba exclaimed.

"He's also dangerous. My insects detect that something isn't right with him." Shino said.

"Oh come on, he's half dead. How dangerous could he-" Kiba said before a monstrously large fist punched him through the nearest tree and the one right behind that one.

"KIBA!" Hinata cried out.

"Grrrrr...Kill..." The mysterious man growled.

"Hinata! Get back!" Kakashi ordered.

Hinata didn't get a chance to respond, for the man none of them knew as Juugo had already morphed his right arm into a honeycomb of chakra cannons aimed directly at the Hyuga mistress's head.

 **"Die!"** Juugo cried, unleashing his barrage. At that exact second, Hinata summoned up chakra to every node in her body and began spinning at high speeds.

 _'Rotation!'_ Hinata thought as she was launched like a pinball by Juugo's chakra cannons. She bounced three times before skidding to a halt on her own two feet.

She felt a sudden gust of wind blow by her before she saw Kiba appear and deck the man hard, sending him flying through several trees.

"Dick, got me right in my cheek." Kiba complained as he assumed his combat stance.

"Kiba. Are you alright?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm fine. Mostly because of gravity training though. That guy packs a wallop."

"Use whatever you need to take this guy down." Kakashi instructed.

"No need to tell me twice." Kiba said as he charged his chakra into his claws.

 **"Kill..."** The man growled fiercely. **"Kiiiiill..."**

The members of Team Kurenai all took their stances.

"I'll take him head on. You guys hit him when you see an opening." Kiba ordered.

Kakashi would normally protest at this sort of recklessness. But considering the fact that Kiba had done extensive gravity training and had trained with a God, on top of fighting opponents in Hell that would topple over any foe this world had ever seen, he relented with a nod.

"Just be careful." Kakashi warned.

Kiba gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. In front of Hinata, there's no way I can afford to look uncool." He said just as Juugo burst out of the bushes like a runaway train. He looked like a man possessed. His muscles were enlarged to double his already massive size, his pupils turned into a crazy yellow, and his skin had turned into a dark demonic purple.

"Curse seal! Watch yourself." Kakashi ordered as he threw a barrage of shuriken at Juugo, who shielded his eyes, but didn't slow down in the slightest. He slammed right into Kiba who dug his heels into the dirt.

"Heh...Gonna have to do better than that, buddy." Kiba smirked.

 **"Die!"** Juugo screamed as cannons made of flesh grew out of his back and aimed at Kiba.

"Here's one for you!" Kiba shouted before blasting him point blank with a ki blast.

Juugo shouted through the ki blast but held his ground, the blast seemed to impact him as hard as a stiff breeze.

"I said die!" Juugo shouted as he unleashed his chakra cannons on Kiba, sending him flying back.

"Ack!" Kiba cried. He turned his flailing into back flips to reorient himself. He stopped midair, exploded into a violent white aura, blasted back towards Juugo and kicked him in the head with all the strength he could muster. He was pissed off now.

Juugo's head snapped back as did his front foot to not lose his balance. Had he not been enhanced by his curse seal his head would have been sent sailing over the trees.

"Akamaru...Let's fuck this guy up..." Kiba growled as he started to take on a more feral look.

Juugo just growled and grabbed Kiba's leg as fast as anyone gravity trained. Kiba didn't have time to react before he was slammed against the ground and tossed at a tree.

"(Son of a bitch!)" Akamaru barked as he leapt at Juugo with his fangs outstretched.

Juugo merely backhanded the ninja dog out of the way. Akamaru yipped in pain. Hinata jumped in and managed to land a ki enhanced Lion's Fist palm thrust right into his sides. Juugo swung his arm to swat away Hinata, but she was already leaping sway to safety. Juugo fell to his knee, but he just as quickly stood up again. He wasn't out of the fight.

"8 Trigrams..." Hinata started as she dropped into her clan's signature stance.

"Hinata, no! Get back!" Kakashi ordered.

"128 PALMS!" Hinata shouted before darting at Juugo.

"Wait...128?" Shino asked.

Hinata jabbed Juugo in two pressure points. "2 palms!" She jabbed four more. "4 palms!" She jabbed eight more but got her throat grabbed by Juugo's super strong hand. "8 pa-ACK!"

Juugo took her by the throat and slammed her into the ground. His teeth blared as he leaned over her.

Kakashi immediately came up behind Juugo with his Lightning Cutter Raikiri at the ready. He thrust his lightning chakra infused fingertips into Juugo's back but could only penetrate an inch into Juugo's thick back muscles.

 _'Shit.'_ Kakashi thought as he leapt to safety before Juugo could backhand him with his free arm.

Hinata gasped as Juugo kept mercilessly choking her. He kept looking down on her with a crazed look in his eyes like he couldn't wait for the moment her struggling would cease. He scratcher at his ears and Hinata tried to kick him off, yet even her gravity training wasn't enough to throw this giant off.

"Di-EAAAAAHHH!" Juugo cried as he felt a piercing pain in both his ears like he had just been stabbed in both with a knife. He let go of Hinata to clamp his ears shut but the pain wouldn't cease. Hinata was confused but then noticed one of Shino's beetles flying around. The next thing she knew, Kiba flew out of nowhere and dragged her from underneath the screaming giant to the sides of their comrades.

"W-what's happening?" Hinata asked.

"I had my beetles crawl into the man's ear canals. Why? To burst his ear drums and disorient him." Shino explained.

"Genius work, Shino." Kakashi said

"Yeah I'll say. How are you feeling, Hinata?" Kiba asked while Akamaru tried to lick her pain away.

Hinata spat out blood while she still gasped for air. All she could do was nod.

"Fantastic, can you stand?" Kiba asked while keeping an eye on Juugo.

"I...I think... We're in over our heads..." Hinata gasped.

 **"KILL YOOOOOU!"** Juugo bellowed.

"Nonsense, stand up, Hyuga." Kakashi ordered.

"I believe Hinata is right. Why? Because he seems to only get stronger the more we resist." Shino agreed.

"He's tough. There is no doubt. But his strength isn't unlimited. Keep pounding on him, but don't commit to an attack. We need to encircle him, strike quick from behind, and back off just as quickly. We'll wear him down until we win." Kakashi said as his hand exploded with lightning once more.

"My ki attacks seemed to do nothing to him...Gonna have to mix this up a bit." Kiba said as he fed a senzu bean to Akamaru. "Time for our old tag team routine, buddy."

Akamaru barked in agreement.

Shino sighed. "Seems that I'll have to rely on Gohan's training this time." He said as he ordered his beetles to retreat back inside his body.

"Wait, how much training did he give you?" Kiba asked.

"While you were in Otherworld for nearly 3 weeks, Gohan worked me over hard. I'm now just under par with Sakura in terms of unpowered strength and speed." Shino explained.

"Worked you over hard?" Kiba snickered.

"You know what I mean." Shino deadpanned.

"Kiba, stop it. I was with him and training just as hard. Only difference is Gohan taught me to fly." Hinata said as she took off the wrist bands that she had hidden under her sleeves.

"Focus up, all of you." Kakashi ordered as Juugo began to reorient himself and focus on them again.

"Right." Hinata said as she forced herself to her feet (with a little nudge from Akamaru). She would not be left behind or holding her team back. "Let's do this." Hinata said as she gather chakra to her hands and assumed her Gentle Fist stance. She and her teammates all held their ground while Juugo charged at them screaming bloody murder.

* * *

On the other side of the massive lake, Videl turned her head up at a murder of crows that became frightened and flew away in a hurry. There was an uneasy feeling in the air that she couldn't shake. Least of all due to her ki sensing abilities being shot to Hell thanks to the Three Tails being somewhere nearby.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Something doesn't feel right..." Videl said uneasily.

"How can you sense anything with the 3 Tails lurking around?" Sakura asked.

"It's more or less a feeling than sensing anything out of place. My senses are so clouded that-" She paused when they all heard an explosion rip through the area. Videl looked up and noticed it was coming from the area where she saw the crows fly away.

"Well you don't need to sense that." Naruto said.

"Whoever is there, I think they need help." Videl said seriously.

"I think we have our own problems." Sakura said right before she uprooted a tree by punching it and knocked a few Ice Soldiers off the branches. The bumbling goons fell to the ground like a surprised sack of potatoes. They looked up and at first, neither party said a word. The two soldiers then tried to raise up their wrist mounted laser guns and were instantly punched in the nose by Naruto, knocking them to the ground. Before Naruto could even take satisfaction in his double knock out, a laser shot out from another tree and sailed just over his head.

"Ambush!" Naruto shouted before he was shot by lasers from behind and collapsed.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as the laser flew around her from every direction. She pounded two of the soldiers into the dirt before running after her lover.

"Sakura, get down!" Videl shouted as a large Ice Soldier came barreling towards the medic with everything he had. Videl charged up a Ki blast just as Sakura hit the deck. Videl fired her attack and the Ice Soldier was gone.

Sakura then stood up to continue her sprint towards Naruto. She dodged three lasers and took two more to the leg.

"Sakura!" Videl screamed, before feeling a hot piercing feeling in her belly. She looked down to see three smoking craters in her flesh where her children were growing.

Videl's eyes went wide before the illusion was broken and she exploded into smoke like the Shadow Clone she was.

A hundred yards away, Naruto opened his eyes as all three of his clone memories came to him.

"Yup. Definite ambush ahead of us." Naruto reported. "They surround my clones in a clearing without any good cover and fired on us from behind the trees and bushes. We've got a few seconds before they realize they should scatter."

"Well, that figures. These guys are smarter than the ones Gohan faced according to his memories." Videl said.

"Not smart enough." Sakura said as she and Naruto sprinted after the Ice soldiers.

"Did we get them?" One soldier asked his buddy as the smoke vanished from the Shadow Clones.

"Nope." A female's voice said behind them. They turned around to see Videl standing right in front of them, completely unharmed. "You only destroyed Shadow clones."

The soldiers quickly aimed their arm canons at her before feeling cold steel against their throats.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Sakura said into one of the soldiers ear. "That is...If you wanna keep breathing."

The soldiers gulped in fear and nodded.

Videl walked up to them with fury in her eyes. "You will tell us everything we want to know. If you don't, losing your lives to Ice will be the least of your concerns." She then leaned in close with a sadistic look on her face. "Because I'll make whatever Ice would do to you seem like a slap on the wrist in comparison..."

As they were talking, the remaining group of soldiers were lining up their sights on the enemy ninjas and their allies. It sucked for Crazin and Mulberry, but orders were orders when it came to fellow soldiers being taken prisoner.

That's when the 8 other soldiers all felt a shinobi sandal to the back of the head and we're all sent flying into the ground. Those that remained conscious could feel the cold black steel of a kunai pressed against their throats.

"Yea...Nice try. We knew all about your ambush." Naruto smirked.

"Now that you are thoroughly fucked, let me tell you just what you are dealing with..." Videl smirked. "I'm one of the Saiyan's that I'm sure your boss is looking for..." Then she grabbed the soldier by the collar of his armor. "Now tell me where our friends are!"

"Urgh, eat me." Mulberry spat from underneath Videl's knee.

"WRONG ANSWER!" Videl snapped before smacking the soldier with her tail. There, every conscious soldier saw her tail waving about. There wasn't any doubts anymore. She is one of their targets.

"Now look...We can do this the easy way. You tell us where our friends are and we'll give you a quick and honorable death. But if you continue to play dumb, then I'll just slowly torture the information out of you..." Videl offered.

There was silence and then the conscious soldiers burst out in laughter.

"Who do you think you are, bitch? You think we're so green that we'd sell out our comrades just because you torture us? If you're going to kill us then kill us. At least Ice won't destroy our home planets in retaliation."

"Oh, no you have it all wrong." Videl smirked. "You really don't have to say anything. All I need to do is probe your minds to get what I need."

The aliens kept on laughing. "Try it, chimp." The leader with the dog head smirked.

Videl's eye twitched.

"Well...That wasn't smart." Sakura said.

"Why?" The soldier scoffed.

"You pressed the monkey button." Naruto shook his head.

The soldier was about to question that when everyone was knocked back by Videl transforming into a Super Saiyan.

"Ya shouldn't have done that..." Videl growled.

One by one, all of the soldiers' scouters exploded off of their faces due to Videl's sudden surge of power. Now they weren't laughing anymore. They were scared shitless.

Videl grabbed hold of the one who mocked her by the head. She quickly tried to probe him, but she found that this guy had some kind of mental block. In frustration, she squeezed his head and popped it like a pealed grape.

"Who's next..." Videl growled.

"Whoa! Hold up!" Naruto shouted when he felt the alien goo splatter over his jacket.

 _'They have mental blocks. I can't probe their minds.'_ Videl thought to him.

 _'Well why kill them?'_ He thought. _'We can take them back to base and when we bring Ino back she can take a crack at them.'_

 _'I'm not killing them all. That one just pissed me off.'_

 _'What if he was the leader who knew the most out of all of them?'_

 _'Well, then I guess it's too late now.'_

 _'Damn it Videl, you can't just go off the rails like that every time someone ticks you off.'_ Naruto lectured.

 _ **'And that's coming from Kit.'**_ Kurama thought.

 _'You're the last person who should lecture me. Remember our first mission together?'_ Videl reminded him.

 _'And I've grown up since then.'_

 _'Well, whatever...Let's just haul this lot away.'_

"Wait, what about Asuma's team?" Naruto asked aloud.

Videl thought for a moment before she came up with an idea. "I can use the Multiform Technique to take these guys back while we continue the search."

"Hold on, Naruto, why don't you use that technique my mother taught you? The one to seal away unconscious prisoners?" Sakura suggested.

"Oh right! I forgot about that." Naruto said.

"Wait, what is that?" One of the soldiers being held by a Naruto clone asked.

"You don't need to know." The clone replied before knocking him out. The real Naruto then pulled out a scroll and unraveled it to reveal a series of intricate circular seals spread along the paper.

"I've got enough room to keep twenty bodies in suspended animation for 24 hour periods. More than enough time to get them back to base." Naruto said as one of his clones brought over an unconscious soldier. He placed the alien in front of one of the seals and went through a series of hand signs before slamming his palms down. The alien was enveloped in light and sucked into the seal where the symbol for man now appeared. "One down."

Now the ones who still remained conscious were really scared.

"Wait!" One hollered out.

"Banana, you keep your mouth shut!" One of the other conscious soldiers called out.

But Banana didn't listen. "One of them was captured and taken to our ship! That's all I know!"

"Which one?" Videl demanded.

"I don't know. I just overheard some radio chatter about another squad capturing one of the ninjas. That's all I know I swear!" Banana begged.

"What about the rest of the team?" Naruto demanded.

"I don't know! I swear to Space Christ!" Banana swore.

"Banana, you son of a bitch, I'm going to rip out your throat and pull out your traitor tongue." One of the soldiers spat.

"So we need to assume they're still out there while at the same time one of them is being held at their ship. If we can find Ino, we can learn more." Sakura deduced.

"How about telling us why you're here?" Videl demanded.

"That I can tell you." Raspberry spoke up. "We were ordered by King Hail to locate and eliminate the ones with abnormally high power levels...And to destroy you and the other Saiyan." He smirked smugly.

"Raspberry, what the fuck?! You're not supposed to tell them anything ever, dumbass!" The soldier next to him spat.

"They won't live long enough anyway. Not against Lord Ice."

"So why don't you keep them guessing like an actual competent soldier?"

"Why do you always gotta yell at me?"

"Well either way, it's not like you guys are gonna be here much longer." Sakura stated.

"Coming here is probably the biggest mistake your boss could have made. He will not leave here alive." Videl said matter-of-factly.

"That's where you're wrong, chimp. We've been monitoring this planet ever since we set course for it. Our scientists picked up some high spikes, but none of them came close to Lord Ice's level. You and your entire planet will be under Ice's boot within the week." Raspberry smirked.

Videl only smirked. "That's what you think." She said before knocking him out.

"Great. Can we seal the rest of these guys away already?" Sakura asked as she knocked out the aliens nearest to her.

"Yes, let's." Videl nodded as she and Sakura rounded up all of the soldiers to get them sealed away.

Inside of five minutes, the rest were all sealed away and Naruto handed the scroll to Videl's Ki clone.

"Notify Captain Yamato and return to me." Videl said.

"Can't she just disappear and you regain her memories like with Shadow Clones?" Naruto asked.

"No. Multiform copies are solid forms that take a large portion of my energy and have to merge back with the original. My copy has half of my power so with each copy, my power is divided evenly." Videl explained.

"So you're at half your normal strength right now?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, that's right." Videl nodded.

"And what happens if your clone gets ambushed and killed?"

Videl opened her mouth to answer but her words fell short. "Actually...I don't know."

The two native Elementians both sweat dropped. "Maybe you should have one of my clones take the prisoners back." Naruto suggested.

"Yea, probably a good idea." Videl agreed.

Videl returned the multiform clone to herself and Naruto made a brand new Shadow Clone to take the scroll to base with the same instructions.

"So what is the plan besides standing out in the open like a bunch of scrubs?" Sakura asked.

"I think we should head towards that explosion we heard a little bit ago. That could be Team Asuma fighting more Ice Soldiers." Videl suggested.

"I don't know. Didn't that explosion come from the north? Over the lake? That would be with Kakashi-sensei and Team Kurenai." Naruto said.

"Let me see if I can get them on the radio." Sakura said.

She activated her mic. "Team 7 to Team 8. What's your status?"

She listened in and immediately winced when static blared out of her ear piece. Sakura was ready to key her mic to silence the piercing noise when it changed to rustling and then what could best be described as a body hitting a tree.

"Team 8. Come in." Sakura demanded.

"Ack!" A voice coughed on the other end. "Kakashi here. Make it quick."

"It's Sakura. What's going on?"

 **"Die, die, die!"** Another voice screamed in the background over the radio. "We are engaged against a possible Sound ninja with a powerful curse mark. Be advised that we found him surrounded by dead Ice soldiers." Kakashi said as Sakura heard a large whoosh fly past Kakashi's head.

"Do you need assistance?" Sakura asked.

"Negative. Continue your search for Team 10. What is your status on that?"

"We have run into a squad of Ice Soldiers and have captured at least a dozen of them and sealed them in a scroll. One of Naruto's clones has taken the scroll back to camp for the rest of them to be interrogated. We have learned that one of them have been captured and taken back to their ship. Where the others are, we don't know."

 _'Shit.'_ Kakashi thought. Just what they needed. "Continue your search. Contact me if you find them and we'll contact you if we need assistance. Have you heard back from base yet?"

"Not yet. Other than the Neo Z Fighters are remaining on standby."

"Good. The more training they get, the better."

"Agreed. We'll be ready to render assistance if-" Sakura paused when they heard rustling in the bushes near them.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"Standby." Sakura whispered into the mic.

There was another explosion over the mic that echoed out in the real world and the radio went dead.

"Shit." Sakura cursed as the rustling continued. She would have to focus on the here and now and trust Kakashi to hold his own.

Naruto and Videl got into their defensive stances, waiting for whatever was coming out of the brush.

Just then, a petite young woman appeared carrying a curved knife in one hand and was trying to drag a larger young man with her other hand.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Forehead?! Oh thank the sage we found you! Quick! Choji is hurt bad!" Ino said frantically.

Sakura took one look at Choji and noticed that he was missing half of his right leg, making her blood run cold.

"Oh shit..." She breathed out before rushing to his side to begin healing him.

"What happened?" Videl asked.

"I don't know. We were ambushed and we were separated. The whole team. I couldn't find Asuma-sensei or Shikamaru. And when I found Choji he was..." She choked on her words. "He was like this..." She said, exhaustion leaking out of her voice.

"Dammit..." Naruto cursed.

"Are you okay?" Videl asked before handing her a senzu bean.

"I... I think so..." She said as she looked down at her clothes, perhaps for the first time since the attack. She was covered in dirt from head to toe, her brow and back were caked with sweat, and her left leg was splattered with blood. Most likely Choji's.

"We need to get Choji back to base. He's going into shock." Sakura reported.

"What about Asuma and Shikamaru? We can't just leave them out there." Videl said.

"I'll keep looking. You two get Ino and Choji to safety." Naruto decided.

"Alright. Just let us know if you need help." Videl nodded before putting a hand on Ino's shoulder. "Come on... We'll take you back." Ino jumped at the foreign touch and held her chakra trench knife at Videl. The same trench knife that Asuma had gifted to Ino. Videl could see that it was stained purple with alien blood.

"Hey, relax, Ino... You're okay now." Videl said calmly.

"She's in traumatic shock, Videl. It's going to take a bit for her to regain her bearings." Sakura informed.

"I thought that was if she was injured."

"There are two different types; emotional and physical. She has the emotional right now and in long term cases, it can be worse than the physical trauma, because it can lead to PTSD." Sakura explained.

Videl's eyes went wide. She knew of the lasting effects of that condition and she could barely believe that someone like Ino could become stricken with something like that. Yet, as she looked at Ino, still holding onto her blood stained knife like a lifeline with a fierce look on her face, she slowly started believing that to be true.

"Ino..." Videl said softly.

"Just offer her your hand and lead her. I'm counting on you to protect us while I keep Choji's blood pressure regular." Sakura ordered as she hoisted Choji onto her back, fireman carry style. Choji however didn't make a sound.

Videl nodded before offering Ino her hand. "Ino...It's okay...Take my hand and I'll take you back to base." She said softly.

"Base?" Ino said before realizing what she was saying. "Right, base. Base is good. But Choji?" She grew terrified when she noticed that Choji wasn't right next to her.

"Sakura has him and is being treated as we speak. Now come on...Let's get you two someplace safe..."

"Safe? Yeah, let's do that. Sorry, I'm a bit shaken up." Ino admitted.

"I understand... But we can't linger here."

"Right, right, I'm sorry." Ino said as Videl carefully took her trench knife away from her.

"Alright. Now let's go get you cleaned up and a hot meal." Videl said as she took Ino's hand and the four of them took off towards camp.

Naruto watched them leave until their figures disappeared entirely into the foliage. He prayed to King Kai and the Sage that they would be alright. Then he felt the wind beginning to pick up on his cheeks. He could smell a change in the air. A storm was brewing. The last gasp of autumn, no doubt.

Naruto crossed his fingers and created 3 Shadow Clones to accompany him and sped off in the opposite direction of camp. He had to find the rest of Team Asuma. He just had to.

* * *

On the other side of Ridu Lake, Team Kurenai was still in the fight against Juugo.

Kiba skidded across the dirt and growled. "Dammit...nothing is working."

Akamaru skidded right by next to him. "(No shit, but take a good look. We're wearing him down.)" He said, pointing his nose at the hulking goliath. Kiba looked at Juugo and noticed that he was starting to get fatigued. The only problem was...him and the others were worse off.

"You're right, boy...But I don't think we can continue for very long." Kiba said.

"(So then we have to focus our effects to take down our prey.)"

"I know, but how?"

Akamaru looked over at Shino who had ducked under Juugo's arm and kicked off his back. That's when Akamaru noticed the gaping wound that Kakashi had inflicted on Juugo with his Raikiri earlier. "(The wound that Kakashi made.)"

Kiba noticed it too and came up with an idea. "Good thinking boy."

"(It's what I do.)" Akamaru barked. Kiba knelt down to assume his clan's taijutsu stance. Akamaru picked up on this and leapt onto his master's back.

"Man-Beast Transformation!" Kiba cried before his features took on a more feral look. His hair became wilder, his eyes narrower, his teeth and claws grew sharper.

"(Man-Beast Transformation!)" Akamaru barked before transforming into the exact same man beast that Kiba had become.

The transformed ninja dog then leapt at Juugo, spinning like a drill of death. Juugo intercepted Akamaru with a punch, but the dog was able to dodge around his fist and dig his claws along Juugo's forearm. As soon as he was distracted, Kiba got behind him and landed a Ki blast directly into his back wound.

 **"GAAAAH!"** Juugo howled in pain.

All of Kiba's teammates flinched when they heard the cursed man's screech. They all looked flabbergasted at Kiba's surprisingly effective attack.

Kiba leapt out of the way before Juugo could counter attack and landed next to Kakashi.

"What in Sage's name did you do to him?" Kakashi asked.

"I hit him in the wound you created. If we all target that spot we should bring him down." Kiba reported.

"MOVE!" Kakashi barked as he pushed Kiba and himself out of the way of a runaway tree that Juugo had just thrown at them.

"I've been saving this attack...Cover me while I charge up!" Kiba called out as he held out his right palm facing up.

"On it." Kakashi said. "Shino! Hinata! Cover Kiba! Aim for the wound on the enemy's back!" Kakashi ordered.

"Right!" Hinata and Shino acknowledged.

"HaaaaaaaAAAAA!" Kiba yelled out as he charged energy into his palm.

Juugo turned his head to stare at Kiba. His mind might have been shattered to that of a bloodthirsty animal, but even he could tell this attack was one he had to stop. He charged at the ninja dog trainer like a mad bull, only to stumble to his knees once Hinata had struck the chakra nerves surrounding his gaping shoulder blade wound. He roared and thrashed at the spot Hinata once was, but she had already leapt to safety. In his rage, Juugo now focused on the long-haired girl, only to once again leave his blind spot open to for Shino to land a chakra and Ki enhanced punch in the same tender spot. Juugo howled with uncontrollable fury, not just from the attack, but the present the hooded one left behind. The curse seal user could feel the creepy crawly beetles burrowing into his own wound. Crewing at what remained of his nerve endings. Sweet Sage they hurt, yet his constant stream of natural energy flowing into his body through his every pore prevented his mind the simple mercy of fainting from the pain. He only grew more enraged, more mindless, more powerful.

"SPIRIT BALL ATTACK!" Kiba shouted as a fairly good size ball of Ki formed in his hand and threw it. The ball whizzed around the battlefield, Juugo could catch a glimpse of it before it circled back around and struck him directly in his back wound. The spirit ball burrowed deep inside his flesh like a cannon ball before exploding inward. Juugo's entire world turned to white silent pain as he was flung to the ground. The shock wave from the blast reverberated throughout his chest cavity. Knocking the wind out of his lungs, halting the beat of his heart, and shattering his spine.

When the dust settled, Team 3 looked on in horror as the once mighty juggernaut lay still on the ground with a gaping wound opening out like a gory flower. His skin slowly fading back from enraged purple to pasty white. In his final moments, Juugo prayed he would wake up, this time, with his friend Kimimaro.

A moment passed, and then a second. No one dared jinx their luck by asking if the lumbering man was dead. Kiba steadied his hand next to his kunai pouch. If the fight had to continue, he couldn't use Ki or Chakra anymore. Instead he felt a drop against his knuckle, followed by two more on his wrist, and then it began to pour. Like the closing curtain on a grand stage, the sky opened up to let down a torrent of rain, drenching everyone and everything in a flash. The cool water felt like a blessed kiss from mother nature. Soothing the victorious ninjas of their aching limbs.

"Kiba...What was that?" Kakashi asked as he lowered his headband over his left eye.

"Spirit Ball. One of the techniques I learned from King Kai." Kiba answered.

"Spirit Ball. Isn't that the technique that Gohan's father uses on occasion?" Shino asked, curious that his teammate could master such a high-level technique.

"No, that was the Spirit Bomb. I didn't learn that, but Sakura did."

"What is the difference?" Kakashi asked.

"The Spirit Bomb can level or destroy either an entire continent or a planet. The Spirit Ball is not that powerful."

"That's it?" Hinata asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Not entirely. The Spirit Ball can be used as a controlled attack. I can move it in any direction and at any speed. It's good to use like a long range physical attack where I can hit an opponent several times with it before I decide to detonate it."

"So, it's the same technique. Only the amount of control you have over it depends on how much energy you put into it." Shino summarized.

"Right, also the amount of energy isn't the same. The Spirit Ball uses only a fraction of the energy the Spirit Bomb uses, also the Spirit Bomb draws off of spiritual energy from all living things. Mine draws off my physical energy."

"Okay, that's great, but moving on. We have a problem here." Kakashi said, snapping everyone's attention back to the rain pounding down on their heads, turning the dirt into a muddy soup.

"Damn...I can't even get a scent." Kiba said.

Akamaru walked over to his master's side and tried to sniff the ground. He whined when he couldn't pick up a scent either.

"Hinata, can you see anything that might help us pick up the trail?" Kakashi asked as he broke out his rain poncho.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and shook her head. "Nothing...we've lost the trail...and that man is dead."

"Damn..." Kakashi cursed before activating his radio. "Team 3 to base. Give me a sit rep."

"Base here." Yamato answered. "Naruto's clone arrived a little bit ago with a scroll, whatever that means. No contact with Team Asuma or Team 7.

"Did his clone not tell you what the scroll contained?"

"No, he didn't. Why, is it important?" Yamato asked.

"Its common sense that his clone would tell you what is in the scroll. Why wouldn't it?" Kakashi asked while the rest of his team threw their own rain ponchos on. This storm didn't seem ready to let up any time soon.

"I don't know..."

Kakashi sighed before turning serious. "Treat the scroll with caution. Do not open it until Naruto or his team confirms that its authentic."

"Right." Yamato said. Frustrated as Kakashi was, he couldn't honestly fault Yamato for not knowing caution about unconfirmed scrolls. Yamato was too young to participate in the 3rd Shinobi World War. He wouldn't instinctively know about enemy ninja sneaking into camps disguised as your comrade on guard duty.

"On another note, due to the storm we're returning to base." Kakashi said.

"Acknowledged. I'll let Team Gai know you are coming." Yamato said.

"We're bringing a corpse that bored the Curse Mark." Kakashi added seriously.

"I'll inform Shizune."

"Understood. Eta will be about an hour."

"Received. We'll be-"

Just then, Yamato was jolted when the door slammed open.

"WE NEED HELP!" He heard a woman shout. He looked to the door to see Videl and Sakura with an injured Choji and a disoriented Ino.

"Tenzo. What's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"Sakura and Videl. They found Ino and Choji. I'm gonna have to go, Choji is hurt bad." Yamato said frantically.

"Damn it." Kakashi cursed when the radio went dead. He then turned to the rest of his squad. "Kiba, help me seal away this body. Everyone else, get ready to move immediately afterwards." Kakashi ordered.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked.

"It doesn't matter, get moving." Kakashi ordered.

"R-right..." Hinata nodded. She knew something was up, but Kakashi wasn't gonna say anything apparently.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the base, things were pandemonium.

Sakura had burst in with Choji, looking pale as a ghost and missing one leg. Videl came up behind her with Ino being led by the hand, but they were largely ignored.

"We've got an A5 emergency!" Sakura barked, snapping Shizune to attention after she had just finished prepping the medical corner for surgery.

"Bring him here." Shizune shot back.

Sakura carried Choji over to a nearby table where she carefully laid him down. In an effort to control the bleeding, she had taken off her top to use it as a tourniquet.

Shizune then immediately began enveloping Choji's leg with healing chakra. Her first priority was to grow a new layer of skin around the wounded area to stop the bleeding. Sakura meanwhile grabbed the nearest pack of O negative blood and hooked it up to a tube and syringe.

"Complete dissection from above the knee. Femoral artery is severed...We're in for a long night, Sakura. And I don't think we have enough blood." Shizune said.

Sakura injected the needle into Choji's forearm, not saying a word as she tried to think. And then it hit her.

"Erythropoietin." She said.

"The hormone in kidneys that turns cells into blood? What about them?" Shizune asked.

"I'm going to kick those hormones into overdrive with my mystic palm technique. That ought to give Choji the blood he needs." Sakura explained.

"Except that blood cells take 7 days to develop inside of bone marrow. You'd never be able to produce enough energy in time to make this a viable option." Shizune reminded her.

"Maybe not with my old chakra levels. But with my Ki levels..." Sakura smirked as she activated her technique. Her hands glowed a relaxing green as she pressed them against Choji's belly.

"Even still, this will take hours. But the blood packs we have on hand should bring Choji up to a stable level until my method can bring him back up to a healthy one."

 _'How did she ever get so strong...'_ Shizune wondered. She looked on at Sakura and saw the woman and talented medic she had become. Where had that little girl gone, who came to Lady Tsunade and begged to be trained? Who came to Shizune to ask for advice only on the most difficult of medical formulas? Shizune knew now that that cute little genin was gone. Replaced with a fellow expert medical ninja that Shizune was proud to think of as her surrogate little sister. It brought a prideful smile to her face.

"Um, Shizune?" Videl called. "Can you check Ino?"

"Is there something wrong with her?" Shizune asked as she continued on her heal process of Choji's leg stump.

"Psychological trauma, onset of PTSD." Sakura answered.

"I see." Shizune said sadly. "I'm sorry, Videl. Neither Sakura nor I am properly trained to treat PTSD. That is the job of the mental branch of medical health."

"Well then who is qualified?" Videl demanded.

"Ino. Or any Chunin from the Yamanaka clan." Shizune said.

"Oh great..." Videl said sadly.

"Just try to comfort as best as possible." Sakura instructed.

"How do I do that? Just throw a blanket over her and hug her?" Videl asked, feeling so helpless.

"You can start by treating her for shock." Shizune suggested.

"Shock?" Videl wondered out loud. "How do I do that?"

"You literally do throw a blanket over her. Get her a warm meal. Keep her company. Just keep her comfortable for now." Sakura said as she continued to pump a steady stream of chakra into Choji's system.

"Alright." Videl nodded as she got up to fetch the items she needed. _'Probably should get her a wet towel to clean her up a bit.'_ She thought.

She headed over to the corner with everyone's bags, grabbed a spare blanket, and then headed over to the kitchen to fetch a wet towel.

"Here you go, Ino." Videl said as she draped the warm blanket over Ino who was busy hugging her knees and shivering. Ino just sat there and shivered, not acknowledging Videl's offering.

"Oh Ino..." Videl said as she hugged her friend through the blanket.

Ino snapped out of her daze from the warm hug she was getting. She looked up to see it was Videl. The comforting gesture she was getting from her was enough to make Ino fall into the hug, her barrier breaking. Videl rubbed Ino's back, hoping to warm her up.

"I-is... Choji gonna make it...?" Ino sobbed.

"Of course, he will. He's got Sakura and Shizune looking after him." Videl reassured.

"B-but...His Shinobi career...Will be finished..."

"Shhhh, don't think about that now. Just relax. Everything is going to be alright." Videl promised.

Ino sniffed. "Not even...Sakura can mend a...a-a severed leg..."

"Don't worry about that now. Just focus on resting for a bit. Get your strength back. It's what Choji will want you to do." Videl said.

"I...Ino..." They heard Choji say weakly.

"Crap, we didn't administer pain killers. He can't wake up now." Shizune hissed at Sakura.

"W-where...is Ino...?" Choji asked. "Is...she...okay...?"

"She's fine, Choji. She's safe. But we need to put you back under." Sakura whispered into his ear.

"N-no... I'm fine..." Choji said before remembering something important. "We were...ambushed by...aliens... They hit us with a powerful blast...Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei...we got separated..."

"It's okay Choji. We got then too. They are safe, but you need to rest." Sakura insisted. She flashed through her hand signs to activate a knock out medical jutsu to use on Choji.

"N-no...Ak...Aka..." Choji didn't get to finish before he was completely sedated again.

"Was he trying to say Akamaru?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, I didn't catch him. Just keep him sedated. I've stopped his bleeding, but it may be five hours before I can stop working on his leg." Shizune said.

"As long as it takes...wait a minute, I just remembered something." Sakura realized.

"What?" Shizune asked.

Sakura's green chakra was soon replaced with several ripples of pulsing yellow energy that seemed to encompass Choji's body. "King Kai taught me this. I didn't remember until just now..." Sakura said sheepishly. "Don't tell Lady Tsunade.

"What is it? Some kind of Ki based healing technique?"

"Yea...only issue is, it can't regrow limbs. But he should be back to 100% in a few moments."

"That's better than the alternative I suppose." Shizune sighed as she traded places with Sakura so that she could work her magic.

"Perhaps...anyway, you go ahead and help Videl. I got this."

"She's got Ino taken care of. I want to see this new way to heal in person." Shizune said.

Sakura nodded as she continued to pour out her Ki. Shizune started to see something happen around Choji's stump. She looked at it closely and was stunned at how quickly his skin was wrapping around the nub, stopping the bleeding entirely. She also watched as Choji's other minor injuries started to vanish completely, almost like he was never even harmed.

"Incredible." Shizune said in awe as Choji's pained expression began to soften and he drifted off into a relaxed sleep.

Sakura lowered her hands and let out a deep sigh. "We'll let him rest for a while. No need to put him through more than he already has today." Sakura decided.

"Agreed. Fantastic job, Sakura." Shizune praised.

"Thanks...But I really have to thank King Kai. I never would have been able to do that without his training." Sakura said humbly.

 _'Finally, someone who appreciates my training!'_ King Kai said into their minds happily.

"But more importantly, you were amazing in treating Choji." Sakura praised.

"Well...I'm not as good as I used to be. And that healing technique you picked up, that seems to overshadow the Mystic Palm by leaps and bounds."

"Please. You were Tsunade's first apprentice. How many times did you save my butt when I misdiagnosed a patient so that Tsunade wouldn't punish me? And this Ki technique is great for straight healing and cell regeneration, but it's limited. It won't cure tumors or anything more complex than physical trauma." Sakura said.

"So it's meant for quick treatments." Shizune mused.

"That's the gist of it, yes." Sakura nodded.

"Oh good." Shizune sighed delightfully. "Between that and the senzu syringes, I almost thought us traditional medics would be out of a job."

"Not by a long shot. Plus, with the medical books I got from Gohan, we can improve upon what we already have."

"Right. So, what is next on the table?"

Sakura shrugged. "I guess we just sit tight until Kakashi-sensei gets back."

"And what about Naruto? Aren't you worried?" Shizune inquired.

"Well...Yes I am... But I also know that he can handle himself."

Shizune smiled. "That's very mature if you, Sakura."

"Besides..." Sakura said listlessly as she made her way out to the window. watching the rain pour down on the ground as lightning arced in the sky. "Even if I could stop him, he'd still fight to continue the search...I'm still worried sick, but...this is what he does."

"Very true." Shizune said, thinking of Kakashi.

"But I'm still going to pound his face in when he gets back for worrying me." Sakura growled before gripping the windowsill so hard it cracked.

Shizune nervously laughed at Sakura's proclamation. Videl and Yamato just sweat dropped.

"Something's never change, I guess..." Videl sighed.

"Tell me about it." Yamato said.

Videl raised an eyebrow before she heard the wooden doors sliding open. She drew her kunai to signal to the others, but no one else reacted.

"Stand down, Videl. It's just Kakashi." Yamato said right before said copycat ninja took a heavy step inside the safe house.

"Oh...my bad, sensei..." Videl said sheepishly before putting her kunai back in her pouch.

"I'm not your sensei. But I'm still flattered." Yamato said.

"I was actually talking to Kakashi, but that doesn't mean you don't have stuff I can learn from you." Videl smiled.

"Oh..." Yamato said as the rest of Team Kurenai came in behind Kakashi, all of them wearing ponchos and all of them soaked to the bone.

Shizune immediately stood up when she saw Kakashi, particularly when she noticed the blood trailing down the side of his head.

"Oh god...are you alright?" Videl asked with concern.

"Seen better days, Videl..." Kakashi sighed.

"Kakashi, over here, quickly!" Shizune ordered.

"I'm fine, Shizune. I have a body I need you to autopsy asap." Kakashi said, pulling out a scroll.

"The dead can wait. Now get over here." Shizune order. "Same with the rest of you." She said to the battered and beleaguered Team Kurenai.

"No. This is something you need to look at now." Kakashi said seriously.

"Just tell me what it us while I heal you."

"It's a body that contains a curse mark more advanced than anything I've ever seen." Kakashi stated grimly.

"You think he was working with Kabuto? Did you see him?" Shizune asked as she began applying her mystic palm to Kakashi's forehead. He felt his aches and pain washing off of him and he couldn't help but rest his head against her touch.

"No, but we did have his scent before we were ambushed." Kiba informed.

"You were ambushed?" Videl asked, astonished.

"No, we weren't. We found this curse mark user knocked out and after we woke him up he attacked us." Shino clarified.

"Yes, however...he was very strong, and very dangerous." Kakashi said.

"Well not anymore." Kiba said.

"We took a beating, but we dished out more than we took." Hinata said.

"(Damn straight.)" Akamaru barked as he rested his head on Hinata's lap.

"Good to hear." Sakura said as she did a quick inspection of all the ninjas returning from the field. None of them had any injuries worth fussing over, but they had definitely taken a beating. All of them looked sore and exhausted.

"Hey Sakura, do you have another senzu bean on you? I already ate mine." Kiba requested.

"I could use one as well." Hinata said while petting a weary Akamaru.

"I do, but you all need to take every chance to let your bodies recover normally. Too much rapid healing will be detrimental in the long run. Plus, all these healing methods from Gohan and Videl's world are better off used as a last resort so we don't run out of them in a pinch." Sakura explained.

"Fair enough." Kiba said as he stretched out his legs, figuring he might as well get comfortable.

"Hey guys, just a heads-up. The stew should be done by now." Videl informed as she was currently serving Ino her own personal bowl.

"Oh, now you're talking." Kiba whooped as he leapt to his feet, completely ignoring his earlier fatigue.

Hinata, Shino, and Akamaru all eagerly followed behind him. Videl smiled at her work being appreciated. She wasn't usually the one to cook back home with Gohan so her cooking wasn't anywhere near his level. Still, the ninjas didn't seem to mind. They pulled out their travel bowls and attacked the pot, inhaling her stew like it was the best meal they had ever tasted. It was just as her father had always told her. Nothing made a hearty meal taste better than having it post a tough fight.

"Videl, Sakura, I need you both over here for a debriefing." Kakashi ordered.

* * *

Sometime later, back in the Leaf village, Tsunade was sitting at her desk going over the report her Jounin Commander Shikaku Nara had sent her about the strength of the Leaf forces and their preparedness for a possible invasion by the Frost Demon and his army.

 _'We'll have to recall this season's graduated Genin back to the Academy. Their Jounin instructors will be better served in the main forces should the fighting come to our borders. Or perhaps they could be substituted for Chunin from Journeyman squads. Restrict the Genin squads to only D-ranked missions within the walls of the Leaf? It would ensure the young "buddlings" were kept busy and calm. Then again, the absolute safest thing would be to send the Genin and the civilians scattering to the wind. If a team of Ki users do come, the village bunker won't do any good. If they're even a thousandth as strong as Gohan they will just blow a hole in the side of the Hokage Mountain. Better to send them scattering and prevent the innocents from being taken out in one big Ki blast.'_ Tsunade put down her pen and leaned back in her chair. _'But of course, sending handfuls of civilians across the countryside is just asking for trouble. Nevermore trying to find enough squads to adequately protect them all, we would never have enough. Plus, the logistics of keeping them housed and fed for God knows how long. And I can just hear those shrill voices from the Civilian Council begging me to tell them what I expect to do about all the business and aspects of our economy that will halt when our entire population is sent on an exodus.'_ Tsunade groaned. It was so damn frustrating being in charge of so many lives, protecting so many "budding leaves." She was proud of her job, but Sweet Sage did it wear her down.

 _'Grandpa...Great Uncle Tobirama...Sensei...I don't know how you guys did it. Leading during an impending war.'_ Tsunade thought privately to herself.

A few quick knocks from the door awoke Tsunade from her thoughts.

"Enter." Tsunade said as she rubbed her eyes.

The door opened to reveal Tsunade's back-up secretary whenever Shizune wasn't around. A small, beautiful young lady, frail like a bird, peeked her head in through a crack in the open door.

"L-lady Hokage. Jounin Kakashi has a report for you via radio transmission." She said meekly.

Tsunade pondered this. Whatever this report was, Kakashi wanted it on the record. "Thank you. Have the Communication Boys patch him through to my office." Tsunade order.

"Yes, Ma'am." The secretary squeaked before darting back behind the door.

Tsunade pushed off of her desk and opened one of the secret drawers containing her private radio. A second later, one of the lights turned on and she clicked the respective button. She then picked up the receiver and held it up to her lips.

"Kakashi, this is your Lady Hokage. Go ahead with your report, over."

"Lady Tsunade. Be advised, we have set up our base of operations near the objective site. At 1100 hours; myself, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino went out to track down Kabuto and his men. We encountered dead Ice soldiers. I say again, we have confirmed that Ice's forces have landed on the planet's surface."

Tsunade's grip tightened on her radio. It was just as she feared. She had hoped and prayed that the alien invaders could stay hidden for a few more days. Just until they completed this mission and nipped one major threat in the bud. Yet that would be too easy. She almost didn't want to ask her next question.

"Have you sighted Ice yet? Can you confirm that their leader is on the planet?"

"Negative. We have only encountered foot soldiers so far. Correction, we also encountered a curse mark user buried in a pile of dead Ice soldiers. We believe him to be an agent of Kabuto's."

"You say that you found a dead Sound ninja among the alien corpses?"

"Negative, I'm sorry my Lady. The man was unconscious when he found him. Upon resuscitating him, he attacked myself and my squad without provocation. His was the strongest curse mark we have ever encountered, we had no choice but to kill him." Kakashi clarified. "My squad was banged up, but nothing serious. We brought the corpse back to base. Shizune and Sakura are preforming an autopsy as we speak."

Tsunade pondered this. "Have Shizune contact me via this channel as soon as she's done."

"10-4. My Lady I must also inform you that at 1100 hours I also sent our Team Asuma to investigate the Lake. At approximately 1130 hours, explosions could be heard all the way back at base camp. Team Asuma was ambushed by Ice soldiers and were scattered." Kakashi said grimly. "Naruto went off on his own to investigate after leaving his post, guarding the perimeter. He was joined by Sakura and Videl. Together they counter ambushed a platoon of Ice soldiers and took them hostage. They also found Choji and Ino out in the forest. Choji received a major casualty. His leg was blown off. I presume by a Ki blast. Sakura and Shizune managed to stabilize him. He is now resting here in base. Ino seems to be suffering from an onset of PTSD. We hope that some time will snap her out of this. Asuma and Shikamaru are still unaccounted for. Naruto is currently looking for them, but I will call him back soon."

"You let Naruto go off on his own?" Tsunade demanded.

"I didn't have a choice. Team 7 decided this on his own." Kakashi said.

Tsunade sighed. _'Now what do I do? Do I send in Gohan's team?'_ she wondered to herself.

"What about finding Kabuto?" She asked.

"We had his trail, but a storm formed here and we lost it."

"Damn." Tsunade said privately to herself. She keyed the radio. "I can have Gohan and his men down there in 5 minutes. Just say the word."

"Negative. We already contacted Gohan via telepathy and advised him to stay behind and train his soldiers until we spotted Ice."

"Considering that two of my ninjas are missing, one is seriously injured and our knucklehead is out there somewhere BY himself, while the Akatsuki could be out there looking for Jinchuriki, I would feel better if his team was there. Need I remind you that just the appearance of Ice Soldiers and the fact there are dead ones, more are going to come which makes this a global threat now." Tsunade said firmly.

"Yes, but bluntly speaking. Only those accustomed to gravity training could stand up to Ice and his men. That number includes all of us present at the base, the Neo Z Fighters, plus a handful of ninjas you have remaining in the Leaf. If we are to succeed, we must utilize our resources sparingly." Kakashi wisely stated.

"You have some. Videl shouldn't be fighting. Remember, she is pregnant and I don't think I need to remind you that Shizune is as well."

"I don't plan on having either of them fight if we can't help it. My hope is that in the time it takes for Ice to make an appearance the Neo Z Fighters can be trained up enough to pose a real threat. Then I would advise you to send in your best Jounin into the Gravity Room as soon as they leave. These are dire straits, my Lady. We have encountered more Ice soldiers than anticipated."

That was when Kakashi paused when he heard the door quickly open.

All eyes turned to see none other than Naruto carrying a limping figure inside. "I could use some help over here!" Naruto called out.

"Asuma!" Videl exclaimed before she and Sakura rushed to aid him.

"Urh, hey Videl, Sakura." Asuma greeted before letting out a nasty sounding cough.

"What happened? I have Lady Tsunade on the line-"

"Good...Tell her to send everyone..." Asuma gasped.

"Did you see Ice?" Kakashi asked. Dreading the answer.

"No, worse." Asuma coughed as Videl sat him down while Sakura ran her mystic palm over his chest.

"He's got four broken ribs. It's like he was kicked by a mule." Sakura reported.

"I wish it was that...I was attacked by Akatsuki... They're working with Ice..." Asuma said grimly.

"What?!" Everyone shouted.

"What!?" Tsunade cried over the radio.

"Back when we were ambushed. There was this giant white bird flying overhead. It rained down these white bombs on us. It tore up any chance we had at staging a counterattack. Then he flew away once we had been routed. I looked back and saw very clearly a blond man wearing a black cloak with red cloud designs." Asuma said before hacking up a handful of blood.

"Now it's not up for debate, Kakashi. I'm mobilizing every Shinobi I can spare and I'm turning this mission over to Gohan." Tsunade said sternly.

Kakashi sighed in defeat. His hands were tied now. "Very well."

"I will be sending five platoons of Leaf ninjas to your location immediately. They should arrive in two days. And I will have Gohan and his Forces teleport there immediately."

"Understood." Kakashi said.

Tsunade put away her radio. Their enemy was here. The fate of the Leaf village and perhaps the entire world would be decided in the coming days.

Tsunade was once again broken out of her thoughts when the door swung open and in stepped a brown haired young man with a blue scarf, followed by his two friends/teammates and their embarrassed Jounin sensei.

"Konohamaru, you can't just barge in like that!" Mogei, the kunoichi of the team berated.

"Oh relax, Mogei. It's fine." Konohamaru waved off.

"In fact, it is." Tsunade said, an idea having popped into her head. "I have a very special mission for you 3."

"And what would that be?" Ebisu said.

"A very special and important mission...an A rank." Tsunade smirked.

"A-an A rank?!" Ebisu exclaimed as sweat formed on his brow. His students on the other hand were nearly jumping for joy.

"Yes, an A rank." Tsunade said. "I just received word from Kakashi, who his team along with teams 8, 9 and 10 are on a S rank mission, that their mission has hit a critical point. Our Frost Demon threat, Ice, has reared his ugly face...they have encountered several squads of soldiers belonging to Ice and they need immediate back up."

The collective mouths of Team Esibu dropped. Was Tsunade really asking them what they thought she was asking them?

"So I need you three to relay this message to Gohan immediately and then go train in the Gravity Room until further notice." Tsunade said, disappointing everyone except Ebisu.

 _'Phew...that was close...'_ Ebisu thought.

"Oh come on! That's not an A rank mission!" Konohamaru protested.

"It is when I say it is. Now hop to it! There isn't a moment to waste." Tsunade barked.

"Why the gravity room?" Udon asked.

"Simple. You three have already exceeded most of the Jounin from this village in terms of Gravity Training. Therefore, you three will most likely be put on the front lines of village defense. Now get going before I throw you at the training grounds." Tsunade ordered as she cracked her knuckles.

The 3 of them gulped. "Y-yes M'lady!" They all said before scurrying out the door, Ebisu remaining.

"Forgive me, but I thought you were going to send them to aid Kakashi." Ebisu said.

"I may have to if Ice is even an 8th of the strength Gohan says he is." Tsunade said.

Ebisu gulped. "Are...you serious?"

"Yes...already I have one man missing and another one who is missing a leg. And I was just informed that the Akatsuki are aiding Ice as well."

"Oh...great..." Ebisu said fearfully.

"Yes...which is why I need every hand possible to fight off this threat. I'm going to get in touch with the other nations to see if they can send aid. In the meantime, you should join your students in the gravity room. You may be needed as well." Tsunade said.

"But...but..." Ebisu stuttered.

"Come on, sensei, let's go!" Konohamaru shouted as he shoved his Jounin instructor out the door to get a move on.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the gravity chamber...

"Alright, take 10." Gohan ordered before shutting the machine off. It had read 71x normal gravity before it dropped down to 1.

Upon its return to normal, everyone collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. They had been training nonstop for hours. Only catching a break to eat a senzu bean and recover their energy. The lack of a natural break time finally caught up with them.

"71x gravity. You are all doing great." Gohan praised.

"Aaaaaaaaaa..." They all groaned like a herd of beached whales.

"I know it may seem I'm pushing you guys too hard. Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if we weren't needed at any moment. But you are all doing a great job and I'm very impressed." Gohan said as he handed out water and sports drinks.

Everyone just panted and snatched the drinks as soon as they were in arm's reach. They each chugged it down like they had never tasted liquids before.

Suddenly, the door swung open hard and Konohamaru rushed in.

"Gohan! Lady Tsunade said you and your team are needed immediately!" He exclaimed.

"What? What happened?!" Gohan exclaimed.

"They said Naruto's platoon got ambushed. I think three people are injured and one is missing. They also spotted Ice soldiers and they think the Akatsuki is working with Ice." Konohamaru said quickly.

That immediately got everyone's attention. If the Akatsuki are involved, this was more serious than they thought.

"Is Shikamaru okay?" Temari demanded with concern.

"I don't know. Is he the one missing?" Konohamaru asked Udon.

"I don't know. Lady Tsunade didn't say." Udon replied.

Temari gripped her already sore fists tightly. Not even half a day since they had gone on a mission and the lazy idiot had already gotten himself missing in action.

"His team was the one that got ambushed." Ebisu clarified.

"We're leaving. Now. Everyone, get ready. We're teleporting there now." Gohan ordered.

"You got it, boss." Chiro chirped as she tried to stand up, only to feel a knife stabbing the inside of her muscles. "AAAH! Charlie horse!" She cried as she fell back on her butt. Her father tried to crawl over to help her, but he quickly found his own muscle that he had pulled and flinched.

Gohan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "eat a senzu and get ready to move." He said before tossing his pouch of senzu beans in the middle of them.

"We've been eating senzu beans all day. Can't we rest?" Din moaned as he massaged his thigh muscles.

"You can rest when we get there, for now, just take a bean." Gohan said sternly.

"Um, Gohan?" Ebisu spoke up. "Perhaps it would be better for them to rest up here, where it is safe. Before taking them to an active combat zone."

"Lady Tsunade said for Gohan and his team to go." Konohamaru spoke up.

"Yet Gohan and his Neo Z Fighters are not employed by any of the Ninja Villages or their Kages. He can choose where to send his troops and when. I am merely suggesting that these ninja are too exhausted to be of any help to anyone." Ebisu stated, readjusting his glasses.

"I'm fine, let's go." Temari demanded as she stood up like there was nothing wrong with her.

Gohan got a good look at her and noticed how much her knees were quivering, just to exert enough force to stand up. He sighed. "No you are not. Everyone, get out of the Gravity Room." Gohan ordered.

"What? But Gohan!" Temari said.

"You need to rest more. I understand you're worried about Shikamaru, but I made a promise to Kakashi not to send everyone in until we've confirmed that Ice is on the planet."

Temari wanted to argue, but she was far too smart to not see the logic in his words. They were all too exhausted to be of help to anyone.

"Fine." Temari said before heading outside to breath her first breath of fresh air in hours.

"All of you just relax. Get to know each other more. Get a meal, do some meditating. I'm going to go find out what's going on." Gohan said before teleporting away.

The Neo Z Fighters all looked at one another, confused at being left alone so abruptly.

"So..." Kankuro said, getting everyone's attention. "Anyone else up for a group luncheon? Sis, you stay here often enough. What's a good restaurant in the Leaf?"

Temari looked at her brother, knowing exactly what he was trying to do.

"I can never stop hearing praise for Ichiraku's." Temari said.

"Alright, sweet. What do the rest of you guys say? You in?" Kankuro asked.

"Sure. I'm game." Fu said.

"I'd love to." Chiro chirped.

"Haven't had ramen in ages." Jinkura said.

"Oh...what the Hell." Rai said, having had ramen in ages either. Once all agreed, the group filed up and left to grab a bowl of ramen.

As they headed out, Temari's eyes lingered on the clouds. _'Shikamaru. You idiot. Be safe.'_ She thought.

* * *

A thousand miles away, said genius idiot was finally stirring away, his head spinning and his mouth tasting iron.

"Ugh...my head..." Shikamaru groaned as he tried to sit up.

His mind was so foggy. Was he hit on the head? He grasped his temples. He could just faintly remember a battle. His team was under attack. Then some explosions rang out. And then...nothing.

He looked up to check his surroundings. All he could see was walls made with some kind of metal and bars directly in front of him.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Where do you think you are, genius?" A female voice berated him.

Shikamaru turned his head to see an angry looking girl with red glasses and long red hair, as red as Naruto's mother. "And just who are you?"

"What's it matter to you?" The woman asked.

"Figured I could learn your name and use it whenever I needed to get your attention." Shikamaru replied.

The woman sighed. "Karin..."

"Shikamaru." The Nara heir replied as he stepped forward to inspect the bars. He reached out his hand and was violently zapped with electricity.

"Hey Shikamaru, be careful, the bars are electrocuted." Karin said dryly.

"Wonderful..." Shikamaru sighed. "So where are we?"

"In a cell." Karin said, holding up her hands in a dramatic fashion. "If you want a less sarcastic answer, then I don't know. I was knocked unconscious and dragged in here."

"I can't remember much either...we were ambushed by Ice Soldiers and-"

"Wait...Ice Soldiers?" Karin asked.

"You don't know about Ice?" Shikamaru asked.

"No I don't. Who's Ice?"

"The leader of all the alien soldiers who captured the both of us. Perhaps the most powerful living being in the universe." Shikamaru said.

"Yea, right. No one is that strong." Karin scoffed.

"Are you a ninja?" Shikamaru asked as he paced along the wide wall of cell bars, inspecting every inch of his cell.

"A medical ninja, yes. As well as a sensory type. What of it?"

"A sensory type. Did you sense that huge power source a week ago?"

"No. I was busy with other things."

"What had you so busy that you couldn't sense that overwhelming force heading towards the planet?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"That's none of your business!" Karin snapped.

Shikamaru held up his hands defensively. "Okay, easy. You don't want to tell me, you don't have to tell me."

Karin just huffed before turning away.

Shikamaru sighed. _'What a drag.'_ He leaned against the wall opposite Karin and jumped back when a panel opened up to reveal what Shikamaru would describe as an alien toilet.

Once the toilet realized it wasn't going to be used, it retracted back into the wall.

Karin turned back to see the gears turning in Shikamaru's head. "Forget it. I've already tried escaping that way. It didn't work."

"Why don't you explain to me what you have tried? Help me think outside the box." Shikamaru requested.

"Anything you could think of, I've tried. Anytime I think I've made a successful attempt, the guards swarm on me." Karin informed.

"And how long have you been imprisoned?"

"I don't know...almost a day?"

"And you've made how many escape attempts?" Shikamaru asked.

"Over a dozen...Where are you going with this?"

"Not sure yet. It's just impressive is all. A dozen escape attempts in a day." Shikamaru shrugged.

"So?" Karin insisted, growing angry.

"I seem to know a lot more about these aliens than you do. But what I don't know is why they would keep you alive after a dozen escape attempts."

"Because of my clans Kekkei Genkai..." Karin said listlessly.

"And what Kekkei Genkai would that be?" Shikamaru asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Not more than I would like to know what aliens would want with Kekkei Genkai. Or that they would know what a Kekkei Genkai is."

Karin sighed. "My blood has healing properties... It was common among the Uzumaki clan.

"Really? Because I've met a handful of Uzumakis and they never mentioned healing Kekkei Genkai. Longevity, sure. But not healing."

"You must not know them very well. My clan has several different Kekkei Genkai. The healing one is just one of them."

"Well the Uzumaki clan isn't very prominent at the moment. It would be a rare thing to meet an average shinobi that knows of them. Which leads me back to my question, how do our captors know of you and your clan's Kekkei Genkai?" Shikamaru pressed.

"Simple...They are working with the Akatsuki. I've seen a few go past this cell."

"Bullshit. Why would they work with the Akatsuki? They are here to wipe out or enslave life on this planet. Why would they work with a terrorist organization from this planet?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I was attacked by those Ice soldiers as you call them and separated from my group. They captured me, then one of those Akatsuki bastards recognized me for my clan and told them I would be useful to them." Karin defended.

Shikamaru sighed heavily.

"So, Yea. I know about as much as you do right now." Karin huffed.

"So, it seems." Shikamaru said just as the door in the hallway slid open and six Ice soldiers came pouring in ahead of two figures casually walking inside. Shikamaru noticed one of the two commanders was wearing a black and red cloud coat. The soldiers took their positions in front of the cell and began barking orders at Shikamaru and Karin.

"Prisoners! Hug the wall and place your hands behind your head!" One of the soldiers shouted.

Karin immediately faced away from the cells and did as she was instructed. Shikamaru however kept his eyes fixated on the Akatsuki member and the commander of the Ice soldiers. He was a tall fellow, as taller than Shikamaru, with an extremely athletic build covered head to toe in the same armor as the rest of his soldiers, minus any kind of shoulder pads. His chest armor and leg skirts were all metal black with faded red outlines. Shikamaru figured this commander wasn't just a leader by rank. He was a seasoned warrior that could absolutely hold his own. The other thing of note was the man's helmet. He had on a glass visor that completely obscured his face and seemed to act as a heads up display for the wearer, judging by the lights dancing against the inside of the glass.

As for the Akatsuki member, he was also a tall man, with black facial piercings and long orange hair. Neither he, nor the Ice commander spoke a word or acknowledged Shikamaru staring at them.

"Did you hear me, punk? I said hug the wall!" The Ice soldier shouted again.

"Shut up." Shikamaru said listlessly.

"What was that? You dirty monkey!" The guard spat.

"You heard me." Shikamaru said as he clapped his hands together in a hand sign. His shadow shot out from under his feet like a tentacle, slipping though the cell bars, and attached itself with the Ice Soldier to the far left. The Ice soldier with green skin and one of the alien hand cannons. Before anyone could figure out what was going on the possessed soldier raised his weapon and shot his comrade standing next to him.

"Kiwi, what the Hell?" Another soldier cried, but Kiwi kept shooting his allies. One of his friends tried to restrain him, but Shikamaru performed some shadow boxing and Kiwi knocked his friend flat on his ass. Shikamaru then had Kiwi shoot his friend before turning his gun on the two commanders.

"Most impressive..." The commander with the armor commented. He spoke with an electronic voice, like his words were simulated.

"However..." He continued before he raised his hand and vaporized the soldier. "Not impressive enough..."

Shikamaru flinched when he felt the alien die while he was controlling him. His commander didn't even hesitate when he killed him.

"Now get on your knees." The Ice commander ordered.

Shikamaru glared at the commander before a dark red aura erupted around him, Ki blasts charged in his hands. "How about you make me."

"No, no, no!" Karin begged.

The man wordlessly raised his fingers to his helmet and pressed a button on the side. "Okay."

The cell room hummed with energy and exploded with lightning, Shikamaru found his back being thrown back and his arms seizing up. His every inch was being electrocuted.

After 2 agonizing seconds, the electricity shut off and the two prisoners fell to their knees, convulsing.

"I must admit...it's unusual for an Elementian to have such power." The man said.

"I believe you will find that a lot of the Leaf Shinobi will have similar powers, thanks to two Saiyan's who have made their home there." The Akatsuki man said.

"I see..." The man said emotionlessly.

Shikamaru opened his eyes. The Akatsuki and the Ice soldiers all knew about that? This wasn't good.

The Akatsuki man turned to face Shikamaru's gaze. "Don't look so surprised. We've had agents in your village during your fight in Hell. We know a lot more than you think..."

"So, then what do you need me for? Why not just kill me?" Shikamaru spat.

"In time, we will." The masked man said. "But before then, you will give us the coordinates to your Saiyan friends. Do so, and we'll make your passing quick and painless. But if you procrastinate..." The man said before electrifying the cell again. "Your deaths will be as painful and prolonged as possible."

"Hey, I already told you all I know! Leave me out of his bravado!" Karin shouted.

"Be quiet, your purpose will come soon." The man said to Karin.

"I don't care. Go ahead and torture me. to death. I won't sell out my friends." Shikamaru stated, his words burning with the resolve of the Leaf's infamous Will of Fire.

"You won't have to willingly...Pain, you know what to do."

"I cannot do it without physical contact. You will have to restrain him." Pain stated emotionlessly.

The masked man stared at his partner for three seconds, processing his words.

"Very well. Open the cell." The masked man ordered. Immediately the cell bars split horizontally in half and disappeared up into the ceiling and floors.

Before Shikamaru could make a move to escape, he felt the masked man's knee in his gut. The Nara was knocked back into the wall and had a single moment to register his pain before he was grabbed by the masked man and thrown to his knees. His arms were yanked behind him and forced upwards. His head was then yanked back by his ponytail. He was completely immobilized in less than a blink of an eye. Now Shikamaru was frightened. This guy put Freeza to shame. Shikamaru had never seen anyone move that fast except for Gohan.

"Your subject is ready, Pain." The masked man said over Shikamaru. "And you." He held out his forearm, pointing what was no doubt a wrist mounted laser at Karin. "Do not even think of trying to escape."

Karin froze in place, having no intentions of trying anything of the sort.

The man named Pain walked inside the cell and faced Shikamaru. He tried to struggle. Use his strength he had acquired from all his Gravity Training or to bring his hands together in hand signs, but he couldn't do it. Pain placed his hands upon Shikamaru forehead without opposition. Time seemed to slow down. Shikamaru's pupils dilated and his mind went blank.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Yowza, Team Asuma sure had a rough time with it. Oh man, I just now regret not taking off Choji's arm. Could have made a pun about him needing a hand. Ah well, the Ice arc is still young.**

 **Anyway, we are going to focus on updating all the other stories we have. And since we have…how many? LoH, Star Trek, TS, Zelda, and now Slug. That makes…five. Holy crap. So yeah, might be a couple of weeks before the next update to this story. What with classes and real life and all. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review to tell us how we did.**


	36. Chapter 36: No rest for the Weary

**Author's Note from Panda: Hey everyone, we're back. We also got over 200 reviews last chapter, so here is an omake to celebrate. Or you can just skip over it if you choose. Do what you want, I'm not your mother.**

* * *

Meanwhile on the set of Legacy of Heroes, everyone was standing around going over the scripts or helping with set design while the two directors sat on their recliners typing away the future scripts. Naruto then burst through the front door and ran to find his friends and co-stars. He ducked past the glorious and handsome directors and leapt over a spaceship prop that two set designers were carrying before he found Gohan, Videl, and Sakura all sitting atop the miniature replica of the Hokage Mountain used for establishing shots of the Leaf, but was now a fun hangout spot for the actors ever since the production team started using CGI.

"Guys, guys!" Naruto cried as he ran up to them clutching his smart phone.

"What's up?" Sakura asked.

"Check this out!" Naruto said as he held up his Samsung Galaxy S5 with the browser tab opened to and Cmartin-Panda Production's page.

"Check it out, we did it!" Naruto cheered.

"Did what? I don't see it." Videl asked.

"Look." Naruto said as he scrolled down the page until he came upon the Legacy of Heroes story. There, right next to it, was 201 reviews.

"Holy shit...I don't believe it!" Videl cheered.

"What's the big deal?" Gohan asked. "I mean sure, over 200 reviews is a lot. But it's not like we hit a thousand. Now that is a milestone."

"That's not the point, Gohan. Don't you get it? We got to 200 reviews before the Star Trek guys did." Naruto said as he scrolled back up to show Naruto and Sakura's Five Year Mission only having 169 reviews. "We beat them!"

"I wonder what our adult selves would think about that? Personally, I don't think I would like being in space." Sakura smirked.

"I was gonna call them to rub it in their faces." Naruto smirked.

"Oh please do! Although, I do like our future daughter." Sakura gushed.

"Yeah, she is cute. I can't believe our writers wanted to kill her off." Videl stated.

"Yeah, really...ooohh...if I wasn't afraid of getting fired I'd clobber their asses." Sakura grumbled.

"I HEARD THAT!" Cmartin shouted from the other room.

"Chris, Chris, calm down." Panda said.

"I am calm. If I wasn't calm, I'd make her a civilian nurse in the next story." Cmartin shrugged.

"Oh please, you'd still let her keep her Mystic Palm Technique. You were about to when we tried that Emergency crossover." Panda pointed out.

"Yeah, I still wanna do that, just gotta rethink it is all."

"There is no conflict, not unless we want to rewrite Naruto and Sakura falling in love...again..." Panda reminded him.

"That's what I'm rethinking."

"But it's so over done..." Panda groaned.

"No not that. I'm thinking about some kind of-"

"Yea so suck it!" They heard Naruto laugh.

"-conflict. I have a few ideas though."

"Hold on, what they are talking about seems more interesting." Panda said as he typed into his laptop about Naruto, Gohan, Videl, and Sakura all sitting around the set for Legacy of Heroes, sending a voicemail to the stars of Five Year Mission.

Naruto hung up his phone and smiled. "Aw, that was great." Naruto sighed.

"Well, yea. I had the same idea you had." Sakura spoke on her phone. "No, I wanna wait a bit longer...well, yeah, if it came to that then I would...alright, see you around and good luck to getting 200...it'll come just be patient...alright, see ya." She then hung up her phone.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked.

"The other me." Sakura said simply.

"Which other you? There are..." Naruto looks down to check his phone. "...Five other yous. Unless we are counting the you from that Time Travel story Samuraipanda85 is posting on his own page. But then we have to count the you from his first story and I'm not holding out on him picking that up again."

"The Star Trek me you dummy..." Sakura deadpanned.

"Does the discontinued Transfer Students count?" Gohan asked.

"Oh right. Did you tell her to suck it too?" Naruto asked.

"No, of course not. We're actually good friends and we talk quite often. Did you know she got pregnant off set by your other you? It really made the story progress when she did."

"Not me...It was on set. Because SOMEONE didn't put his condom on." Videl grumbled before giving Gohan the stink eye.

"They told me not to. They said that Saiyans were too powerful for condoms." Gohan defended.

"It wasn't really a full moon and I'm not really a Saiyan. Just in this story I am."

"But I am." Gohan said.

"So? Your mom even said your dad wore one from time to time."

"That's not the point. The directors told me not to wear one so I didn't."

"Yeah that figures...Once this set is done, I'm suing them."

"Good luck, we can control your thoughts." Panda shouted from his director's chair.

"Only on the set you do! My dad may be a liar and a cheat, but at least he has the best lawyers."

"Oh yeah?" Panda asked as he typed into his laptop. Videl's phone began to ring.

"Hello?" Videl answered.

"Videl...sweetie...its daddy..." Hercule sniffed on the other end.

"Dad...? What's wrong?" Videl asked.

"It's...it's...my fortune. I don't know how or why, but it's gone." Hercule cried. "My accountant just called me and said all my fortune is gone. I'm broke."

"You receive a regular income of several million zenni a month, so I'm not really worried about it."

"And my manager just called me. He said I'm fired. No one will hire me. I have no more income coming in." Hercule cried.

"What? How?!"

"I don't know. I didn't do anything. It just happened." Hercule cried.

"I can keep this up all day!" Panda shouted.

"You motherfucker! I'll kill you!" Videl shouted.

"You really can't do that, Panda." Cmartin said.

"I can do whatever I want! I am a God!" Panda cried as he typed into his laptop, Videl then exploded into smoke and reformed as a man.

"What the Hell?" Videl cried in a deeper voice.

"If they aren't working on the set, then it's infringing upon the canon story written by the original writer. We could face major legal action if you don't stop this."

"Oh please, nobody cares so long as we don't make money off of our stories." Panda said as he turned Videl's skin purple.

"I hate the color yellow." Videl realized. She didn't know why she said it, she just did.

"Just stop...Or else we lose our cast."

"Um, shouldn't we be thanking the fans or something?" Sakura asked. "For the 200 reviews?"

"Yeah, what she said. Just reverse everything."

"Fine. Just so long as they remember who is in charge." Panda said as he wrote Videl back to normal.

 _'Fucking bastard...'_ Videl thought angrily.

Panda typed into his laptop.

 _'He's so clever though.'_ Videl thought.

"Panda..." Cmartin said, giving him a knowing look. "She's entitled to her own opinions and we gotta move this along."

"You're the one who made her think those thoughts. I'm just responding accordingly." Panda said.

"Um...No, actually. My computer is sleeping right now so..."

"Oh, for the love of God." Gohan said. "Thank you all the support and your continued support. Cmartin and Panda appreciated it so much. And we thank you for your patience in waiting for the latest chapter. So, without further ado...we hope you enjoy chapter 36 of Legacy of Heroes."

"Yup. Your views and reviews keep us employed so please continue supporting us." Sakura smiled.

"Wait, if these stories are nonprofit, then how are we getting paid?" Naruto asked, making all the actors and workers stop dead in their tracks.

"Oh...son of a BITCH!" Videl cried.

"It keeps people who have crappy lives something to look forward to and the boys on my fire department give me a lot of encouragement and love the story. That should be enough." Cmartin stated. "Think of it as helping the common man."

"So, this is charity work? I've got bills to pay!" Sakura cried.

"You've got the hospital, remember?" Gohan pointed out.

"It hardly matters. You're all figments of our collective imaginations anyway." Panda said before the entire world faded away into a blank white void. Leaving only him and Cmartin seated next to each other. "We need to end this, it's getting too meta for my tastes." Panda said.

"Yeah alright."

 **"Enjoy, everyone." Panda said.**

* * *

Meanwhile, back at forward base, Sakura and Shizune were still hard at work healing the wounded. The surprise attack on their friends was bad enough, but the thought of additional attacks to come was something they couldn't bear to dwell on. Not with everything else they have to tend to.

It was at that moment that Gohan phased into the building, looking upon all of his injured friends and a very mentally distraught Ino.

"Oh god..." Gohan breathed out in horror.

"Gohan...?" He heard Videl gasp out.

"Videl." Gohan said as he rushed to his girlfriend's side.

"Oh, thank the Sage...it's bad here." She said as she pounced him for everything she was worth, to which Gohan embraced her for all he was worth.

"I can see that, what happened?" Gohan asked while Sakura and Shizune attended to Choji. Team Kurenai sat on the sidelines looking like Hell. And Asuma knelt over Ino trying to comfort her.

"As I told you earlier, we were ambushed by Ice's men." Videl reminded him.

"And how is everyone holding up?" Gohan asked.

"We dished out more than we took, but Choji lost his leg." Videl informed.

"Oh my God." Gohan breathed as he took another glance at Choji. His breathing was steadier than it had been before Sakura and Shizune started operating, but it still looked very shallow to Gohan.

"He'll live...but..." Videl said with uncertainty in her tone.

"Videl, don't worry. The Konoha Hospital has ways of replacing a limb. Its very common in the ninja world." Gohan reassured.

"Oh I know. that's not what I'm worried about." Videl said concerningly as she looked over at Ino.

"I wouldn't worry about her." Asuma said from over at Ino's side.

"What's wrong with her?" Gohan asked.

"Shellshock, but remember that PTSD is a mental condition, which Ino's clan specializes in." Asuma reminded them before whispering in Ino's ear. The poor girl listened carefully to her master before her eyes snapped awake and she flashed through a series of hand signs. "Mind Clearing no Jutsu!" Ino cried as the fog behind her eyes began to lift.

"Was that it? Is that what can help her?" Videl asked.

"It already did." Ino answered as she stood back up, like she had just snapped out of a daze.

"Oh good. I was worried." Videl sighed in relief.

"Yeah, sorry about that. My mind would clouded from the trauma. I couldn't remember to use the jutsu. I'm fine now." Ino declared as she clutched her head.

"It's okay, real-Ooof!" Videl grunted as she was talked by Ino.

"Thank you so much for being there for me...It means a lot to me..." Ino said as she hugged Videl.

"You're welcome. I'm just sorry I didn't know about that jutsu of yours. I could have helped you sooner." Videl said as she returned the hug.

"Next time you'll know to remind me..."

Videl raised an eyebrow. "That's it? There's no kind of a secret code or trigger words that will remind your PSTD mind to use that jutsu?"

"No. PTSD is basically the inability to keep the bad and terrifying memories in a box. I can still understand you, I just have my mind racing at the time." Ino explained.

"Oh...wish I had known that sooner."

"It's alright. We can't expect you to know this and you do now. Although I would expect a certain best friend of mine to know this." Ino scoffed.

"Kind of busy here, saving your boyfriend's life." Sakura replied sarcastically,

"Oh shit...That's right..." Ino realized in horror before running to Choji's side.

"Ino, don't worry about it. He's stable. He's just going to be out of the fight for the rest of the mission." Sakura said as she continued to pump mystic palm chakra into his leg, making his skin grow over his wound.

"Oh god...Choji..." Ino breathed out while she nearly pulled at her hair. "When we were ambushed, we got separated. Shikamaru got captured by Ice soldiers and I could've sworn I saw Akatsuki aiding them."

"There were Akatsuki agents aiding them." Asuma confirmed. "If I'm remembering the file correctly. The one we encountered was Deidara. The same one Team Kakashi and Team Gai faced back in their mission to rescue Gaara."

"Shit..." Ino said in despair.

"Great...just what we need." Gohan sighed.

"And you said that Shikamaru was captured too?" Gohan said.

"Yes...where they took him, I don't know. Knowing the Akatsuki, they're gonna try to probe his mind to gather information on us. But I know what Ice and his men are after...you and Videl."

"Never mind us. If they get to Shikamaru, then they'll know the location of this base. And that Naruto is with us. Speaking of, where is he?" Gohan asked.

"Outside on guard duty." Sakura informed.

"Are you sure about that? Cause I can sense him a mile away from this base and running farther away from it still." Gohan stated.

"What..." Sakura growled.

"Don't worry, I'll go grab him. You guys just move this base in case they manage to interrogate Shikamaru like you said." Gohan said before he stood up and ran out the door.

"It might be too late for that." Videl said seriously as she panned her eyes to the window. "I sense a large group nearby."

"No way. Shikamaru is from the Nara clan. My clan has trained his clan and Choji's clan to resist mental interrogations. There is no way he could have given up information that quickly." Ino defended.

"Then maybe they found us by coincidence. In any case, get ready for battle." Kakashi ordered.

"Videl, how many do you sense?" Gai asked.

"40-no...60 at least...and one really strong one." Videl reported.

"She's right...that one guy is very strong. He would give me a run for my money as a Super Saiyan." Gohan said grimly.

"Neji, can you confirm our platoon of attackers is headed our way?" Kakashi radioed.

"Confirmed. A platoon of over 60 troops are heading to your location fast." Neji reported.

"Alright, Team 3, retreat. Disappear into the trees and slip behind the enemy. Be mindful that they have Scouters that can detect your energy, so lower your chakra. We'll head outside to meet the enemy while you four attack them from the rear when the moment presents itself." Kakashi ordered.

"Understood." Neji replied.

"Videl, I want you and Shizune to take the injured somewhere safe." Gohan ordered.

"On it." Videl said as she stood up to help Shizune pack away all the medical supplies.

"I can still fight." Kiba declared, he and the rest of his team stood up to make their point.

"You're benched for now. You three, Asuma, and Ino. The rest of us will cover your escape." Kakashi stated.

"Sakura...Remember our tag team move?" Gohan asked.

"Yea, why?" Sakura asked.

"I think we're gonna need it."

"You're really worried about this one strong guy?" Sakura asked.

"If I had to compare him to someone I fought before, I'd put him up there with Cell's level." Gohan said grimly.

Sakura gulped but remained serious. "Oh goodie... Alright, you just say the word."

"For now just focus on the soldiers." Gohan advised.

"Right." Sakura said as the two of them plus Kakashi and Yamato headed outside to meet the enemy.

"Keep your eyes open and spread out." Gohan advised.

No one needed reminding twice. The four of them dispersed evenly in front of the house. Sakura tightened her black gloves, Kakashi unveiled his Sharingan, and Yamato cracked his neck.

A gust of wind breezed past their feet.

"Here they come." Gohan said just as the soldiers were upon them.

Like a flash flood, aliens of all shapes and sizes wearing identical armor poured out of the forest. Gohan was ready to charge into them, but they did not attack, instead they continued to run around the four of them in order to encircle them.

"Steady..." Gohan said so only they could hear him.

The Ice soldiers ran around the house until they had the building completely surrounded. Gohan and the others held their ground as the soldiers just stood there and did nothing.

Sakura's eyes scanned the crowd. None of the alien soldiers looked nervous. A few of them were giving her dirty looks, but the rest remained stoic. She was about to speak up when a figure broke through the crowd. He was Gohan's height, wearing black metal armor and wearing a glass visor mask. He stood perfectly upright, not slouched or cocky, like a perfect soldier. Red lights danced across his visor as he scanned the four warriors.

 **"Surrender now."** The man spoke in a robotic voice. **"This is your only warning."**

"What do you want." Gohan demanded.

 **"Your surrender and cooperation."** The man spoke. **"Lord Ice demands it."**

"Not happening. Where is our friend?" Gohan growled.

 **"Take them."** The masked man spoke. As one, his army charged at the house.

 _'Sakura...power up to maximum.'_ Gohan thought to her as he transformed into Super Saiyan, blowing back the soldiers that were charging them and making their scouters explode.

It was then that Sakura turned completely red, like she was a woman possessed by rage.

 **"Impressive display of power...but a display nonetheless."** The man spoke.

"Open fire!" A squad commander shouted. At once, over a dozen Ki blasters were fired at the two warriors.

Gohan deflected each and every blast that came towards them with lightning fast reflexes, not one shot making their mark.

As soon as he struck away the last two, a final beam came directly at him from the front and hit its mark. Gohan was sent flying off his feet like he had just been sucker punched in the chest and skidded to a halt flat on his back.

The mask man just stood up emotionlessly with his arm raised.

 **"Target stronger than anticipated, adjusting power output accordingly."**

"CHA!" Sakura shouted before delivering a chakra enhanced lunch to the man's head, only for it to do nothing. "W-what...?" She looked down and saw that he had caught the punch mere centimeters from his glass visor. This guy was as strong as Gohan!

 **"Pathetic."** The Man said before batting Sakura away like she was a house fly.

"Sakura! Are you okay?!" Kakashi called out.

"I'm fine!" Sakura coughed out.

"Alright, both of you stay back." Kakashi ordered as he clapped his hands together into a tiger seal. "Yamato! Maneuver 14!"

Captain Yamato roared as he slammed his palms together in various hand signs. Before the mask man could recognize what either Jounin was doing, two gigantic pillars of wood sprung out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the masked man. He flexed his muscles, cracking the wood, but the living material merely wrapped around itself, strengthening its hold on the man.

As soon as he was good and secured, Kakashi opened his eyes to reveal his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Kakashi focused his vision on the spot where the masked man's head stuck out of the wood bindings and focused his chakra. The air around his head began to ripple before a tear in the very fabric of existence appeared and the masked man's head snapped back as it was being sucked into the mini black hole.

 **"Is that seriously the best you've got."** The Man said before he broke free of his bonds, sending splinters of wood flying in every direction.

Splinters and chips from the wood began to peel off and fly into the hole. All the while the masked man couldn't move his neck muscles from the vacuum suction.

 **"AAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"** He cried as his glass visor began to crack.

"I think it's working!" Yamato cried, hoping that the man's neck would be ripped clean off. Instead, the man charged a ball of Ki in his hand which Gohan sensed.

"Get down!" Gohan cried as he scooped up both Jounin and shielded them with his body while the masked man let his Ki explode. The shock wave sent huge chunks of wooden shrapnel out in every direction. Riddling the house and tearing up the woods surrounding them. Even a few Ice soldiers were caught in the blast. The ones that weren't engaged in combat with the occupants inside the house.

"That should have sucked him apart..." Kakashi said in horror.

"No...all it did was piss him off. But it gives me an idea. How much chakra do you have after that?" Gohan asked.

"2/3rds left. I've never had to maintain that portal for so long." Kakashi said.

Gohan frowned. "I think its best you stay put. This guy is a lot stronger than he lets on."

"We're out of moves anyway." Yamato admitted.

Gohan looked over at Sakura who was busy taking down the lesser soldiers with ease. "I'll handle the big guy. You two should go help either Sakura or the wounded. Just get everyone as far away from here as possible...I have a feeling this is going to get messy."

"On it. Good luck." Kakashi said as he and Yamato turned their backs on the masked man, leaving Gohan along with him.

 **"So, you plan to fight me alone?"** The masked man asked.

"Fight you? No, I'm gonna kill you." Gohan smirked as he flared his aura up.

 **"I believe you are mistaken."** The masked man said before he flash-stepped right next to Gohan. **"That is my line."** The man vanished and reappeared behind Gohan with a kick to the back of the head, sending the half saiyan flying forward end over end.

Gohan quickly regained control and blasted back towards the masked man, the two of them engaging in a flurry of blows.

"Sweet Sage...I'm glad we let him take the reins." Yamato said as he and Kakashi looked back for a moment.

Gohan then got punched through the third floor of the house before being kick to the ground by the masked man.

 **"You are strong, but you pale in comparison to me."** The masked man said.

"You think so, huh?" Gohan smirked.

"I know so." The masked man said as he aimed a Ki blast at the last place Gohan would expect for close range fighting, his thighs. Gohan flinched in pain, dropping his guard enough to receive another hard punch to the face.

The masked man was suddenly knocked back by a golden glowing kick to the side of his face.

"Don't. Touch. My. Mate." Gohan heard Videl growled as she stood protectively over Gohan while he regained his bearings. The masked man looked up to see Videl standing over his target, glowing gold with rage as her Super Saiyan aura fluctuated wildly.

 **"Nuisance."** The masked man said as he unleashed a Ki blast towards Videl.

Videl deflected it away. Pregnant or not, no one threatened her mate.

The masked man however, was not above hitting a pregnant woman. He flew right behind his Ki blast, obscuring himself from Videl's vision and flew in close enough to land a punch to her chest.

Videl grunted, but held her ground. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Videl! Get back!" Gohan ordered.

Videl tried, but the masked man grabbed ahold of her and wrapped her up in a bear hug, whatever Gohan had planning, Videl would bear the brunt of it too.

"You let her go!" Gohan howled.

 **"Make me."** The masked man dared as he concentrated his Ki into his fingertip and held it next to Videl's neck. Gohan stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his mate being held hostage.

It was then that Videl exploded into smoke like the clone she was, giving Gohan ample opportunity to blindside the man while he was still stunned.

He was sent crashing into the earth while he rolled his body to negate the impact. He righted himself and then fired his Ki beam directly at Gohan's chest. He dodged out the way with just a hair's breadth to spare. The beam slicing through his training outfit as it sailed up into the stratosphere.

 **"A fascinating trick."** The masked man praised. **"It will not work again."**

 _'This isn't good...he's surpassed my first form easily. I'm gonna have to use the second level to get an upper hand.'_ Gohan thought before glaring right at the man. "You want me to show my power? Fine." He said before quickly ascending to the second level.

 **"I did not ask."** The masked man deadpanned. **"Still, if you wish to make things serious..."** The man's glass visor sparked, but the red lights began to dance along its inside, scanning Gohan. His helmet beeped twice. **"Acknowledged. Restriction Level 2 Disengagement: Authorized."** The armor around the masked man began to shift around at the joints, steam began to hiss out of the joints like he was some kind of steam locomotive and Gohan sensed an enormous spike in his power level.

 _'This guy...he just raised his power level back up to my level! What is he?'_

"So, you can raise your power to match mine. Is this your limit?" Gohan asked.

 **"Depends, is that your limit?"** The masked man asked.

"You'll just have to find out." Gohan stated

" **Same for you, then."** He replied.

The two titans of power phased out, completely disappearing from view of any spectators. The ones who were looking for them then heard explosions in the sky above them. The shock waves created from their attacks colliding.

* * *

With Asuma's group, Ino heard the explosions and stopped to see where they were coming from. She couldn't see anything at first, but when she looked up, she could see the ripples in the clouds from the shockwaves as Gohan and the masked man fought.

"Ino, behind you!" Asuma cried when he noticed the lizard man lunging at Ino.

Ino sensed the man coming for her and he was met with her outstretched fist to his face, knocking him out instantly.

"Behind you again!" Asuma shouted as he stabbed his own attacker to death. Ino then twirled around and used her trench knife in her other hand to slit the mushroom headed alien's throat.

Into then spotted an alien aiming a Ki blaster right at her Sensei's head before firing a Ki blast of her own, burning the man to a crisp.

"Hey sensei! Behind you!" Ino teased. Asuma looked back and saw the alien that almost got the drop on him.

"Huh...roasted dumbass. My favorite." Asuma joked.

"Gangway!" Kiba cried as he strangled a brutish yellow alien as big as a grizzly bear as he ran past Asuma and Ino. Kiba's claws dug into the alien's rubbery flesh, but the monster didn't seem to register the pain. So Kiba had to yank his big stupid head to the side and make him fall over like a bull at the rodeo.

Akamaru then leapt onto the alien's belly and started tearing into his neck while Kiba kept him pinned.

"KIBA! MOVE!" Hinata shouted as she leapt into the air. Kiba knew what his girlfriend was doing and leapt right out of the way. Hinata cocked back her arm and charged her palm to the brim with chakra. "Gentle Fist: Lion's Palm!" Hinata cried as she thrust her arm into the rubber alien's back. The alien cried out as his back muscles rippled like water before the ground beneath him cracked and his head slumped forward.

"Nice one, babe." Kiba smirked.

"I told you I don't like being called that." Hinata blushed.

"But I love to call you that. It makes you blush." Kiba smirked right before he noticed the alien coming after the two of them. "Hold on." Kiba said as he pulled Hinata behind him and then landed a knockout punch right into the soldier's face.

"Awesome, Kiba." Hinata smiled.

"Thanks, babe." Kiba said as he blasted two more aliens with Ki blasts.

"Get the lead out you two!" Asuma called to them.

"Hey! I've been racking up kills!" Kiba shouted as he headbutted a charging skinny alien.

"I don't really care! We gotta get these wounded to safety!" Asuma called.

"We are the wounded." Shino reminded him.

"I know, but do you wanna get caught in the middle of that?" Asuma asked as he pointed up into the sky as the shockwaves started to get closer.

"I mean at this point were just covering Shizune as she flees with Choji." Kiba said while a hundred yards away, some twenty Ice soldiers screamed as Team Gai attacked them from the rear.

* * *

Up in the sky, neither fighter was gaining an inch. They were perfectly matched in an all-out struggle for dominance. Gohan was powered up as far as he dared to go, but the masked man was matching him blow for blow.

The two stepped back and slammed their Ki blasts together, causing an explosion that sent them both flying back. Gohan began to breath heavily.

"You're...The best workout...I've gotten in years..." Gohan panted.

 **"I'm flattered that you would call this a workout. Most of my master's enemies would be screaming for me to die already."** The masked man said.

"I'm not like that...Ice wouldn't be the first Frost Demon I've run across and neither is someone as strong as you..."

 **"If you've never come across someone as strong as me, then you truly have no chance against Lord Ice."**

"I wouldn't say that. I'm still holding back." Gohan informed.

 **"I find that curious. Why would you hold back when you are free not to?"** The masked man asked.

"Because I figured you out."

 **"I don't think you have."**

"Believe me I have. I know how you Frost Demon henchmen work. You are trying to find every weakness I have and measure my maximum power and report it back to Ice, which he will eventually order you to kill me if I resist or just kill me for shits and giggles." Gohan deduced.

The lights flashed across the masked man's visor. **"That is an accurate assumption."**

"Typical...Frost Demons are just as predictable here as they are back home."

 **"You have experience fighting Frost Demons? My master would like to know which of his family members you have fought."**

"None of his, I'm sure. But I did fight against one named Freeza."

 **"My master's aunt?"**

"No... You or your master may not know this, but I'm not from this universe. I came here by accident. The one I fought was back in my universe."

 **"You are from another dimension? Fascinating. Then my master will conquer that universe after this one."**

"Doubtful. There are friends of mine there who would beat him. Some even stronger than me."

 **"What does it matter? They are not here now to save you."** The masked man said grimly.

"I don't need saving. Not from the likes of you."

 **"You talk a lot for a man fighting a stalemate."**

Gohan smirked. "Stalemate, huh?"

Just then, a Shadow clone of himself with his sword attacked the masked man, slicing off one of his arms.

Gohan watched as the man's arm fell to the ground and noticed something he didn't expect.

"Wires...? You're an Android?!" Gohan exclaimed.

 **"Cyborg."** The man corrected as he spin-kicked Gohan's clone into smoke and grabbed his sword in midair before charging at the real Gohan.

Gohan channeled a great deal if energy into his left hand and caught the sword with ease, not even breaking his skin. "Just who or what are you." Gohan demanded.

The cyborg swung his legs at Gohan, forcing him to block with his free hand.

 **"I am a servant of Lord Ice and second-in-command of the Ginyu Force."** The man said before he kicked Gohan in the jaw.

Gohan merely shrugged off the kick, now slightly tapping into his reserves. "I meant a name."

 **"I have no name. But if you must call me something, you can always use what my master calls me."** The masked man said as he back flipped away from Gohan.

"And that is?"

 **"Yu."**

"You?" Gohan wondered.

 **"Yes. Whenever he requests my services he always calls out to me, "Hey, you.""** Yu said.

Before Gohan could react, Yu phased away from him at lightning fast speed, leaving the half Saiyan to wonder what exactly happened.

"Wha...did he just tell a joke?" Gohan wondered to himself.

Gohan powered down and looked at where the severed arm was. "He's definitely not completely human...Or whatever he was." He said as he picked up the robotic arm. The forearm then flashed red and spewed steam. Gohan dodged out of the way just in time for the forearm to shoot out like a rocket and follow after Yu.

"Gohan!" He heard Sakura call out to him. He turned around to see Sakura carrying both Kakashi and Yamato to where he was.

"I really need to learn how to fly." Yamato said.

"It's not hard. You just have to have a basic understanding of Ki." Sakura said before she set them down in front of Gohan and then landed herself.

"You guys okay?" Gohan asked.

"We're fine, but what about you?" Sakura asked./

"I've been in worse shape...but that guy. I don't know what he is, but what I do know is that he's some kind of cyborg."

"A cyborg? Is he like one of the Androids you fought back in your dimension?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, however he seems to have the ability to adapt his strength to match my own. What's odd is that I can sense his energy. Normally with the Cyborgs in my dimension I couldn't."

"You can sense his energy; can you track him back to his base?" Kakashi asked.

Gohan closed his eyes to concentrate on the location of the man known as Yu. The 3 tails chakra was making it very difficult, but as he concentrated harder to find the energy he felt, it took him about 3 minutes to get a fix on it.

"10 miles North West of our position...I can't give an exact location because of the 3 Tails, but it's in that general area." Gohan reported just as Videl and the others came to his side.

"Yamato, the map." Kakashi ordered.

Yamato pulled out the map and laid it down on the ground.

"Right over here in this area." Gohan said as he pointed to a location seemingly half a mile away from the lake.

"What is?" Videl asked.

"The guy I just fought. And I'm almost certain that they are holding Shikamaru there. That should explain how they were able to find us." Gohan answered

"No. Shikamaru wouldn't fall victim to a mind probing technique. I've trained him to resist that." Ino said firmly.

"Knowing what I know about them, they didn't use a technique to probe his mind. No...they probably used some kind of device."

Kakashi knelt down and pulled out a few tools from his breast pocket. A compass and a pencil on a string. He measured the string to equal 10 miles and pinned the end of the string to their approximate location. He then marked off a few lines from North North West to North West West.

"In any case, the fields have been leveled. They know where we were, and now we know where they are." Kakashi said.

"Yet we are down a man. Choji is out of the fight and a lot of us are at our limits." Asuma stated.

"True..." Kakashi said before he checked his surroundings. "Where is Team Gai?"

"On their way. I can sense them coming." Videl informed.

"And can anyone sense where Naruto went?" Sakura asked.

"I can't, no." Videl said.

"I can...and you don't wanna know." Gohan said seriously.

Sakura just gave him a look that told him that he'd better spill or else.

"He's heading directly for their base." Gohan informed.

"WHY?" Sakura demanded.

"Probably because Shikamaru was captured." Kiba answered.

"That would be my guess...the fool doesn't know what he's getting to." Gohan cursed.

"Maybe." Shino admitted. "But as always, the safety of his one comrade matters too much over his own."

"And it makes me absolutely livid..." Sakura growled as she clenched her fist tight.

"Get in line." Kakashi growled as he keyed his radio. "Naruto, return to base immediately."

There was no response.

"I swear to God if he has his radio off." Kakashi grumbled. "Naruto, respond."

Still no response, just some crackling.

"Naruto here, kinda busy." Naruto responded before an explosion went off through the radio, followed by its echo 6 miles North West of their position.

"NARUTO! YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I DRAG YOU BACK!" Sakura shouted

"Hold on!" Naruto shouted through the radio as a Ki blast six miles away rocketed up past the trees and into the sky.

Gohan looked over and saw the blast and where it was coming from. "He's too close to their base. If that Yu guy finds him, he's dead."

"Then come with me. I'm gonna go save his dumbass and drag him back here." Sakura declared as she cracked her knuckles.

"Alright." Gohan nodded.

"I'm coming too." Videl said.

"Just keep your radios on. No one goes off on their own." Kakashi ordered, knowing it would be wasted words to try and stop them otherwise.

"I'll make sure of that." Gohan assured.

The three Neo Z Warriors powered up their Ki and shot off like rockets towards their idiot comrade.

"God damn him...always so fucking reckless." Sakura cursed.

"Tell me about it." Gohan said.

* * *

Naruto meanwhile was busy in the fight of his...mild annoyance.

He had sprinted off alone after sensing Shikamaru's anguish via Kurama's chakra. He just knew that Kakashi or someone would try to stop him from attempting a rescue mission immediately. But Naruto could feel that this was life or death. He wouldn't let Shikamaru die for him, twice.

The plan was simple, slip into the enemy base, rescue Shikamaru, and then bear the scolding and beatings from his girlfriend.

That was the plan, until Naruto ran into one of the Akatsuki bastards that had been hunting him for all these years. And not just any bastard, the long, blond, and flying bastard with those stupid bombs.

"Embrace art, you uncultured hack!" Deidara cackled as he swooped low atop his giant white clay bird as he threw exploding clay pigeons down at Naruto who was currently faking not being able to fly.

Naruto zig zag side stepped out of the way of the barrage of bombs.

 _'Come on, come on.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he played up the role of the helpless little Genin Jinchuriki.

"Die!" Deidara cried as he set off the clay bombs he had hidden in the trees, knocking Naruto off balance. The Chunin rolled to his side and tried pathetically to throw a barrage of shuriken at the Akatsuki demolition man.

Deidara simply had his bird barrel roll underneath the scattershot and sent two homing clay cranes to explode like missiles on either side of the Jinchuriki, effectively boxing him in.

"Oh no. Looks like the fox has been cornered." Deidara tsked as his clay traveling bird hovered over Naruto.

"Honestly, I thought Zetsu's reports of you being more powerful than any living Kage were greatly exaggerated, but this is just pathetic." Deidara sneered. "It almost turns this into a mercy killing."

Naruto played up his injuries by trying to prop himself up on his elbows.

"What? Did using the Fox's chakra scare you at what a monster it turned you into? Cause I have to say you were more of a threat when you gave into it. Without it, you're nothing." Deidara smirked as he held up his hand where a tongue lashed out from his upraised palm. It began to regurgitate a lump of clay into another one of his "works of art."

 _'Fucking finally.'_ Naruto thought when he noticed the figure speeding towards them from in front of the sun.

"Now hold still while I blow your legs off and drag you back to the boss." Deidara cackled before he was rugby tackled from behind by a human meteor. The two of them sailed off the clay bird and crashed into the ground behind Naruto.

The Chunin waited to hear the sounds of Deidara crying out in agony before he effortlessly stood back up and dusted off his pants. The giant clay bird then crash to the ground like a puppet with its strings snipped.

"Took you long enough." Naruto stated as his Shadow Clone came walking out of the bushes with a hog tied Akatsuki member over his shoulders.

"Hey, it was your plan for me to sneak up behind him and fly at him from the sun. It takes time to find the right angle and you were the one who kept running around in circles." The clone defended.

"Yeah, yeah, now take this guy back to base. Or better yet, fly back to the Leaf and gift him to Ibuki. I'm sure he could get all kinds of Intel on him." Naruto ordered.

"Wait, fly? You can't fly." Deidara stated.

"Do you think I threw my clone at you?" Naruto asked before he punched Deidara's lights out and the self-proclaimed explosive artist went limp.

Naruto paused for a moment when he felt 3 energy signatures near his position and land near him.

"Naruto..." Sakura growled. "Give me one good-wait, is that who I think it is?"

"The Akatsuki bastard who got away when we went to save Gaara? Yes." Naruto proudly declared as his Shadow Clone patted the black clad man like he would a fine elk he had hunted down in the woods.

"I didn't mean to fight him. He just sort of appeared in my way. I was just gonna save Shikamaru and run right back to you guys, I swear."

"Not a wise idea." Gohan stated.

"Maybe, but I could feel that Shikamaru needs my help right now. I couldn't wait for us to gather up a team." Naruto defended.

"Oh, so you'd get yourself killed by what you don't even know is there, or worse yet...get captured and have Kurama ripped from you and then you die and doom us all." Sakura ranted.

"I can only sense 180 enemies in the area. Three are Akatsuki members that aren't even remotely a threat to me anymore and the rest are the same Ice scrubs you guys beat back with ease back at base." Naruto argued.

"There is also a very strong Cyborg that was equal to me in Super Saiyan 2." Gohan warned.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "There is? I thought that was just you going ham on the remaining Ice soldiers attacking the base."

"How could you not sense him? He was easily Gohan's equal." Videl exclaimed.

"He had no ill intentions." Naruto defended.

"Come again?" Sakura asked, sharing the same curious look that Videl and Gohan had on.

"Kurama's chakra...somehow using it has allowed me to start sensing evil intentions from living beings. If someone is thinking evil thoughts, I can tell where they are and generally how powerful..." Naruto explained. "It's like seeing a flame in a dark room in my mind. And I can basically sense everyone in this whole forest...kind of."

"And you didn't tell us all this sooner because?" Sakura inquired.

"I literally just noticed this once all the fighting started. I didn't realize I was sensing people until after I used it to find Asuma." Naruto admitted.

"Okay, so going back to the masked man Yu I was fighting." Gohan spoke up.

"You were fighting me?" Naruto asked.

Gohan dropped his head. "No, Yu is the cyborg guy's name."

"Ah, okay." Naruto shrugged.

"I definitely didn't imagine fighting him. He couldn't have been a Genjutsu, could he?" Gohan continued.

"No he was real." Sakura said. "Kakashi-sensei would have seen through any Genjutsu with his Sharingan."

"Well if he is real than I couldn't sense any negative emotions off of him." Naruto said.

"Oh come on, he tried to kill Gohan and me and everyone else." Videl argued.

"Maybe his heart wasn't in it? Maybe he's just an emotionless killing machine?" Naruto guessed.

"Considering he's a Cyborg, he is probably programmed to obey whatever he's told to do." Gohan deduced. "An Android I knew was the same way."

"I thought Freeza wasn't responsible for the Androids?" Naruto asked. "What is this Frost Demon doing with his own Android?"

"He wasn't, I was referring to Android 16 that was created by Dr. Gero." Gohan clarified.

"The red headed one?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, that's him." Gohan nodded.

"So, what does that tell us about Yu?" Videl asked.

Gohan sighed. "I don't know just yet. It's too soon to say."

"Well as I see it, we've got a more pressing matter." Naruto said as his clone plopped his captured Akatsuki member in front of everyone.

"Are you guys gonna drag me back to base?" Naruto asked.

"That's up to Videl and Sakura. I'm gonna take Deidara back to the Leaf and bring back my team. We're gonna need all the help we can get." Gohan said.

"Sounds good." Naruto said as he handed the man over to Gohan.

Gohan took the man and swung him over his right shoulder. He then placed his left index and middle fingers to this forehead and vanished, reappearing in Tsunade's office.

Naruto and the girls meanwhile stood alone before Naruto and his clone lifted up their ears like a fox would. Naruto held up a finger to his lips while nodding at his clone, who quickly dashed into the bushes and vanished.

 _'What is it?'_ Videl asked.

 _'Patrol of Ice soldiers coming at us.'_ Naruto replied. _'They haven't spotted us, and my clone will take care of them before they do.'_

'But they will know we are coming.' Sakura thought.

 _'Yeah, so are you helping me rescue Shikamaru and heading back? Cause I'm not going back. It's now or never.'_ Naruto thought.

Videl and Sakura looked at each other, not needing to read the other's mind.

 _'Let's do it.'_ Videl thought. Naruto smirked as the three of them vanished into the trees.

* * *

Back in the Hokage office, Tsunade had just gotten over the shock of Gohan suddenly appearing inside her office with a tied up long haired blond man in a black trench coat with red clouds.

"Is... that what I think it is?" Tsunade's asked.

"Yes it is...The Akatsuki are confirmed to be working with Ice." Gohan informed grimly.

"And you captured him like you would go out to pick up milk?" Tsunade asked, Gohan hadn't even been gone for half an hour.

"Not quite...When I arrived and assessed the situation, which is pretty grim by the way, we were ambushed by a platoon of Ice soldiers. Including a cyborg that can equal my strength at will."

"Wait, slow down." Tsunade held up her hand. "What about the Three Tails? Or Kabuto?"

"No news yet. Everyone has been too busy fighting off Ice's men. Choji is out of the fight for good. They blew off his leg. Shikamaru was confirmed to be captured by Ice and they more than likely probed his mind using some kind of device."

"Is there such a device back in your universe?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know. Freeza never mentioned one. But the events in my universe can't be compared to this one anymore. The Frost Demon here obviously has access to much more advanced technology if he can create a Cyborg capable of matching my power as a Super Saiyan 2."

"So we will assume for now that all of Shikamaru's intelligence is compromised. That means the mission's troop strength, who's who in the squad, the location of the base, and the location of the Hidden Leaf village." Tsunade said with deadly seriousness.

"Yes...I think we're safe in assuming that." Gohan nodded.

Tsunade closed her eyes in thought. Gohan could feel the torment radiating off of her as she considered her options.

"Gohan, I have a request for you as head of the Neo Z Fighters."

Gohan nodded, allowing her to continue.

"I request that you leave your Neo Z Fighters here in the Leaf to defend us in case of an attack." Tsunade requested.

Gohan sighed. "In all honesty, I was going to come back here to bring them back with me...but after thinking about it, they wouldn't be much help. They've only been training in 71 times gravity at most. They haven't even learned how to use Ki yet...so I'm going to make a counter proposal." He paused for a second making sure he had the words right. "I want to leave a shadow clone here that will finish their training, while at the same time be able to take as much abuse as I can. What can I do to do that?"

"You want to learn how to create a Blood Clone? The most advanced form of clone based ninjutsu known to the modern ninja world?" Tsunade raised up her eyebrow.

"Will it work?" Gohan asked seriously.

"It will work, I'm just surprised that you assume such a jutsu is a simple thing to master." Tsunade said seriously.

"I'm a quick study as you know."

"Well you won't need to be. It's a simple enough jutsu." Tsunade said, making Gohan deadpan. She stood up from her desk and joined Gohan on the opposite side.

"Okay..." Gohan said, a little confused.

"The most it can last for is 24 hours. I assume you want it to be able to think and act on its own and not just be a corpse substitute." Tsunade warned as she lead Gohan to the center of the office space.

"Yes...but um...what about this guy?" Gohan asked.

"Oh right." Tsunade said as she grabbed the unconscious man and threw him at the feet of her secretary outside of her office.

"Eep!" The girl cried.

"Have the ANBU take him to Ibuki. Take no chances with security." Tsunade ordered before slamming the office door shut.

"Now then. I'm going to make this quick, because time is of the essence." Tsunade said as she sat cross legged opposite of Gohan and gestured for him to sit down next to her.

Gohan nodded and followed suit.

"First and most important thing you need to know about this jutsu is that it is forbidden." Tsunade stated. "You ever tell your wife how you do this jutsu and I will have to arrest you. Only a select few are allowed to teach this jutsu to only a handful." Tsunade warned.

"Right."

"Alright, now the reason it is forbid is mostly all the different ways you could abuse this jutsu. But the real reason is the payment required to cast this ninjutsu."

"Blood?" Gohan guessed.

"Correct. A third of your blood to be exact." Tsunade stated.

"Oh boy...I think I'm gonna need one of those blood pills after this." Gohan sighed.

"Exactly. Those who carelessly used the jutsu in the past ended up slipping themselves into shock. Making them vulnerable to their enemies or to just plain dying all by their lonesome. Some even used up all of their blood and foolishly killed themselves." Tsunade said as she activated her Hundred Hand Seal. Her purple diamond atop her forehead spread across her skin like vines until it wrapped around her limbs like ribbons. Gohan knew that Tsunade was pre-emptively kick starting her body's regenerative powers in order to replace the blood she would lose.

Tsunade then bit her thumb to draw blood and then slowly and deliberately made the necessary hand signs to show Gohan. Once that was complete, all ten of her fingertips were covered in her own blood. Finally, she held out her dominant arm. "Blood Clone Jutsu!" She cried.

Instead of poofing into existence via a cloud of smoke, the blood dripping off Tsunade's fingertips began to float and drift away from her arm. Soon there was a stream of blood flowing from her thumb wound like a morbid garden hose. Gohan watched in awe as the blood twisted and formed into a shape resembling a woman. Until Tsunade cut the blood supply off and the bloody figure faded into a woman with features. Tsunade's features.

"And that is how you do the Blood Clone jutsu." Blood Tsunade said as she opened her eyes.

"Wow...you made it look so simple." Gohan said in awe.

"It is, the trick is to recognize when you have given exactly a third of your body's total amount of blood. Too little and the jutsu might not work at all. Too much and you could kill yourself. Either way, you don't get a second chance with trying this jutsu." Tsunade warned as she stood up to head to her desk. She reached into her drawer and pulled out her secret stash of sake.

"I see..." Gohan mused as he meditated on how Tsunade created that jutsu.

Tsunade poured herself a drink and downed it while Gohan was thinking.

After about 2 minutes, Gohan's eyes snapped open and he bit his thumb, drawing out blood. He reformed the hand signs he saw Tsunade make flawlessly, making Tsunade smirk.

"Blood Clone Jutsu!" He yelled as he slammed his hand down on the floor.

Tsunade's blood clone then smacked his hand off the ground. "Idiot! You hold it up in the air!" Blood Tsunade lectured.

"Oh...sorry..." Gohan said sheepishly before he quickly raised his hand in the air to complete the jutsu.

The blood flowed out of Gohan's thumb and he felt the chilling sensation of so much blood leaving his body. The blood began to swirl around and took on the form of a man Gohan's size.

 _'Just a little more...'_ Tsunade thought.

Just as Tsunade was sure the clone was competed, Gohan stopped his blood flow and nearly collapsed from blood loss.

Tsunade rushed to Gohan's side. "You alright, kid?"

"I...I will be..." Gohan panted. He hasn't felt this drained since fighting Cell.

"Here, eat this." Tsunade said as she handed Gohan a blood pill.

Gohan took the pill and immediately ate it. Senzu beans could fix a lot of things, but such a huge loss of blood was not one of them.

"Did it work?" Gohan asked. Only Gohan didn't speak. He looked up and wondered when Tsunade had a mirror installed in her office. And so low to the ground.

"Holy shit...it actually worked..." Gohan said in awe.

"Did it?" Blood Gohan asked before he realized that he just pulled a Naruto.

"Impressive, kid. I had my doubts you'd get it on the first try." Blood Tsunade praised.

"Yeah, I thought you would have to return to the front empty handed." Tsunade said.

"I did say I was a quick study, didn't I?" Blood Gohan said.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get cocky." Tsunade said as she handed her blood clone a drink. "Just get to work and bring Choji back to the hospital immediately."

"On it." Blood Gohan said.

"No, you stay here and finish training the team." Gohan ordered.

"Why do I have to?" Blood Gohan whined.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. _'Since when was I a whiny bitch?'_ He wondered to himself. "I think you know why."

"I don't think I do. We can both do each other's jobs and I would rather be besides my Videl." Blood Gohan said.

"You have 24 hours as you are. You're also at half of my maximum power. You'll stay here, that's what I created you for and that's why Lady Tsunade taught me this technique." Gohan ordered.

"He has all of your powers." Tsunade corrected.

"Does he? Okay. Well, he still has less time here than I do." Gohan stated.

"True, and while he is much more durable than any Shadow Clone, he is more vulnerable than you are. If he bleeds for instance, losing enough of his limited supply of blood will undo the jutsu. Other than that, he is a perfect copy of you."

"There you go." Gohan smiled.

"But you had better protect Videl and the babies." Blood Gohan stated grimly.

"Oh trust me, I will." Gohan assured.

"You'd better. I'd die before I'd let anything happen to her." Blood Gohan mused.

"I know..." Gohan said before teleporting away.

* * *

Back with Naruto, Sakura, and Videl; the three of them were perched in a tree spying on the Frost Demon spacecraft.

 _'It's not your run of the mill Frost Demon ship that's for sure.'_ Videl thought to them.

 _'Nope. They've got Shikamaru locked up deep inside the ship. I don't sense any guards lingering near his cell. They're just patrolling the interior and the perimeter.'_ Naruto thought.

 _'You'd think with a ship that big we would have found it.'_ Sakura commented.

 _'Guess I was right about that cloaking technology.'_ Videl mused.

 _'Okay. So, me and Sakura head inside. Videl, you stay out here and keep a lookout. You're our last resort if we have to blast our way out.'_ Naruto thought.

 _'And what if Ice is in there? Do you even know your way around that ship?'_ Videl countered. _'Because this ship looks eerily familiar to one in my universe...'_

 _'Videl, and I hate to be blunt, me and Sakura-chan are better at stealth than you.'_ Naruto pointed out.

 _'He's right. If you want to direct us, do it telepathically.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'That I can do...because I just realized what this is. It's an Aerie class transport.'_

 _'Fill us in on the way. Shikamaru's life is at stake.'_ Naruto thought before he and then Sakura flash stepped away.

Videl watched from afar as two guards came to replace the ones standing out front. Just when the four of them weren't looking, two ninjas slipped through the open door.

 _'We're in.'_ Naruto thought _. 'It's rather boxy. I was expecting more curved hallways.'_

 _'You should be in the main storage area. There should be an elevator directly ahead of you about 30 feet.'_ Videl advised.

 _'We see it.'_ Sakura reported as she and Naruto made their way towards it.

 _'If I recall it correctly, crew quarters should be on the floor above you. Chances are they changed it to accommodate prisoners.'_

 _'Wrong. I'm sensing Shikamaru in the very back of the ship.'_ Naruto thought as he and Sakura slipped into the elevator.

 _'You're already in the back of the ship.'_ Videl thought.

 _'The front then. The opposite end from where we are.'_ Naruto clarified.

 _'Let's see here...'_ Videl mused as she recalled a schematic she had in her bedroom. _'That would be the main deflector and astrometrics. It would make sense that he would be in that area.'_

 _'Um, Videl? Please tell me you are remembering the schematics from a Frost Demon ship back in your dimension. And not something from a TV Show.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'This isn't a Frost Demon ship and Capsule Corp made a few of these for world travel and underwater exploration.'_ Videl said.

 _'Oh good. Cause for a second there, your mind flashed back to this title sequence and I thought...she's basing her knowledge off of a TV show?'_ Sakura nervously chuckled to herself.

 _'Well...that is where it originated from but Bulma created some of her own.'_ Videl admitted.

 _'God damn it, Videl.'_ Naruto thought as the elevator doors opened and the shinobi duo had to leapt to either side of the hallway to avoid catching the eye of an incoming patrol.

 _'Don't give me shit. If I turn out to be right, then you owe me.'_ Videl grumbled.

 _'We'll see.'_ Naruto thought as he and Sakura stayed still in the shadows to let the guards pass them by.

Then something made Videl's blood run cold. She looked around and saw her worst fears confirmed. _'Oh shit...speed it up in there. I just spotted Ice entering the ship. And he is sickeningly powerful.'_

 _'We're halfway to Shikamaru. Try to remember some escape routes we could take.'_ Naruto thought as he and Sakura sprinted down the hallway.

 _'Um...there is a maintenance shaft in the deflector controls room just beyond where Shikamaru should be.'_ Videl thought.

 _'Anything else?'_ Sakura thought as she and Naruto ducked into a broom closet while an alien scientist was turning a corner.

 _'That shaft will lead you back down into the cargo area you got into. But you'll be at the foremost part of the ship and you'll have to work your way back.'_

 _'Okay. Tell us if you think up-wait, Videl?'_ Naruto thought as he and Sakura cane to the end of a hallway.

 _'What?'_

 _'We've got a locked door. Shikamaru's cell is right behind it, I'm certain. But how do we open it?'_

 _'Shit...'_ Videl cursed before she concentrated hard on how to unlock that door without setting of alarms. Luckily, she remembered enough to give them a clear picture.

 _'This better work.'_ Sakura thought before she started pulling off the panel to the locked door. Once off, there were a bunch of wires and chips that were connected to the panel. Sakura got right to work rearranging the wires and chips. After a few seconds, the door slid open and no alarms went off.

 _'Okay, I'm impressed.'_ Naruto admitted.

 _'Yeah, what was that you were saying earlier?'_ Videl asked.

 _'Tease him about it later, Videl.'_ Sakura thought as she spotted Shikamaru lying face down in his cell behind classic metal bars. Sakura and Naruto immediately rushed to his cell to make sure he was okay. Naruto reached the cell bars first and immediately bounced back from the overwhelming force of electricity.

"God...you okay?" Sakura whispered.

"WOOOOOH!" Naruto cried as he shot back up. "Yeah, I'm good." He said as his hair stood on end.

"Damn...how are we gonna get by that?" Sakura wondered.

"No idea." Naruto said. "Videl?"

 _'That I don't know. This is new to me.'_ Videl said

Naruto looked at Shikamaru and then at the bars. _'Okay, stupid idea, what if I picked up Shikamaru and slipped him out of the bars sideways?'_

 _'With what? He's too far away to reach.'_ Sakura pointed out.

Naruto then activated his Golden Kyuubi cloak. _'With this.'_ He held up his two chakra arms.

 _'Kurama's chakra?'_ Sakura thought as the gears started turning.

 _'Chakra is energy and so is the electricity running through the bars...'_ Videl thought.

 _'In which case, this is a really bad idea.'_ Sakura stated.

 _'Maybe.'_ Naruto thought as he extended out his chakra hands to grab the bars. Nothing happened.

 _'Huh...well alright then.'_ Sakura shrugged.

Naruto extended his chakra hands through the bars and grabbed ahold of Shikamaru's limp body. He lifted him and twisted him to the side.

 _'This feels really weird.'_ Naruto thought as he made gestures like he was turning an enormous key. A thought then occurred to Naruto and he imagined his chakra arms as more fluid, the quickly enveloped Shikamaru like a cocoon. He then slowly pulled Shikamaru through the bars, just skimming past the bars. He laid Shikamaru down by Sakura's feet and released his golden chakra.

 _'God...he's been through hell...'_ Sakura thought in horror before she checks to make sure he was still alive. _'Got a pulse. He's alive, but barely.'_

 _'Can we move him?'_ Naruto thought.

 _'We don't have a choice, just be careful with him.'_ Sakura warned.

 _'Alright.'_ Naruto thought as he hoisted Shikamaru up in a fireman's carry. _'Videl, vents are a no go. We need another way out.'_

 _'Hold on.'_ Videl thought as she tried to remember another access point. Unfortunately, she came up empty. _'The service shaft was your best bet. The only other way is back where you came from.'_

 _'No way. If that's Ice, then he is coming the exact way we came.'_ Naruto thought.

 _'Then you're gonna have to use the service shaft or get caught. I'm sorry, that's the best I can do.'_

 _'Is there really only one hallway in this freaking ship?'_ Naruto thought.

 _'It's a narrow ship. What do you want?'_

 _'A way out!'_

 _'Naruto, hush, we'll take the vents.'_ Sakura scolded.

That was when Videl remembered something critical. _'You idiots! Use Thunder God or Instant Transmission!'_

 _'But that's no fun.'_ Naruto whined.

 _'We don't have time for that! I could kick myself for not remembering that.'_ Sakura exclaimed as he grabbed Naruto's shoulder and put two fingers to her forehead. In an instant, they disappeared just as the door opened and reappeared next to Videl.

"See, now wasn't that easy?" Videl asked.

"Indeed, it was." A voice spoke from behind them. The three shinobi whipped their heads around to see a taller and skinner Freeza floating in the air before them with a smug, satisfied look on his face. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize the signature of the Yar-drat Instant Transmission Technique?" Ice smirked.

 _'Shit...'_ They all cursed at once.

"Now, I know you Elementians are not stupid enough to form a jail break on my ship..." Ice said in a condescending tone.

"Well we just did." Naruto replied.

Ice just blinked. "He does realize he just admitted to being stupid, right?"

"Stupid is what stupid does." Sakura growled.

"Quite...now back to the matter at hand..." Ice smirked.

Videl gulped as she tried to keep her tail still, which Ice Immediately noticed.

"Well, well, well...one of the Saiyan's I was looking for..." Ice said with an air of entertainment in his tone.

 _'Goddammed tail...'_ Videl cursed.

"Now, tell me where your parents and the other half Saiyan is and I'll let your friends go." Ice sneered.

"My parents are dead..." Videl said sourly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my little monkey child. Would you like me to reunite you with them?" Ice asked sweetly.

"No I wouldn't."

"Pity, I'm sure that is a great disappointment to them. But perhaps seeing their grandchildren will suffice." Ice said as he shot an energy beam point blank at Videl's belly. Before the half saiyan could react, Naruto flashed in front of her and grabbed Ice's fingers, deflecting the beam.

"You stay away from my god children..." Naruto growled. He then headbutted Ice and tackled him to ground.

"Both of you, run!" Naruto shouted.

They tried to retreat, but a platoon of Ice's soldiers stood in their way.

"None of you will be leaving alive I'm afraid." Ice smirked.

"I wouldn't bet on that." Videl growled as she reached back and punched Ice right in the face, sending him flying away and completely off guard. Ice then whipped his tail around and slapped Videl's belly. Videl caught it just before it hit and slammed him down into the ground and then kicked him hard in the gut.

"GAAAAH!" Ice cried out before he wrapped his tail around Videl's leg and threw her off her. "I'll admit...you're stronger than the average run of the mill Saiyan."

"You haven't seen anything yet. I'm a lot stronger than I look." Videl said before forming a few hand signs.

"Is that so? Well, color me intrigued." Ice smirked. "Tell you what. I'll give you a sporting chance. But don't expect me to go easy."

"Fire Style: Plasma Torch Jutsu!" Videl cried out before emitting a thin, white stream of super-heated fire.

Ice nimbly dodged the attack and fired one of his own back at her. Videl easily deflected it and shot back a beam of her own. This back and forth went on for a while, while Sakura and Naruto fought off the ever-increasing amount of Ice soldiers.

"Impressive, monkey. I see you weren't lying about your power. But the kid gloves are off, as it were." Ice smirked before he powered up to give himself the advantage.

Videl however, was not impressed. "Is that all you got?"

"Impudent little...mock me, will you?!" Ice growled before charging directly at her. He aimed a punch right at her chest, which she caught. "WHAT?!"

"My turn..." Videl smirked as she powered up to Super Saiyan, knocking Ice back.

"What the-a Super Saiyan?" Ice said in surprise.

"Yea...a Super Saiyan." Videl smirked.

"Well...I must say I wasn't expecting that. But it's not the first time I've seen a Super Saiyan."

"What?" Videl exclaimed in shock.

"First time from a female saiyan though. So, that's interesting." Ice admitted.

"Wait...you..."

"Oh sorry, you want to know about the Super Saiyan I've seen. Or rather, Super Saiyans." Ice said before he brushed himself off.

"You've seen more than one?" Videl asked, completely astonished.

"But of course, I have them under my employment. They serve as my elite warriors." Ice sneered.

When Naruto and Sakura heard that, they were completely stunned. they had no idea how much shit they were in until now.

"And they are all stronger than you, my dear." Ice smirked.

"Not stronger than Gohan." Videl said defiantly.

"Keep clinging to that hope. Right until your last breath." Ice said, his voice like the creeping chill of hypothermia.

Naruto then charged at Ice from behind with his Kyuubi cloak activated.

"Oh please..." Ice sighed before batting him away with his tail.

As soon as he was clear, Sakura came sailing behind him with her Kami mode activated and her chakra enhanced fist on a collision course with Ice's face.

Ice caught her fist and laughed. "And what was that supposed to do?"

"Distract you!" Naruto shouted as he came right underneath Ice's outstretched arm used to block Sakura's attack. Naruto slammed his Kyuubi chakra Rasengan right into Ice's armpit. Sending the alien flying up and away.

Ice stopped midair, seemingly undamaged. "I actually felt that. Seems you were able to take that annoying ache away."

"That attack was supposed to reverberate throughout your body." Naruto said as he and Sakura stood ready.

"Well, then you failed miserably." Ice snickered.

"Were not done here. Videl! For fuck's sakes take Shikamaru to safety!" Naruto barked.

"No one is going anywhere!" Ice barked.

"I wasn't asking you!" Naruto shouted as he extended his arm like Choji's expansion jutsu to grab Ice and grew a dozen chakra arms to bombard him with Rasengan and shove him a hundred yards away.

"Videl! Go!" Naruto urged.

Videl moved to grab Shikamaru, swatting away the soldiers that were trying to capture him back.

"Sakura, you go too." Naruto ordered as he created two Shadow Clones to handle the rest of the grunts.

"No, I'm staying." Sakura said firmly.

"Shikamaru will need a medic. I'm not fighting to win, I'm fighting so that you three can get away." Naruto said as his clones barreled through the Ice grunts.

Sakura grumbled. "You better come back in one piece." She said before flying away.

 _'I love you.'_ Naruto thought as he watched Sakura fly away.

 _'I love you too.'_ Sakura thought back as she continued to distance herself from the fight.

Ice finally clawed his way out of the rubble looking absolutely fuming.

"You're starting to annoy me, monkey." Ice spat.

"I'm not a Saiyan. I'm home grown Elementian." Naruto corrected.

"Different breed, same dirty species." Ice spat.

"Oh really? Well I took down one of your kind before so you'll just be the second." Naruto smirked.

"If that were the case, you wouldn't have sent your mate running off for her own safety." Ice smirked, making Naruto frown.

"It's not her safety I'm worried about. It's the safety of my comrades." Naruto stated.

"One in the same. You're one if those heroic types that loves to sacrifice himself for his comrades, aren't you?" Ice asked as he and Naruto exchanged jabs.

"So, what if I am?"

"Nothing. I just love killing your types." Ice smirked as his kick swept under Naruto's feet, who hopped out of the way. "They're the most fun to kill."

"If I had a Ryo for every time I've heard that." Naruto scoffed.

 _ **'What are you talking about? You've never heard that one.'**_ Kurama thought.

 _'He doesn't need to know that.'_ Naruto thought as he took a skull rattling punch from Ice.

"You're just as stubborn as those damn Earthlings." Ice spat. "They may have had their super advanced technology, but they were nothing compared to me."

"So, it was you who wiped out Earth...Just as Baal said." Naruto mused, making Ice pause.

"You know the God of Destruction?" Ice asked.

"Yes, I do. And guess what? He's on our side." Naruto smirked, coming up with an idea.

"H-he is...?" Ice stammered.

"Oh yeah. He would come down in a heartbeat if you harm the Saiyan's here. By that I mean killing them."

"Is that, right? But you said you weren't a Saiyan, right?" Ice stated, regaining his composure.

"Yeah, but he sees us as their family of sorts so...we're under his protection as well. He sees this planet as a sanctuary for the survival of the Saiyan race." Naruto smirked, hoping his trump card would work.

"Interesting..." Ice said before the look of concern on his face melted into a look of evil glee. "So as soon as I'm finished with this miserable planet, Baal will come here to save me the trouble of hunting him down." Ice said before he created a death ball larger than Naruto and hurled it at him. The blond ninja barely had time to dodge.

In an instant, Gohan flashed into the fray and kicked away the death ball, making it rocket into space.

"You will not destroy this planet." Gohan growled as the sky lit up when Ice's death ball exploded.

"And just who might you be to tell me that?" Ice asked as he took to the air, followed cautiously behind by Naruto so that all three of them floated in the air facing one another.

"Gohan Son. The protector of this planet."

"Another one? Wait, you're the one my cyborg fought, right?" Ice asked casually.

"Yes, I am." Gohan answered.

"Finally, someone who could pose an actual challenge." Ice sighed in relief. "I'm been playing patty-cake with this one to pass the time and frankly it's gotten dull."

"Hey, I was going easy on you!" Naruto defended.

 _ **'No, you weren't.'**_ Kurama thought.

"But I won't..." Gohan said before transforming into a Super Saiyan 2.

"Oh well well...so you are the other Saiyan. Good. You're definitely stronger than your mate." Ice sneered.

That snapped a nerve in Gohan's mind as he flashed in front of Ice and squeezed his neck. "What did you do to my mate..." Gohan growled.

"Gave her some friendly maternal advice-what the fuck do you think I did to her?" Ice sarcastically replied.

Gohan drove Ice into the ground and blasted him with his Mosenko point blank. The area was filled with blinding light as Naruto has to shield his face from the blast.

The light finally faded and Gohan stood towering over a grinning Frost Demon.

"Please sir, may I have another?" Ice smirked.

"Be careful what you wish for, dildo man." Gohan growled.

A gust of air blew past the two of them.

Ice took a deep breath. "You just had to make it personal, didn't you?"

"Then make me regret it."

Ice then flash stepped behind Gohan and stomped on his ankle, shattering it like twigs.

"AW GAWD!" Gohan cried before Ice then spin kicked him in the ass, sending him skipping across the forest floor.

 _'What the Hell?! He's so fast!'_ Gohan thought as he rolled to a stop.

"Are you regretting it now?" Ice asked.

"Gah…ha…" Gohan hissed as he clutched his ankle to try and keep it from moving. He took three quick breaths. "Ha… No, I'm not. If anything, I'm laughing at how much of a joke you are. My mom can hit harder." Gohan smirked before he then flinched when the pain shot up his leg.

"Would you like me to break the other one? You've got two wrists afterwards I do believe." Ice said as he casually walked towards Gohan who subconsciously shuffled back.

"Kiss my half Saiyan ass...Naruto! Now!" Gohan called out.

Faster than either Elementians could blink, Ice looked back and side stepped Naruto as he tried to sneak up behind Ice and pin him in the back with his Rasenshuriken. The ninja flew past the spot Ice was standing in and nearly chopped up Gohan like he was meat in a blender.

"Hey, watch it!" Gohan cried.

Ice smirked before seeing Naruto explode into smoke while the real Naruto came at him from above.

"SHADOW CLONES! MOTHERFUCKER!" Naruto shouted as he thrust his jutsu at Ice's head. The Frost Demon tried to dodge but wound up being too slow.

"AAAAAAAGH!" Ice cried as he flung himself to his left. Letting Naruto slam his jutsu into the ground.

Naruto hastily stood up, fearing that he had missed, only to be revolted by the bloody purple stump that remained of Ice's right arm.

"YOU WRETCH!" Ice shouted in pain.

"What's the matter, Stumpy? Not having fun anymore?" Naruto laughed as he felt the fatigue.

Ice glared at Naruto with absolute hatred. "Just for that...Your death will be as painful and as slow as possible..."

Ice hissed between his teeth. "You know what? I take it back. You're the more challenging one, monkey. You actually managed to wound me. Just for that, I'll kill you last."

"You can try." Naruto smirked as ice soldiers surrounded their master with concern.

"Take me back to the Sensō...Leave my top team here to deal with these fools." Ice ordered.

"Sir? The Ginyu Force is currently tasked with your search mission." One soldier reported.

"Then call two of them back!" Ice ordered.

"Yes sire." Another soldier said.

"What's the matter, Ice? Don't you wanna keep fighting?" Naruto called out.

Ice responded by raising his power level beyond anything Naruto or Gohan had ever experienced. More powerful than ten Perfect Cells.

"Do you?" Ice asked.

The two men were frozen in terror.

"That's what I thought." Ice said as he flew back towards his ship.

"We're screwed..." Gohan said as he powered down.

"What? Are you kidding me right now?" Naruto asked, startled that Gohan would even say such a thing.

"I wish. Just that surge alone puts him ahead of me in Super Saiyan 3."

"What?" Naruto whispered.

"You heard me...He's far stronger than we first thought and he's still hiding a great deal."

"And he just let us go? After I shredded his arm off?" Naruto exclaimed.

"My guess is he wanted to get healed first. But even as he is, he could easily kill us."

 **"Don't kid yourself. He fought you both and realized that neither of you were worth killing."** Kurama spoke through Naruto's mouth. **"Not by his hand anyway."**

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any better." Gohan said sourly.

 **"Damn right. It should make you angry, punk. If he wanted to kill you, we'd all be dead. But you two aren't even worth the energy."**

Gohan sighed. "We have to stop him, but how?"

Naruto blinked as he regained control of his body. "I have no idea." He said as he helped Gohan stand up.

"Easy...That leg is fucked..." Gohan hissed in pain.

"Yeah, yeah, I got you." Naruto said as he let Gohan lean on him.

"It might be time to use that technique..." Gohan sighed.

"What technique?" Naruto asked.

"One my dad told me about. Fusion."

"Fusion?" Naruto asked.

"It's a technique where two people of similar size and power can combine into one person with insane power." Gohan said.

"Why didn't we do that in the first place?" Naruto asked.

"Because my dad didn't tell me how to do it. We have to get in mental contact with him to learn it. Sakura and Videl as well."

"Wait, when did he tell you about this?" Naruto asked.

"A few days ago. I honestly didn't think we needed it or that anyone wanted to do it. But it seems that now we don't have a choice."

"Wait, if we combine, wouldn't our powers just get stacked on top of one another?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know for certain. My dad is the one who knows for sure." Gohan stated.

"Well then let's get out of here. The sooner we can unfuck this mission the better." Naruto stated seriously.

Naruto took off to the sky while holding an injured Gohan.

* * *

Miles away, Sakura and Videl were flying through the air with Shikamaru held in between their arms until they each sensed a pulse of chakra.

"It's Neji." Sakura said before she led them to bank down into the tree tops and hovered next to the Hyuga Jounin.

"Sakura, Videl." Neji greeted.

"Hey Neji. How you holding up?" Videl asked before Neji noticed the wounds on her.

"Better than you it seems. Where is Gohan and Naruto?" Neji asked as he inspected Shikamaru.

"Fighting Ice..." Sakura sighed with concern.

"Wait, Gohan is fighting Ice too?" Videl exclaimed.

"I sensed him while we were leaving. Didn't you?" Sakura asked.

"No! Goddammit, why don't you tell me?!"

"I thought you knew!" Sakura defended.

"Ugh! I hate our boyfriends sometimes." Videl groaned.

"Preaching to the choir..." Sakura grumbled.

"If you two are done, we have a new base set up underground I can lead you to." Neji spoke up.

"Huh? Oh, good idea." Videl nodded.

"Good. Please follow me." Neji said as they all leapt from the tree.

"Neji...you're a Jounin right?" Videl asked.

"I am." Neji said as he led them deeper into the forest.

"Does that mean you're going to train your own Genin squad?" Videl asked.

"I don't have to, but the option is available to me." Neji replied.

"Wait, you don't? I thought all Jounin had to train Genin."

"In times of shortage or crisis, yes, but these are not those times. Even then, you will find Jounin who work in specialized divisions, team up exclusively with other Jounin and Chunin, or move on to join ANBU."

"Oh...I didn't know that."

"It is alright. These are things you will learn as you gain experience as a ninja."

"I'd say she's done quite well for only having a few months of training." Sakura said.

"Perhaps, but she's still green. If it were up to me, I'd have her attend the Academy." Neji stated.

"Well thank God you're not my Jounin-sensei." Videl said.

"Kakashi agrees." Neji said simply. "You still have a great deal to learn and going out in the field halfcocked is not the right way to learn. You can get you and your team killed."

"Oh, lighten up. Compared to all of our Jounin and even our Hokage, she's like a god to them." Sakura said.

"Power means nothing if you don't have the mental discipline. Even Naruto knows that." Neji stated.

"You wouldn't be giving him or Gohan this lecture." Videl defended.

"Naruto was given that lecture but he goes his own way and Gohan isn't technically a ninja." Sakura said.

"So why can't I go my way?" Videl asked.

"Naruto has had years of training. You've only had a few months." Neji pointed out.

"Fine, whatever." Videl said before a thought occurred to her. "So, if you're a Jounin, why are you still with your original Genin team?"

"Because it is my choice." Neji said simply.

"That's it?" Videl asked as Neji landed on the barren forest floor.

"Yes." Neji confirmed. He ran his hands over the dirt before lifting up a single strand of ninja wire Videl hadn't noticed, that helped Neji find the wooden handle buried underneath the dirt and opened the hatch.

"Get inside, quickly."

Videl and Sakura jumped down with Shikamaru in tow, Neji bringing up the rear.

The four of them found themselves in pitch blackness. From the sounds of their sandals hitting the floor, Videl could tell they were in a wooden hallway of some sort.

"Can't see a damn thing..." Videl said before she charged a ball of Ki in her hand to light the way.

"It appears they haven't finished setting up the lights on this level." Neji said as he led them down the wooden hallway that reminded Videl of the a haunted mansion. With no windows or decorations of any kind.

They rounded the corner and went down another hallway that slopped down. This repeated twice more before they finally reached a pair of sliding doors that opened up to a 50 by 50 foot square room where everyone of situated.

Kiba and Asuma were stacking unsealed crates into a corner. Shino, Hinata, and Akamaru were resting in a corner with all the different fold out mats. Shizune and Ino were standing by the new First-Aid corner, checking on a little boy that Videl and Sakura didn't recognize while the boy's mother fussed over him at every turn. And in the center of the room was a great roaring fire that breathed out through a chimney in the ceiling above. Around it facing the door was Kakashi and an exhausted looking Yamato. They were chatting with two other men facing away from the door. One had blue skin with white hair and was sweating profusely in the presence of the open flames. The other wore a hood over his and Videl swore she recognized his chakra from somewhere. And did his cloak just move like it has a tail behind it?

"Ahem." Neji coughed, gathering everyone's attention. All eyes turned to the door.

"Forehead, Videl, you're back, and you got Shikamaru." Ino exclaimed in relief.

"Yea, well it wasn't easy." Sakura said as she carefully handed Shikamaru over to her.

"Where is Naruto and Gohan?" Kiba asked.

"In a world of shit." Videl said sourly.

"Yeah but how shitty, specifically?" Kiba asked.

"Ice... They were fighting him to cover our retreat." Sakura said seriously.

"That was a grave mistake on your part." The hooded man said while keeping his gaze fixed on the fire. "If Ice hasn't captured Naruto already, it is because he doesn't realize that Naruto is a jinchuriki and will kill him." The hooded man said, making Sakura's blood boil and sending a chill up Videl's spine.

"Then again, considering our situation, that would be for the best." The man added.

"Excuse you?!" Sakura snapped.

"Wait a minute, I know you." Videl said as she pointed a shaky finger at the man. How could she forget him? The way he tortured her.

"I should hope so, Videl. I'd hate to think I left that little of a fleeting impression on you the last time we met." The man said as he turned towards the girls, the fireplace giving his silhouette a demonic feel to compliment his now mutated facial features. His skin was now bone white and scaly. His pupils were yellow and slitted with purple markings around his eyes. Yet Videl and Sakura couldn't ever forget his face.

"Videl, Sakura..." Kakashi began. "I know how you both feel about Kabuto. But he is our ally now."

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Boom! Mic drop!**


	37. Chapter 37: Ice's Ginyu Force

**Author's Note from Panda: Yeah, once again, sorry for the long gap between updates. Springtime seems to the be the deadtime for updates. Between me dealing with finals and trying to find an internship, to Cmartin dealing with financial troubles of his own, things fall by the wayside, including fanfictions. As always, we appreciate your patience and love your reviews helping us find the motivation for the chapters to come.**

* * *

"Kabuto..." Sakura growled.

"Sakura..." Kabuto nodded casually to his fellow medical ninja. As if they were on any stretch of friendly terms.

Videl couldn't speak. She was shaking in absolute fear of seeing that man again.

"Wow, look at this one. She's cute, but she's shaking like a leaf at the sight of you, Kabuto. She an ex-girlfriend of yours?" The blue skinned youth mocked.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't smear you across the floor like a cockroach you are..." Sakura growled in hatred.

"I'll give you a reason, because we need his help." Kakashi spoke up.

"I know I didn't hear that right." Sakura said.

"You did." Kabuto spoke up. "Although to be fair, I approached Kakashi with the idea of working together and convinced him that cooperation was in both of our groups' best interest."

"I wasn't asking you, traitor." Sakura spat.

"So hostile. Would your demeanor soften if I mentioned that I am interested in saving your boyfriend from having his Tailed Beast ripped out of him?" Kabuto inquired.

Sakura folded her arms across her chest. "I would ask what's in it for you?"

"In the short term? Saving this entire world from being snuffed out like a candle by Ice." Kabuto said seriously.

"What does Ice have to do with Naruto? I thought he was only here for Gohan and Videl?" Sakura asked.

"Why don't you both sit down by the fire and I'll explain everything?" Kabuto suggested. It was clear from all of the glares given by the Leaf ninjas that no one was in a hurry to trust him.

Reluctantly, Sakura and Videl sat down on one of the wooden benches. Videl sitting as far away from Kabuto as possible. Suigetsu noticed this and sat forward, thinking that he had found a new babe to torment. "So you must be the bitch who killed Orochimaru. I gotta say, you don't look the part. You look a little too...soft..." Suigetsu smirked, making Videl's skin crawl.

"I'd watch your mouth, creep. Videl here could rip your spine out and make you eat it." Sakura warned. "Hell, I might be itching to try that myself."

"Good luck with that." Suigetsu said as he held up his forearm and let it melt into a puddle of water before being sucked back up his pant leg to let his arm reform.

 _'He's made of water?'_ Sakura thought in shock. _'It's not possible.'_

"Now, now, Suigetsu. We are allies with these ninjas now. For the foreseeable future, they are our friends." Kabuto said calmly. Suigetsu immediately dropped his act. He knew exactly what was in store for him if he pissed Kabuto off any further.

"I apologize for him. Good subordinates are hard to come by these days, but his bloodline ability makes him just useful enough to tolerate his attitude." Kabuto explained.

"Whatever. What do you know about Ice and why would he be after Naruto?" Sakura demanded.

"Straight to the point, I see." Kabuto adjusted his full moon spectacles. "You truly are the Slug Sannin's apprentice."

"Tell. Me." Sakura hissed, losing her patience.

"Very well. I suppose the best place to start is with the young boy that Tsunade's other apprentice is treating right now." Kabuto nodded his head over to Shizune attending to the young boy, no older than 9, sitting on her makeshift examination table. His hair was a greying brown with purple eyes and an innocent face about him. He didn't look like the type of person that would be in any way associated with Orochimaru without being traumatized.

Standing next to him was a woman that Sakura originally thought was his mother the way she dotted over him, but upon closer inspection she realized that the two had no features in common. She had crazy pineapple style purple hair like Shikamaru's with sharp eyes and ruby red lips. She was also dressed like a rogue ninja. Exactly the type of woman you would expect to be associated with Orochimaru. Except she was acting all concerned for the boy's bumps and bruises like a mother hen. Warm and fuzzy weren't the emotions you expected to feel when you looked at one of Orochimaru's minions either.

"What's he got to do with this?" Sakura asked.

"His name is Yukimaru, and he has the power to summon forth the Three Tailed Beast." Kabuto stated, cementing Sakura and Videl's attention.

"Is he the creature's Jinchuriki, or something?" Videl asked, finally finding the courage to speak.

"No, although I suspect he would make the perfect candidate for that gift." Kabuto said.

"You mean that curse." Sakura spat, having no love for those who would subject an innocent boy to such a horrible burden.

"Oh what? Are you the Leaf's Jinchuriki?" Suigetsu mocked.

"No, she's just sleeping with him." Kabuto said. "Or so my intelligence says."

"I don't have to confirm a damn thing to you." Sakura spat.

"Too right. But back on topic, Yukimaru has a much looser, but no less intimate relationship with the Tailed Beast. For reasons that baffle both myself and Lord Orochimaru, Yukimaru's chakra is highly desirable to the Three Tailed Turtle. To the point that whenever he releases his chakra in great amounts, the Three Tails will appear before him. It will even obey simple commands that Yukimaru gives him. So long as he continues to release his chakra."

"How is that possible?" Sakura asked.

"The most plausible theory I was able to come up with is that when Yukimaru was born, the fourth Mizukage was passing through his small fishing village and was attacked by assassins. The Mizukage happened to be the Three Tail's Jinchuriki, so he unleashed his Beast in order to kill the assassins while destroying Yukimaru's village in the crossfire. During the battle, the Three Tails bled, and it's blood spilt into a nearby pond. In the chaos of trying to survive the battle, Yukimaru's mother dropped him into the small lake. Yukimaru survived and by being bathed in the Three Tails' blood, it's chakra mixed with the boy's own. So whenever Yukimaru unleashes his chakra, the Tailed Beast senses its own chakra and becomes intrigued." Kabuto explained. "Three years later, Lord Orochimaru ordered Yukimaru's village to be slaughtered as an example to other villages."

"What?" Videl growled, her hair flashing yellow.

"Rest assured it was nothing personal." Kabuto stated, as if that made it better. "A few villagers were brought back as test subjects and revealed all about the boy's local legend. It was by the merciful graces of our very own Guren that she did not kill the boy after she killed his mother. Otherwise we would never have had this trump card."

"Wait, back up, who's Guren?" Videl asked, wondering what kind of heartless monster could kill a defenseless mother.

"Her." Kabuto pointed at the woman gently petting Yukimaru's head while the boy smiled at her.

"What?" Sakura hissed, on the verge of scream. "How can she? But she... Does Yukimaru know?"

"What would that matter at the present time? The boy's been devoid of a mother figure for over two thirds of his life. If anything, he's been over the moon ever since Guren took to him like a mother bear to her cub. And better still, he's become a means of controlling Guren. That's one Tailed Beast and the last known bearer of the Crystal bloodline all for one child. A grand deal, wouldn't you say? So why tarnish a good thing with harsh truths?" Kabuto asked.

"You're sick." Videl spat. Between the using of a woman's maternal instincts to control her, to that woman having killed the kid's real mother in the first place, this was all kinds of fucked up. This had Orochimaru's stink all over it.

"I prefer pragmatic." Kabuto said as he adjusted his glasses. "Which finally brings us to the crux of the matter. As you are no doubt aware, the Sound village has been in disarray ever since you killed Orochimaru." Kabuto sneered at Videl who couldn't help but smirk just to piss him off. And it was working. "I sought to ensure new protection from my various foreign enemies by joining the Akatsuki. And what better gift than the most elusive of the nine Tailed Beasts?" Kabuto stated.

"Bastard, you told us you wanted to stabilize the Sound!" Seigetsu cried. "You were gonna leave us all hung out to dry!?"

"Don't act so surprised, Suigetsu. Be grateful I let you out of your test tube in the first place. Once I have achieved my goals you will be free to do whatever it is you do. Melt into a puddle?" Kabuto asked with disinterest.

"I want to take back the sword of Zabuza and reform the Seven Swordsman of the-"

"That's nice, Suigetsu." Kabuto waved off. "As I was saying, my plan was to trade Yukimaru for a seat among the Akatsuki's inner circle and to have a base/lab of my own under the Akatsuki's protection. Things seemed to be going as planned until Ice and his alien army showed up." Kabuto spat. "The true leader of the Akatsuki got word of their arrival and brokered a deal with the Frost Demon almost immediately. Ice and his forces would help the Akatsuki capture the remaining Tailed Beasts to allow the Akatsuki leader to achieve his ultimate plan."

"Why on Earth would Ice possibly agree to that?" Videl demanded. "What does he get out of this?"

"Because of what the true Akatsuki leader's actual plan is." Kabuto said as the fire seemed to grow colder. "The figure head leader of the Akatsuki thinks that they are gathering the Tailed Beasts to create a super weapon whose destructive capabilities will be so great that it will make all of humanity cease hostilities out of fear of that weapon being used."

"Like a nuke?" Videl asked. "Because we had a full on nuclear war back in my world and it didn't make the world peaceful one bit. Maybe in the short term, but that was hundreds of years ago, the Fallout Wars. The memories faded and there are wars and more than our fair share of conflict."

"What is she talking about? Fallout Wars?" Suigetsu asked, confused.

"Videl is from another dimension. Try not to let it distract you." Kabuto said.

"The real plan?" Sakura asked, trying to move things along.

"Yes, the real plan made by the real member of the Akatsuki running the show wants to use the nine Tailed Beasts to combine them all together to form the Ten Tails and the God Tree. Using them, he plans on casting the mother of all Genjutsu on the entire planet. Trapping the population in a state of hypnotic limbo to force peace that way."

The two kunoichi blinked.

"Okay, maybe I'm just the ignorant foreigner who came to this world a few months ago, but what the hell is he saying?" Videl exclaimed. "Ten Tails? God Tree? And what's this about a Genjutsu that is cast on everyone, everywhere, at once? Isn't that impossible?" She asked, remembering Kurenai-sensei's lessons about Genjutsu. How it was better to have it used on one foe at a time because trying to maintain an illusion with two or more psyches was reserved for those who have mastered Genjutsu only.

"I afraid I can't explain the Genjutsu he intends to use, very well. But it might be quicker to ask what do you know about the Sage of Six Paths?" Kabuto asked.

"Um, very little, I think." Videl admitted. "He taught everyone ninjutsu and he had two sons who fought a lot."

"Correct. Very few people know this, but the Sage also had a brother himself. A twin brother in fact, that history tends to overlook. His brother would go on to found among other clans, the Hyuga clan. But that hardly matters. What does matter is that the two of them were not fully human. They were bore from a mother who was once the savior of this world." Kabuto began as he took off his glasses to rub them clean of ash. He put them back on and looked deeply into the fire, inviting Sakura and Videl to do the same.

"Long, long ago, before the age of ninjas, mankind fought many bloody and terrible wars constantly." Kabuto began.

 _'Some things never change.'_ Videl thought.

"Throughout these wars, the land was pillaged and villages were razed, yet there was one spot of land that was never defied by either side. No matter what. The land surrounding the God Tree, a massive living organism as tall as the sky and that brought death to all that opposed it even as many considered it to be the nexus of life on Element. And every 1,000 years, this tree bore a special fruit, now known as the Chakra Fruit, that humans were forbidden from touching. Until one day, the Sage's future mother, came down from the stars and ate the sacred fruit."

"Was she an alien?" Videl asked.

"The ancient scrolls refer to her as a goddess with three eyes and rabbit ears." Kabuto answered. "Of course, given Ice's interest in trying to eat the Chakra Fruit himself, it would make sense that she was actually an alien and why her myth has spread throughout the universe."

"Okay, so you're starting to lose me. Ice wants to eat this Chakra Fruit?" Videl asked.

"Perhaps I should summarize. After the Sage's mother ate the fruit, she gained the ability to use chakra that allowed her to become the ruler of this world. When she bore her two sons, they inherited her ability to use chakra. And their lineage spread throughout the world. Every chakra user born today can trace their lineage back to the Sage of Six Paths and his brother." Kabuto said, making every ninja in the world stare at him in awe.

"While negotiations went on inside of a nearby Akatsuki base, I spied on Ice and the true Akatsuki leader having their private conversation. In exchange for helping the Akatsuki capture the Jinchuriki, Ice gets to eat the Chakra Fruit produced by the God Tree once it forms. After that end of the bargain is reached, Madara gets to go ahead with his "Moon-Eye Plan" and Ice will leave our entire planet alone to be enslaved."

All the lifelong Elementians gasped at Kabuto's words, but Videl was left sitting there looking clueless.

"What? What did he say? Moon-Eye Plan?" Videl asked.

"Madara." Kakashi hissed as if this were the equivalent of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named from one of Videl's favorite book series from her childhood.

"He is the Leaf village's equivalent of the boogie man." Sakura said. "His full name was Madara Uchiha and he founded the Leaf village alongside the 1st Hokage. Until he betrayed Lady Tsunade's grandfather, his best friend, and tried to destroy the Leaf village."

Videl shrugged at Sakura, not sure what the big deal was.

"They say that wherever Madara and Hashirama fought, the maps had to be redrawn." Sakura said ominously.

"Why do I get the feeling that this whole thing is going to end horribly?" Videl asked as she shivered like someone splashed ice cold water down her spine.

"It won't if we can buy some time." Kakashi said. "That's why we're here. We need to capture the 3 Tails before the Akatsuki can. The less tailed beasts they have the better it is for the world."

"The less? How about none?" Kabuto asked. "One of the tricks of the gathering the Tailed Beasts is that you must gather them in order."

"Well we have the nine tails and if our assumption is correct, we also have the seven tails." Kakashi said.

"The Seven Tailed Jinchuriki is of the Hidden Waterfall village, how did the Leaf acquire her?" Kabuto asked.

"I think you mean the Hidden Rock village. She's their representative in Gohan's Neo Z Fighters." Videl said.

"No. The Hidden Rock village doesn't have the Seven Tailed Beetle. It has the Four Tailed Monkey and the Five Tailed Water Horse Jinchuriki." Kabuto stated matter-of-factly.

"He's right. They wouldn't have the 7 tails." Kakashi agreed.

"Then that girl was lying about her origin." Sakura deduced.

"It appears so." Kakashi said.

"Then where is the actual Rock liaison?" Videl asked.

"What does it matter? We have bigger things to worry about." Kabuto said. "Right now, Ice's elite team is gathering the Jinchuriki as we speak..."

* * *

Thousands of miles North West of Ridu Lake, the jagged rocky valley was being torn asunder by a stampeding Five Tailed White Stallion with the head of a dolphin. The great beast appeared to be on a rampage but was in fact fleeing a burly bald headed man in Frost Demon armor with a monkey's tail wrapped around his waist.

"Hold still." The Saiyan warrior cackled as he shot a Ki blast at the Tailed Beast's calf muscles. The water horse bucked and tumbled end over end to come to a skidding halt that kicked up whole new hills of earth.

"Had enough?" The bald man sneered as the beast whipped it's head around to spray a jet of boiling water at its attacker. The desperate move failed as the Saiyan flew around the torrent of water before slamming his fist into the poor beast's skull. It's head went limp and the Tailed Beast shrunk until it reformed into its Jinchuriki host. A man covered head to toe in red armor with the Hidden Rock symbol etched on the tip of his hat.

"Heh, one down." The Saiyan reported into his Scouter.

* * *

Hundreds of miles closer towards the Leaf, a much shorter Saiyan warrior with black spiky hair in blue armor was dodging the homing exploding bubbles fired at him from a Rouge Mist ninja wearing a loose yukata and carrying a bubble wand pipe.

"You'll have to do better if you wish to tangle with a Saiyan Elite!" The Saiyan goaded as he made a beeline towards his pray. The Jinchuriki tried to shoot him down, but the Saiyan was too quick and delivered a knockout blow to his exposed neck. The young man went limp and his attacker threw him over his shoulders. "I've got my prey." The proud Saiyan reported.

* * *

Over in the remote outskirts of the Land of Lightning, a few miles outside of the Hidden Cloud village, an impossibly muscular monster of a man with green spiky hair held up a half dead man with seven short swords and broken sunglasses hanging off his ears. His Saiyan hunter was breathing heavily, he could so easily crush the Jinchuriki's chest with one squeeze of his massive hand. Until of course his leader's voice spoke to him through his Scouter.

"Remember Broly, no killing." The Captain calmly spoke into his ear. Broly breathed deeply, but soon his muscle mass decreased and he regained him.

"Target acquired." Broly reported as he threw Killer Bee over his shoulders.

* * *

Finally, back in the Land of Earth, the mountain tops were burning as the gigantic four tailed monkey with red fur spewed lava from its mouth, turning the surrounding countryside into a Hellish wasteland of ash and fire. All the while, the Captain of the Ginyu Force circled around the great beast with little concern. His long spiky onyx hair flapping in the wind as he corkscrewed under another spewing of lava.

"Time to end this." Captain Ginyu said to himself as he shot around the great ape's blind spot and sliced off his four tails.

The beast howled in pain, but did not transform back into an old man.

"Seems you're not an Ozaru after all. A pity, that would have been fascinating." Ginyu said as he flew up the beast's chest and upper cutted it right in the chin. The monster crashed to the ground unconscious and slowly transformed back into a red haired bearded old man with a Rock ninja headband.

"This is Captain Ginyu." The Saiyan reported. "All targets captured. Return to base to receive new orders."

"Got it, boss." Nappa radioed.

"Yes, sir." Broly answered.

"On it." Vegeta said bitterly, decades later and he still couldn't quite stomach taming orders from what once was the lowest class of Saiyan warriors.

"10-4." The brother of this universe's Kakarot spoke, the Saiyan who had taken the honorable position of Captain Ginyu of the Ginyu Force. Captain Raditz.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Leaf Ninja base.

"And I know what their elite team is..." Videl said grimly.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Saiyans. I'm certain of it." Videl stated.

"Oh yeah...Ice did say something about that, didn't he."

"Yes he did. Super Saiyans is what he said." Videl clarified.

"Did he say how many?" Kakashi asked seriously.

"No he didn't. Only that they were all stronger than me." Videl answered.

The temperature in the room fell 20 degrees upon hearing that information.

"Oh...great..." Ino breathed out in defeat.

"And that's not even our worst problem." Gohan said as he and Naruto limped their way inside.

"Oh God! GOHAN!" Videl cried as she rushed to his side.

"I'm fine, Videl...Ice just broke my leg..." Gohan assured.

"Let me see." Sakura demanded as she rushed towards him and immediately started checking out his leg. "Tib-Fib compound fracture...you're done for a while."

"What is he doing here..." Naruto growled when he spotted Kabuto.

"Just two allies sharing relevant Intel with each other." Kabuto smiled.

"I bet..."

"AAAAH!" Gohan cried as Sakura started removing his shoe.

"I know it hurts, but just bear with it for now." Sakura said.

"Mother Feather!" Gohan cursed.

Sakura tried to stifle a snicker. "Really, Gohan?"

"Well it hurts!" Gohan protested.

"I know it does. But until I can get a better look at it I can't give you anything for it yet." Sakura stated.

"Just cut it off! I'll make another pair!" Gohan cried.

"It's already off..." Sakura deadpanned.

"Well then why aren't you looking at it?" Gohan snapped.

"I am... big baby..." Sakura mumbled.

"Hold on a second." Shino spoke. "Remind me, what is the Seven Tails?"

"That would be the 7 tailed beetle." Kakashi answered.

"There is a Seven Tailed Beetle?" Shino said in awe, making his teammates give him a curious look.

"You alright, Shino?" Kiba asked.

"I want to ride it..." Shino said in awe, imagining himself riding atop a gigantic beetle through the sky with childlike abandon.

"Gross..." Ino and Sakura shuddered.

"Hush." Hinata said, coming to her teammate's aid.

"What about the Seven Tails?" Naruto asked.

"We know that she lied about being from the Rock. But that's beside the point. Ice and his goons are after the Jinchuriki now, alongside the Akatsuki." Sakura exclaimed.

"They'll have a tough time getting to Fu then." Gohan said matter-of-factly.

"Wait hold on, if that's the case, then why did Ice let me go?" Naruto asked.

"Because the tailed beasts have to be captured in order for one. Two, he probably didn't realize that you're a Jinchuriki." Kabuto stated.

"Come on, he can't be that stupid, can he?" Naruto asked.

* * *

Over 10 miles away, inside the ship's medical bay, the head scientist was having words with Ice who was getting his cyborg arm attached.

"You do realize that you let one of the Jinchuriki go, right sir?"

Ice just looked at his Head Scientist. "SON OF A-"

* * *

"Perhaps you're right." Kabuto admitted back at the Leaf base.

"Well anyway. Gohan, what makes you think Fu will be safe from these Saiyans?" Kakashi asked.

"Because I have a clone there." Gohan said simply as Sakura started healing his leg.

"I don't care how powerful you are, one Shadow Clone isn't going to be enough." Videl said.

"It's not a Shadow Clone." Gohan stated, making Kakashi perk up and grow serious as well as Asuma, Gai, Yamato and Shizune.

"Gohan...what kind of clone did you make?" Kakashi asked.

Gohan looked around at all of the senior Jounin and opened a mental link to them. _'A Blood Clone.'_

 _'What's a blood clone?'_ Gai, Asuma, and Yamato asked.

 _'No, Lady Tsunade didn't teach you that?'_ Shizune exclaimed.

 _'Yes she did because she requested that my team stay and guard the village and continue their training. Since I couldn't be at two places at once, she taught me that technique.'_ Gohan confirmed.

 _'You're one lucky boy. Not many people survive using that technique. Even after months of preparation training.'_ Kakashi thought.

 _'It took me 3 minutes.'_

 _'Again, damn lucky. For that matter, it was extremely foolish for you to try and fight before you could recover.'_

 _'Lady Tsunade fed me a blood pill and I took a senzu bean before I started fighting.'_

 _'Doesn't make it any less foolish.'_

 _'It doesn't matter anyway. Ice is many times stronger than we originally thought. He's like 10 Perfect Cell's stacked. He surpasses my third form and he's got so much more hiding.'_ Gohan warned.

If they thought the room couldn't get any colder, it did. Much, much colder.

"So then how do we defeat him?" Kakashi asked aloud, bringing everyone else back into the conversation.

"There is only one trump card I can think of, aside from further training that we don't have time to do...Fusion." Gohan answered.

"I don't know what this fusion is, but I think I have a more valid solution to getting you stronger." Kabuto spoke up.

"If it involves altering anyone's DNA, forget it." Sakura said firmly.

"And no curse marks." Naruto added.

"Nothing so complicated. My plan is to poison you Saiyans." Kabuto said as he unveiled a vile of purple liquid from his sleeve.

All of their friends started to gather around Gohan and Videl to protect them.

"I think you better clarify that." Kakashi warned.

"Of course." Kabuto said. "From what intelligence the Sound village has gathered about Saiyans, you have the miraculous ability that every time you are brought to near death and survive, your power levels increase immensely."

Now everyone was more relaxed.

"Oh...that makes more sense." Gohan said.

"I assume you have an antidote." Sakura said.

"Yes, this particular poison is meant to bring a human being to a state of near death over and over. As soon as he is a hair's breath away from leaving his mortal coil, the poison subsides and allows the body to recover before slowly killing him again. Over and over, for as long as the antidote is not administered." Kabuto explained. "If my theory is right, you could make full use of your Saiyan biology once an hour."

"Fine, but not Videl." Gohan said firmly.

"And why not?" Kabuto asked.

"Because she's pregnant with twins." Sakura informed.

"Ah, good plan, wouldn't want to hurt the little ones." Kabuto said with a fake smile.

"And no you're not getting one of them." Videl said firmly.

"That was Lord Orochimaru's plan." Kabuto said with raised hands. "I have no intention of pursuing that plan."

"For your sake, that better be true. Just consider yourself lucky I didn't kill you too. However, I'm still debating on that."

"Do you really wish to threaten me before I administer a precise, non-lethal dose of poison to your baby daddy?" Kabuto asked.

"Why you little..."

"Videl...relax." Gohan said firmly.

"But he-"

"Is helping us right now to save the planet."

Videl gave Gohan the stink eye for interrupting her so much. "I don't like this."

"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to just go along with it. At least for now."

"How many stupid, reckless things are you planning on doing today?" Videl asked with tears in her eyes.

"Videl...if we don't take a proactive stand here, we're all going to die. I'm not strong enough to beat him as I am." Gohan informed, making those who didn't hear before feel like all hope was lost.

"And this is your solution?! Poisoning yourself?!" Videl cried.

"Videl...we both know that Sakura wouldn't let me die...now please calm down. If it will make you feel any better, I'll have my dad get in mental contact with everyone to learn the Fusion technique. If nothing else, it will be a trump card if we need it." Gohan consoled.

Videl sniffed and wiped away her tears. "F-fine..."

"Alright." Gohan said, giving Videl a reassuring smile before getting in mental contact with his father. _'Dad? Are you there?'_

 _'Hey Gohan! How are things?'_ Goku asked happily.

 _'Bad...very bad. We have to face a Frost Demon that's stronger than 10 Perfect Cell's and I need you to teach everyone that Fusion technique you told me about. I'll have Videl maintain an open link to everyone.'_ Gohan reported.

 _'Oh boy...well alright. I'll do what I can. Is Videl in the link?'_

 _'I'm here.'_ Videl said.

 _'Okay, link me up to everyone else. This is going to be image training.'_ Goku said.

Videl opened a link to everyone in the room except for Kabuto's team. The less upper hands they have in the long run the better.

 _'Hey guys. I have Goku on the line so pay attention.'_ Videl thought to everyone.

Meanwhile, Gohan stuck out his left arm for Kabuto to inject him with the poison.

"Let's get this over with." Gohan sighed.

* * *

10 miles away, the Ginyu Force of this universe were arriving back at their base.

"Hey Vegeta." Nappa spoke.

"What now..." Vegeta sighed.

"I got a 5 tails..." Nappa said. "How many does yours have?"

"Six Tails." Vegeta answered.

"Aww...you beat me..." Nappa pouted.

"It's not a competition, Nappa." Vegeta said before chuckling. "Although yes, I did beat you."

"What attacks did your Tailed Beast use against you? I bet it was something really deviating. Mine used boiling spit." Nappa said.

Vegeta's eyes went wide before he sighed. "...mine used bubbles..."

Nappa just stared at Vegeta with a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey Vegeta?" Nappa asked.

"What is it, Nappa?" Vegeta sighed.

"Do you know what they call six in Space Germany?"

"No, what?"

"Sex." Nappa said. "It's all because of the metric system. You fought a Sex Tailed Beast, Vegeta." Nappa grinned.

"God dammit, Nappa..." Vegeta growled.

"Will you morons knock it off." Raditz snapped.

"Yes, sir." Nappa quickly said.

"Honestly...of all the Saiyans left in the universe, it has to be you lot. A psychopath, an egotistical jackass, and a complete moron." Raditz ranted.

"You hear that Vegeta? He called you a moron." Nappa said.

"Case in point..." Raditz grumbled.

"I don't like your tone." Broly growled.

"I don't like yours." Raditz stated, making the lumbering giant of a Saiyan keep his silence.

 _'Damn him...'_ Vegeta cursed in thought. _'I am the Prince of all Saiyan's. I shouldn't be reduced to a subordinate of a low-level pile of trash...'_

As they arrived at the ship, an elite guard stood by the entrance waiting for them.

"Welcome back. Ice has ordered you to deliver the Jinchuriki directly to the holding cells while he is indisposed." The guard stated.

"Very well." Raditz said before he stepped past the guard and headed for the holding cells.

After a short walk, they dumped their prisoners into individual cells and proceeded to leave, but once they got far enough down the hallway, they were confronted by Yu.

 **"Lord Ice wishes to speak with you regarding the 9 Tails."** Yu said.

"We're already on our way." Raditz said as he brushed past Yu without even looking in his direction.

"Very well." Yu said simply.

"Ah, is Captain Raditz still giving you the cold shoulder, Mecha?" Nappa asked. "What do you say I talk to him for you?"

But Yu had already turned and left without acknowledging Nappa's words.

"Our talks are nice." Nappa grinned.

"Shut up, Nappa." Vegeta snapped

"M'kay."

Instead of heading back to the entrance, they made a right turn into the med bay where they saw Ice in a healing tank.

"Ginyu Force, I assume your mission was a complete success?" Ice asked from inside his healing tank.

"It was, my lord. The 4 tails, 5 tails, 6 tails and 8 tails have been captured." Raditz reported.

"Very good, then only the 3 tails, 7 tails, and 9 tails still elude us. Once they have been captured then I shall receive my Chakra Fruit." Ice stated.

"Except...we cannot locate the 7 tails. She was not at the location provided to us." Raditz informed.

"We have solved this. An Elementian that the Akatsuki agent interrogated told us that the 7 Tail Jinchuriki is hiding in the city known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Ice said.

"I see. Then we will capture her."

"No. Not yet." Ice ordered.

"Sire?" Raditz asked.

"The seven tails is of no concern to us. I want you five to focus your efforts on capturing the Nine Tails. I have fought with him and he has proven himself to be a threat worth considering." Ice praised.

"If he's still nearby, we'll deal with him." Raditz said.

"Oh, he is nearby. Our newest ally has confirmed that for me." Ice said.

"And who would that be?" Raditz asked.

"Bring her in." Ice ordered one of his guards.

"Yes, my lord." A guard said before he left to fetch her.

"She has decided to give up her comrades in exchange for her freedom. You will use her to track down the Nine Tails and bring it back to the ship. Same as the rest of the Jinchuriki." Ice ordered.

"Yes my lord." Raditz bowed.

"If she gives you any trouble on the way to finding the Jinchuriki. Kill her once you're done."

"Yes, my lord."

"And another thing..." Ice growled in absolute hatred. "Bring him to me...alive...I have a score to settle with him."

"Weren't we going to do that anyway because he is a Jinchuriki?" Nappa pointed out.

Ice just glared at the bald Saiyan. "Captain...I suggest you teach that man to keep his mouth shut."

"I try sir, but he throws a tantrum later if he doesn't get to speak." Raditz said.

"Then maybe you need to find someone else to join your team...and I have the perfect candidate." Ice smirked, having a really great idea. "One of the half breed Saiyan's here is quite possibly stronger than all of you. He gave me a good challenge for a brief moment. Interestingly enough...he's a spitting image of your nephew."

Raditz's eyes narrowed. "My nephew is dead." He growled.

"I know..." Ice grinned evilly. "But these two half breeds are from an alternate universe according to my Cyborg subordinate."

"Are we really going to believe a robot when he tells us there are alternate dimensions?" Raditz asked.

"Are you doubting me, Captain?" Ice asked. "Because you know what happened last time."

"No, sir. I am doubting my second-in-command. The enemy could simply say that they are from another universe and he being mere nuts and bolts would believe them." Raditz clarified.

"Well, I would agree with you...if the memories of that spikey haired brat didn't confirm it."

"Very well then." Raditz nodded. _'Another universe where Gohan is alive...'_

"The other half breed is a female and evidently his mate...it would seem that she carries their offspring. Do as you wish with her."

Raditz's eyes flashed wide before he regained his composure. "Yes, sir."

"Where the Hell is the damn guard anyway?" Ice snapped.

"Right here, sir." The guard responded as he pulled in the red headed ally.

All eyes turned on the red headed former prisoner with matching glasses. "So, my bargain is being accepted?" Karin asked.

"So long as you continue to cooperate and don't do anything to infuriate me, then yes." Ice responded.

"I take you to my team and the brat who can summon the Three Tails and you let me go?" Karin clarified.

"Change of plans, you will be assisting in the capture of the Nine Tails first, then the brat, then maybe we will think about letting you go." Ice stated.

"But that wasn't part of the deal!" Karin protested.

"I have altered the deal...Pray I don't alter it anymore." Ice sneered.

"You heard the boss. Let's go, Lando." Nappa sneered as he shoved Karin out into the hallway.

"Watch it!" Karin protested as the Saiyan's and Karin made their way outside.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the underground Leaf base.

Gohan was sweating and shivering from the poison as Kabuto watched over him while the others were busy learning the Fusion dance. Most of them sweat dropping at the mere look of it.

"You can't seriously expect me to do that..." Kiba stated.

 _'It looks ridiculous...But this will help greatly, right?'_ Sakura thought.

 _'I taught Goten and Trunks Fusion and the results were incredible. Trust me, it's worth trying.'_ Goku assured.

Sakura sighed. _'Alright...It looks simple enough.'_

 _'Remember, your energy must be completely in sync with your partner and so must your movements or it won't work properly.'_ Goku reminded.

 _'How will this work with Me and Kurama?'_ Naruto asked.

 _'I don't know for certain...But because he's already a part of you, I'd imagine his strength will be added to your Fusion.'_

 _'How about it, Pig? Wanna give it a shot?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'I suppose...It's not like we have many other options.'_ Ino replied.

 _'Wait.'_ Naruto thought as he sensed five evil presences fast approaching their base. _'We've got company.'_

"Stall them while we try this." Sakura called out as she and Ino got into position.

"Alright. Come on, guys." Naruto ordered as he ran outside, followed by Kiba, Shino, and Asuma. They quickly made it topside and looked up at the specks flying directly towards them.

"So... someone correct me if I'm wrong, but all those guys coming at us are as strong as Gohan, right?" Shino asked.

"Two of them are stronger." Naruto said.

"Great." Kiba said as Akamaru barked.

"Perhaps we would be better off fleeing and hiding from them for a couple of days? We can't just keep up this constant string of battles." Asuma said.

"We can't. Gohan is poisoned, Shikamaru is critical and Choji is missing a leg." Shino stated

"We can move them while they are injured. We did so back in wartime." Asuma said.

"Too late." Naruto said as the airborne group descended upon them.

The four Saiyan warriors plus one Cyborg and one Elementian landed in front of the group, making Naruto go wide eyed.

"Vegeta?" Naruto exclaimed, recognizing the man from his counterpart's visit to King Kai's planet.

"Oh, I see my name has spread far and wide amongst the cosmos." Vegeta gloated. "As expected of the Prince of all Saiyans."

"Um, no. I know your counterpart from another dimension. He's an arrogant prick, but he's also a good guy and a father." Naruto said. All four Saiyans blinked at Naruto like he just said he wanted to give each of them a great big hug.

"Pfft...yeah right!" Nappa laughed. "Vegeta a daddy? He's gay so he can't have kids."

"Shut up, Nappa! You're the one who tried to be a male model!" Vegeta snapped.

"Well my Child Psychology degree wasn't going to pay for itself!" Nappa defended, before snickering to himself. "Plus, you were a Prison Bitch." Nappa added.

"Twenty-five years! Twenty-five years you've been making that joke! Are you ever going to stop?!" Vegeta cried.

"Are you ever going to stop being a bitch?" Nappa replied.

"You're both bitches." Broly said.

"All three of you are my bitches, now shut up!" Raditz ordered, silencing the lot of them.

"How about you all shut up." Kiba snapped.

All eyes then turned on Kiba and he felt himself drowning in an overwhelming amount of killing intent.

"And what are you going to do if we don't?" Broly sneered.

"Broly. Knock it off. This isn't productive." Raditz ordered.

Naruto felt his blood chill. "Broly? The Legendary Super Saiyan?"

"Yes? Don't tell me that I was good in your weakling alternative dimension as well?" Broly sneered.

"No, I'm just surprised you would work for a Frost Demon. From what Gohan told me, you're supposed to be a mindless brute that was more powerful than any Frost Demon." Naruto said.

"A man's got to eat. And the Frost Demons pay handsomely for men of talent." Broly smirked.

"Wait, didn't Goku kill him?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know. Gohan kept saying that he kept coming back." Naruto said.

"Goku?" Raditz spoke.

"Surely you don't mean Kakarot." Vegeta stated.

"What's that weakling doing killing Broly?" Raditz spoke.

"Oh, the one we know is no weakling." Naruto smirked. "He could turn you into a mop and wash the floor with your blood."

The Saiyan's all burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Yo-you've got to be kidding! Raditz here beat him and a Namekian once!" Nappa laughed. "And we used to grow Cybermen who were as strong as he was!"

"Fine. Don't believe me. Just so you know." Naruto started before bursting into golden flames. "I'm almost as strong as he is..."

"Then you might give Vegeta here a run for his money." Raditz said dismissively.

"Okay, then who are you? I don't remember hearing any stories about you?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, so Gohan never told you, did he? It's relatively simple...I'm his uncle." Raditz sneered.

"His uncle? But Chichi didn't have a- Oh wait, you said you fought Piccolo? You're Raditz." Naruto said.

"Correct."

"Fucking how? You were the first person Gohan ever fought...kind of. How are you so strong? What the Hell happened?" Naruto exclaimed.

"We're not here to talk about the past. We are here for you, Jinchuriki." Raditz stated.

"Wait, one quick thing." Naruto said when he spied the young woman standing behind Raditz. "Are you an Uzumaki?"

"Um...yes I am. Why?" Karin questioned.

"I am too." Naruto said.

"Y-you're...an Uzumaki...?" Karin gasped. After years of searching for members of her clan, she finally found one.

"Yeah, I've never met another living Uzumaki. I wish the circumstances were different." Naruto admitted.

"Same here. I might not have sold you out, then." Karin replied as she threw up her arm and shot white glowing chains out of her wrist. At first, Naruto didn't move, thinking they were just regular ninja tools, but as soon as the spiked chains wrapped around his arms he felt Kurama's chakra and his own being suppressed.

"What the?" Naruto cried as he fell to the ground, the chains having wrapped around his entire figure, immobilizing him.

"You bitch!" Kiba cried as he tried to step forward, only to be deterred by a Ki beam at his feet, fired by Raditz.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Nappa warned.

"Good work, girl. Ice remembers all that assist his men. And so do I." Raditz praised.

"Why are you doing this..." Naruto growled.

"Just following our clan tradition of doing whatever I have to in order to survive." Karin said coldly.

Naruto tried to summon up his energy, but found he could just as easily will himself into transforming into a snake.

"Don't even think of struggling. These Chakra Chains are unique to the women of our clan. They are the chains that bind demons. The very presence of foreign Chakra strengthens them. The more you struggle, the stronger they get." Karin explained.

"Well I think that's enough of a family reunion." Raditz said. "Broly, grab the boy."

The men all watched as the lumbering brute swaggered over to Naruto. They felt completely helpless in his presence, he was just too strong. All of them were.

* * *

A few minutes ago...

 _'Okay…'_ Goku said for the fifth time. _'Let's try this again. Remember, one mind, one body, one soul.'_ Goku advised the girls.

 _'Right.'_ Both girls thought.

Sakura and Ino charged their energies to their max, Sakura being of course stronger.

 _'Sakura, pull back a little to match Ino.'_ Goku instructed.

 _'Huh? How are you stronger than me?'_ Ino protested.

 _'Where have you been the past few months? I've overtaken you by leaps and bounds.'_ Sakura thought.

 _'For now...'_ Ino grumbled as Sakura lowered her power to match Ino's. Fortunately, it wasn't by a large margin.

 _'Perfect, you're both in sync.'_ Goku thought, allowing them to continue.

Sakura and Ino stood opposite to one another, their arms outstretched away from their center.

 _'Begin.'_ Goku ordered.

"Fuuuuu..." They both chanted as this tip toed closer to each other. "Sion!" They turned away from each other quickly, their arms outstretched. "HA!" They cried as they arched their torsos and touched fingertips together.

Their bodies started to glow with their individual auras. Sakura's being pink and Ino's purple. The two auras that were shaped like their bodies merged inward until they were completely merged together, causing a huge burst of blinding light.

"I think it's working!" Videl shouted as the light began to dim and a massive energy signature started to present itself.

Shizune, Kakashi, Kabuto, and the others all shielded their eyes. When they looked again, they saw a new woman standing before them. One with long strawberry blond hair dressed in purple and red robes with black gloves and fishnet stocking. A purple diamond seal also adorned her forehead that seemed to have shrunk in size. She looked like she could be Sakura and Ino's sister. And the way she smiled.

 **"Awwwwwwe YEEEEAAAAHHH!"** Ino/Sakura hollered.

"Hooooly shit...do you guys sense that power?" Videl said in awe.

"Incredible...I never thought something like this was possible..." Kakashi said in awe.

 **"Believe it, Cyclops!"** Sakura and Ino said with one voice. **"Now where is Naruto-kun and Choji-kun? I've got an itch that only their fused dicks could possible scratch."** The woman said as she swaggered over to the medical corner of the room to find a mirror.

"Wait! Naruto is outside fighting the other Saiyan's. He's going to need help." Videl exclaimed.

 **"On it. One second."** The kunoichi declared as she looked at herself in the mirror. **"Hot damn I look good! Too good for either man."** She smirked. **"And I see we've reduced Forehead's forehead in size. Now it won't get caught in powerlines."**

"What do we call you?" Shizune asked.

The woman paused in thought. **"We're thinking Sakino. Or maybe Inura?"**

"I like the first one better." Shizune said.

"Same." The others responded.

" **Sakino it is. Now we think someone mentioned one of our hubby's being in danger?"** Sakino asked.

"Yeah, up top." Videl said.

Sakino then unceremoniously burst through the ceiling and 20 feet of earth before shooting out of the ground at the scene before her. All the guys just standing around while her boyfriend/her best friend's boyfriend was chained up helplessly in front of five alien warriors and one girl her age.

 **"Oh, I don't fucking think so!"** Sakino bellowed.

Naruto turned to look at the source of the new voice and was completely stunned at what he saw.

"And just who are you?" Raditz asked.

 **"I'm Sakino! The smartest, sexiest, and most powerful kunoichi in existence!"** Sakino declared.

"S-sakura-chan...?" Naruto stammered in awe. "It...actually worked?"

 **"Naruto-kun!"** Sakino cheered, sighting her love.

"Who...are you fused with?"

 **"Why? Who are you hoping for?"** Sakino winked flirtatiously.

"I uh...well it's not that...I thought you'd fuse with Videl, honestly."

 **"She ain't got nothing on me!"** Sakino declared proudly.

"Okay, enough of this..." Raditz growled. "Vegeta, get rid of her."

"Ch." Vegeta scoffed at being ordered. He looked over at Sakino's direction, only to be kicked in the face and sent flying through a 100 yards of thick forest.

 **"Ain't none of you touching my man!"** Sakino shouted.

"FUCKING BITCH!" Vegeta shouted as he flew right back at her, delivering a punch to her face.

 **"Thank you, sir...can I have another?"** Sakino smirked, Vegeta's fist still connected to her cheek.

Sakino then grabbed Vegeta's wrist and kneed him in the gut before smacking Vegeta against the ground over and over again like laundry against a rock.

She lifted him up and smirked at his broken state. **"Had enough, bitch?"**

"Y-you...bi..." Vegeta coughed before Sakino punched his face into unconsciousness.

 **"Who's next?"** Sakino smirked.

"Me, me, me!" Nappa cried as he flew at Sakino.

"Nappa, no." Raditz ordered, stopping Nappa in midair.

"Aw...but it's my turn..." Nappa whined.

"And you would get destroyed. She is a hair's breadth beneath my power right now. Broly, take her." Raditz ordered.

"Gladly..." Broly sneered as he stepped forward.

Sakino then immediately flash stepped forward and punched Broly straight in the face, making his neck snap back.

"IS that all you've got...?" Broly grinned evilly. "Because you just push my RAGE BUTTON!"

Sakino then leaned back her leg and swung it up to kick Broly square in the dick. Making the Legendary Super Saiyan see and hear white for a second. All the men instinctively covered themselves.

 **"And what button was that?"** Sakino asked.

"You kicked me in the dick...why...why did you kick me in the dick..." Broly squeaked in such a high pitched tone that none of his teammates had ever heard.

"Walk it off man! Don't be a pussy!" Nappa called out.

"Nappa, quit screwing around and grab Vegeta. Mecha, grab the Jinchuriki." Raditz ordered.

"Right, boss." Nappa said as he flew off to grab Vegeta's broken body.

Mecha Yu nodded before flying after Naruto who was still tied up.

 **"Don't you dare!"** Sakino shouted as she flew after Yu, only to be stopped when her leg was grabbed by Broly.

"You're not going anywhere, bitch." Broly snarled.

 **"You know...normally I find bulging muscles irresistible...BUT IN YOUR CASE!"** Sakino shouted before twisting her body to kick Broly in the head and knock him away.

Broly stopped in midair and felt his control leaving him. "My power...its OVERFLOWING! RAAAAAAaaaaAAAAAAHHH!" Broly screamed, causing his power to explode with rage. The entire area was bathed in a bright green light, blinding all those who could see it as Broly screamed to the heavens.

Sakino had to brace herself against the massive gale storm being kicked up.

"HOLY SHIT! CAN YOU FEEL THAT?!" Kiba yelled as he tried to keep his ground.

"(I TASTE THAT)!" Akamaru barked.

 _'Hey you two. You're going to need my power if you want to stand a chance.'_ Inner Sakura thought to both Sakura and Ino's mental projections.

 _'What the...'_ Ino thought.

 _'Inner...right, let's do it.'_ Sakura nodded.

Sakino then dug her heel into the dirt and started screaming against the massive brute's own screaming.

 **"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"** Sakino shouted.

In an instant, Sakino was completely bathed in red, but then something changed. The red glow that covered her entire body receded till only her hair was red and so were the irises of her eyes. But her power was well beyond what Naruto could've ever imagined.

"Let's enjoy this..." Broly growled menacingly as he finished his transformation.

Sakino then pulled out Ino's jagged trench knives and scraped them together to make that infamous spine tingling noise. **"You'll think differently after I hand you back your penis."**

"RAAAAAAHH!" Broly yelled before charging Sakino and clotheslining her in the throat with his gigantic arm, slamming her into several trees then finally into a large cliff. Sakino meanwhile stabbed him in the arm with her knives and kneed him in the side. The two tumbled over one another as they fought viciously across the dewy marsh.

* * *

Down below in what was the underground base, Gohan caught a brief reprieve of the poison and was brought up to speed on what was happening.

"How many cycles has this poison gone through?" Gohan asked seriously.

"One." Kabuto answered. "The next one should be hitting you any second now."

Gohan sighed. "I just hope Sakura and Ino can pull it off...Broly is a maniac of a killing machine. he will never stop, never rest until everyone around him is dead."

"Have faith in them. They can handle themselves." Shizune said.

"Broly and Sakino are evenly matched power wise. The one advantage they have over him is a wide arsenal of skills." Kakashi said.

"Plus, Sakura knows the Kaio Ken and I do believe Choji has been training Ino to use it as well." Videl added.

"But no one ever uses the Kaio Ken." Hinata pointed out.

"I did." Videl stated.

"So long as they remember...we may have a chance." Gohan said just as the second cycle of the poison hit him.

 **"SUPER KAIO KEN!"** They heard Sakino cry out before sensing a major boost in power from her.

"Ah, God!" Gohan hissed as he gripped at his heart. "That's my girl..." He said as his consciousness began to fade.

"What the...I'm his girl!" Videl protested.

"Didn't...mean it...like THAT!" Gohan cried as he felt his heart being strangled by the poison.

Videl let out a moan of concern and worry. "How much longer will this take?"

"Based on how much his power increased after only one transformation...3 days. Maybe more." Shizune said grimly.

"Dammit...Where's a full moon when you need it."

"For what? The Ozaru transformation is weaker than the Super Saiyan transformation." Kakashi pointed out.

 _'That's not what she means.'_ Goku spoke to them. _'King Kai has a theory that a tailed Super Saiyan may be able to achieve what he calls Super Saiyan 4. But since Vegeta and I no longer have tails, we can't confirm it.'_

"We can't rely on you Saiyans forever." Kakashi said as he keyed his radio. "Team Gai, move in. Get Naruto back."

"Understood." Gai responded.

* * *

As Yu made his way over to Naruto, who could only crawl away on his belly thanks to the chains. Yu was in no rush, his target was immobilized and the only being who could stop him was engaging in a fight with Broly.

That's when a metal hook on the end of metal chains shot out of the forest and grabbed ahold of Naruto and dragged him back into the forest.

"YOUTH!" Lee and Gai cried as they and Neji leapt out of the forest and charged at Yu.

Yu detected the incoming attack and simply side stepped out of the way.

Lee rolled after his kick failed and charged at Yu again. "Kaio Ken!"

 **"Registering power level."** Yu analyzed as he tried to acquire a lock on his target.

Lee threw three punches at Yu who dodged them all before he threw a fourth punch that just grazed his helmet, then he felt a wooden smacked him against his head. He stumbled back while Lee held his nunchuck in his hand.

 **"Energy sensor damaged. Unable to detect power level."** Yu said.

"From one blow to the head?" Lee asked.

 **"You hit my sensor pallet, disrupting the connection to my neural net."** Yu informed.

"Oh...well you tried to hurt my friend. I'm not sorry." Lee said as he charged at Yu, his nunchucks swinging wildly.

 **"Resistance is useless."** Yu said before taking a Ki enhanced nunchuck to his visor.

"Resist that!" Lee said before he was kicked in the gut and sent flying.

"RAAAAH!" Broly screamed as he backhanded Sakino to the ground. "Struggle all you want. In the end you'll still die." He sneered before shooting a ki blast at her that seemed to be minor.

 **"Oh please."** Sakino scoffed before firing a beam from her hand. As soon as her beam connected with Broly's ki blast, the blast increased in size by a very large amount, growing to a size bigger than an asteroid.

 **"SHIT!"** Sakino exclaimed before bringing her other hand up to reinforce her beam while Broly laughed maniacally.

"BROLY YOU INSANE IDIOT! YOU'LL DESTROY THE PLANET!" Raditz yelled.

"WHO CARES?! I WILL NOT LET THIS ONE BEAT ME!" Broly cried as he continued his attack. Sakino dug her heels into the dirt, but she was losing ground. She couldn't hold it!

Raditz then flew past her and kicked their beam struggle into the air. Sending it flying past the stratosphere before exploding like a second sun.

"YOU FUCKING FOOL! YOU DARE STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!?" Broly roared. Raditz merely looked at him before exploding with golden aura into Super Saiyan 2. Faster than even Broly could react, Raditz had his fist lodged deep in the Legendary Super Saiyan's ribs. Broly spat out blood and felt his power revert back to normal before he slumped against Raditz's fist.

"This is what happens when you don't follow my orders." Raditz whispered to his subordinate before he passed out.

 **"What the Hell just happened?"** Sakino asked, not even realizing Raditz's power.

Raditz then turned towards her and fired a Ki blast that would have taken her head off if Sakino's fusion hadn't run out at that exact moment and she split back into Sakura and Ino.

Raditz just looked at the two with stoic curiosity. "You got lucky."

"Shit, our fusion." Ino cursed, now feeling extremely vulnerable in the face of the Saiyan with hair down past his knees.

"Doesn't matter, we can still fight." Sakura said as she transformed into her Kami mode.

"So you learned the Metemorese art of Fusion. I don't know how you managed that, but it won't save you now." Raditz stated.

"Who was it we had on the ropes for the last 30 minutes?" Sakura pointed out.

"Doesn't help you now. Your fusion ran out."

Sakura charged at Raditz in hopes to deal a devastating blow, but she was batted away like a common house fly. She slammed hard into Ino, causing the both of them to get sent flying.

"The fuck?" Sakura exclaimed. No one just battered her aside like that.

"It's futile, little girl. Just give up. I'd hate to kill a couple of pretty ladies." Raditz said.

"You think we're gonna give up just because of your fake chivalry?" Sakura snarled.

"Believe what you want. But if you think you can take me in your current forms then just try." Raditz said.

"Oh we will." Ino stated. _'Sakura, can you keep him standing still and focused on you?'_

"Sure. Just don't waste any time." Sakura said.

"I think I have proven that you don't stand a chance." Raditz stated.

"Oh please, you only took out one of your own goons." Sakura scoffed.

"Then let me give you a reminder." Raditz said before vanishing and reappearing in front of her faster than she could even blink.

Sakura threw up her arms in a meager defense, but it hardly mattered. Raditz struck her, quick as a cobra, punching right at her face and making her hit herself with her own forearms.

He quickly followed up with a leg sweep, causing Sakura to trip. He then finished by slamming his elbow into her abdomen and driving her into the ground.

Sakura coughed so hard she lost her Kami mode transformation. Her thoughts turned white and the next thing she knew she was laying on her back. Who was this guy? Not even Goku hit that hard.

"Pathetic..." Raditz scoffed.

Sakura just coughed. Something about the way Raditz had hit her was making it hard to breath. She was losing consciousness; her vision began to tunnel. Raditz just ignored her and turned his attention to Ino, who stood frozen after seeing how effortlessly he defeated Sakura.

"Uh-Mind Transfer-UGH!" Ino cried as Raditz stepped past the Yamanaka heiress and grabbed her by the throat. She looked up into his uncaring eyes before he slammed his fist into her temple, knocking her clear out.

"Truly pathetic." Raditz added, noting Broly still laying in a crumpled mess a few feet away. He ignored his subordinate and checked his scouter.

' _Now where is the Jinchuriki...?'_ **BEEP BEEP BEEP** _'There he is.'_

Raditz blasted off towards his quarry, Sakura could only summon the strength to keep her head facing his direction as he disappeared over the tree line.

' _No…'_ She thought defiantly as the darkness took her.

* * *

Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Tenten was kneeling over Naruto, trying desperately to free him with bolt cutters.

"What the Hell is taking so long?" Naruto cried.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Tenten shouted before a white chain shot out of the bushes and nearly impaled her, only her gravity training allowed her to dodge in time.

Tenten threw kunai from where the chain came from and another chain shot out from a different location, which Tenten deflected.

"I know you're hiding so come out!" Tenten ordered.

"Give up my clansman and I won't harm you." Karin countered from behind cover. Her advanced sensor abilities allowed her to sense exactly where Tenten was and what she was doing without even looking at her opponent.

"Karin...is this really what you want?" Naruto asked.

"It's the only way I will survive!" Karin replied.

"No it's not..." Naruto said seriously.

"You don't get it at all, do you? Ice will be more powerful than a God when he eats the Chakra Fruit. Even now he could destroy our entire planet with a backwards glance." Karin argued. "I'd say join him, but you're going to be killed when the Nine Tails is extracted from you. I can understand you wanting to struggle until the end."

"No...you don't get it." Naruto argued back. "I...along with my friends who have trained long and hard for months...will stop him before that even happens. The world will be safe from him and anyone else who tries to threaten our world."

"Cousin...I can sense your power levels. If this is all you and your friends can muster after months of training, you should just surrender now and spare your friends." Karin said seriously.

"Is that all that matters in this? Who has the highest power level? Ice is overconfident of his powers and that is going to be his biggest mistake. Power means nothing if you don't have the skills and a sound strategy. I can assure you...no matter what it takes, Ice WILL fall to us. And that...is a promise."

"H-how can you be so sure?" Karin asked, a glimmer of hope in her tone.

"If I had thrown in the towel against every impossibly strong opponent I've faced, I wouldn't be here right now."

Karin looked at her kin, that glimmer of hope swimming around her head before her cynicism swallowed it whole. "And I wouldn't be standing here without trusting my own choices. I won't stop now." Karin said just as Tenten flash stepped past the tree Karin was hiding behind and tried to stab her.

Karin threw up her arms, but felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw that Captain Raditz had appeared and was holding Tenten's kunai arm by her elbow.

"Sorry, I still need her." Raditz said before he raised up Tenten by her elbow and kicked her in the ribs, sending her flying back 300 yards.

"TENTEN!" Naruto shouted before he saw the latter smack against a rock.

"Good choice." Raditz praised Karin as he lowered his leg to the ground and stood over her. "Now grab the Jinchuriki. We are leaving."

That was when Raditz felt something crawling on his arm. He looked at it and saw that it was some kind of strange looking spider, almost like it had been a drawing come to life.

"What in the Space Christ is this?" Raditz asked as he tried to shake off the stylized spider. The spider wouldn't leave. Raditz tried to smack it, but as soon as he did, it exploded into an inky mess.

"The Hell kind of bugs do you have on this planet?" Raditz asked Karin as he tried to wipe away the ink.

"I don't know what that was. I've never seen a bug like that." Karin answered truthfully.

Her eyes then went wide and her eyes shot up to the sky. "There!" She pointed at a white bird with black outline flying high in the sky. If she wasn't seeing it with her own eyes, Karin would swear that it was a cartoon bird rotoscoped against real life footage.

Naruto looked up and smirked when he realized who it was. _'Sai.'_ He thought.

Raditz then looked up at the cartoon bird and fired a Ki Blast directly at the creature, making it explode in midair.

Naruto wanted to scream out in horror before he noticed two figures falling away from the bird at the last second. At first, Naruto couldn't tell if the two figures were alive or dead. Then they both flipped around as they fell and Naruto could just make out the larger figure moving his arms as they both fell to the earth.

The land by the horizon then shook when an explosion kicked up a Chunin Exam stadium sized wall of a smoke. Then, a toad the size of Hokage Tower with a sword at his size and a pipe in his mouth leapt out of the smoke.

"W-what the Hell?!" Raditz exclaimed.

The massive toad and his two passengers leapt over leagues of forest floor with each kick from the beast's mighty legs. He finally came crashing down to earth standing in between Naruto and his two would-be captors.

"Behold, evildoers!" A man proclaimed like the hero of some grand opera. "Your worst nightmare! The man whose voice can woo the coldest heart and silence a newborn! The Legendary Toad Sage Sannin of the Hidden Leaf! Lord Jiraiya, that's me!" Jiraiya smiled as he struck a heroic pose atop his Toad summon's head.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Really, Pervy Sage..."

Raditz and Karin just looked up at the man to make sure he wasn't some theme park mascot.

"I believe the books I have read on social situations would call this display of yours...lame." Sai stated emotionlessly.

"Oh the both of you can just shut up! Neither of you wet behind the ears brats could understand a true shinobi's art of showmanship." Jiraiya stated.

"We are ninjas. Are we not supposed to be as least noticeable as possible?" Sai asked.

"Do you wanna just get on with it, Pervy Sage?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And I really wish you would stop calling me that in public, brat!" Jiraiya shouted, making the Toad Chief Gamabunta laugh.

 **"Ha, a perfect nickname for Jiraiya as ever, brat."** Gamabunta chuckled.

"Excuse me?" Captain Raditz spoke up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I could ask you the same question. What nerve do you have to try and kidnap my apprentice while he is on a mission? You got some kind of death wish, or do you just work for the Akatsuki?" Jiraiya growled.

"I serve Lord Ice, who has partnered with the Akatsuki to fulfill a mutual goal." Raditz answered.

"So, Princess Tsunade's intel was right on the money." Jiraiya mused. "But I'm afraid I can't let you take Naruto. So why don't you take your..." Jiraiya looked at Karin who was wearing Elementian clothes and looked out of place next to Raditz in his space armor. "Hostage? And scram. But leave the hostage."

"Karin Uzumaki." Naruto informed.

That made Jiraiya's eyes go wide. "I shouldn't be surprised. Her hair color is exactly the same as your mother's."

"True." Naruto said fondly.

"You're mother? Who was she?" Karin asked.

"Save it. That's not-"

"Kushina Uzumaki." Naruto said, interrupting Raditz.

Karin paused in thought. "Never heard of her, but my mom always told me that our clan loves female names that begin with K."

"Listen. How about I capture the Jinchuriki and then you two can chat all you want before we hand him over to the Akatsuki?" Raditz suggested as he dashed towards Naruto, only to be blocked by a sword wider than he was.

 **"You want the brat? You have to go through me."** Gamabunta snarled.

Raditz smirked. "A simple matter." He said before he grabbed a hold of the sword and snapped it in two.

 **"What?!"** Gamabunta exclaimed. That was the sword of his ancestors. Forged before the time of Kaguya. It was supposed to be unbreakable.

"Sai! Grab Naruto and the girl with the hair buns and flee!" Jiraiya ordered as he clapped his hands together.

"Understood." Sai nodded.

"Be careful! He's a full blooded Saiyan and a Super Saiyan at that!" Naruto warned.

 **"He's a deadman!"** Gamabunta shouted as he brought his blade down on Raditz, intending to slice him in half.

As if he was just catching a ball, Raditz caught the sword with his bare hand. "Is that all you got frog face?" He smirked.

 **"Cheeky little punk!"** Gamabunta roared as he puffed out his cheeks. He spat chakra enhanced water point blank at Raditz like a cannonball. Raditz charged through the stream of water and punched Gamabunta hard in the jaw, knocking him back a fair distance.

"Chief!" Naruto cried as he saw his old friend crashing end over end through the trees. Jiraiya then landed next to Naruto with his hands still clapped together, standing between Naruto and Raditz.

"Impressive." Jiraiya praised. "I'd say your strength with give Princess Tsunade a run for her money."

"If that's the best this world has to offer than this is just a waste of time." Raditz scoffed.

"By all means. Pack up your ship and leave our galaxy forever. We won't pursue you." Jiraiya promised.

"It's not my call, unfortunately. So you'll just have to entertain me for a while."

"Well if it's entertainment you want, just wait a minute. I'll give you the fight of your life." Jiraiya smiled.

"We'll see about that." Raditz smirked.

Jiraiya just stood there with his hands clapped together, not moving an inch.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"Using a very special technique. One that will help me defeat this so called Super Saiyan." Jiraiya declared.

"Really? Can you teach me?"

"You haven't even seen it yet, brat." Jiraiya said.

"So? I still wanna learn it whatever it is."

"Brat, just watch and be impressed later."

Jiraiya finally released his hands and bit both of his thumbs to make then bleed. He flashed through his hand signs and slammed them both on the ground. Releasing two small puffs of smoke.

"Little Jiraiya, what in the Hell are you doing? Summoning the both of us? And in the middle of supper time too." A shrill old woman's voice croaked.

"Oh lay off of him, Ma. The boy seems to be in a bit of a pickle and we are sworn to help him." An old man croaked back as he leapt atop Jiraiya's shoulder, followed by the old lady toad leaping aboard Jiraiya's other shoulder.

"Gamabunta is down." Jiraiya stated.

"WHAT?!" The two old toads croaked.

"We've got an incredibly powerful Ki user to fight against. One who hasn't even shown his true strength yet." Jiraiya said, pointing at Raditz.

"A Ki user? One of those half aliens from another dimension you keep going on about?" Ma croaked.

"No, this one is from our dimension, and is apparently a full Saiyan." Jiraiya stated.

"Great..." The old man toad sighed. "I heard a story from the elder about these Saiyan's. Apparently there were a group of Saiyan's who arrived here over a thousand years ago and tried to take it over. But the Sage of Six Paths wiped them out before they did too much damage."

"Which means that the Sage's chakra should make short work of him." Jiraiya smirked.

"However, the power I'm sensing from this one is beyond anything I've ever felt. Be cautious, Jiraiya boy."

"I will, but I need both of your help." Jiraiya said as he removed his red wooden sandals.

"Very well." Ma said before she looked over her should and saw Naruto laying in the mud, tied up by chakra chains.

"Uh...hey." Naruto said sheepishly.

"And who is this, lad? Is he your apprentice? Why is he chained up?"

"He is my apprentice. He's also the son of my student." Jiraiya said.

"Little Naruto? This is him? All grown up." Ma exclaimed.

"Yes, Ma. But focus, we need to help Jiraiya-boy." Pa reminded her.

"Alright, alright. I know that." Ma snapped. She clapped her hands together and Pa did the same.

"Are you ever going to make me stop waiting?" Raditz asked. "Cause every second I don't have the boy is another second my Second spends killing his friends."

"Keep your pants on." Jiraiya grumbled.

"I will not. I've wasted enough time indulging the Jinchuriki and now you with your silly praying. Now either get on with it or I'll go back and blow up your base with all your wounded hiding underground." Raditz threatened.

"I wouldn't do that." Naruto warned as Sai got to his side.

"Kid, you wanna make threats? Make them when you aren't chained up and more helpless than a newborn." Raditz stated.

"Oh don't worry, we're almost done." Jiraiya stated as he fell forward onto all fours. His muscles bulged slightly and his feet elongated into frog like flippers, as did his hands. His nose puffed up, he grew warts, and his pupils became rectangular and his eyes turned yellow.

He looked horrifying to Naruto and amusing to Raditz as he completed his transformation.

"Alright, Saiyan, I hear your kind like to transform. Let's see how you deal with the final transformation of the Toad Sage!" Jiraiya declared.

"Ahahahaha!" Raditz threw his head back and laughed.

"Y-you expect to fight me? In that ridiculous form?" Raditz continued to laugh. "You're even weaker than before."

"You think so, do you?" The Toad Sage smirked. He kicked his legs out and shot after him faster than the Saiyan could blink. The only way he registered that Jiraiya had moved was the sensation of his fist slamming through his chest, sending him flying. Coughing out bile.

"You FILTH!" Raditz barked before landing on a rock and blasting back towards Jiraiya, kicking him hard in the gut. His abs felt like Raditz was kicking iron. Even as Jiraiya was sent sailing back like a skipping stone he quickly righted himself and landed on his webbed feet before hopping back at Raditz.

 _'How did he get so strong?'_ Raditz thought.

His thoughts were cut off by Jiraiya's fist slamming into the Saiyan's cheek, snapping his neck to the side. He twirled around and kicked Jiraiya in the sides, which the Sage blocked. The two began trading blocks, like hammers against anvils. Neither one giving an inch, yet Raditz could tell this was not a fight he could win.

 _'I may have to ascend just to get the upper hand.'_ Raditz thought.

Jiraiya then kicked Raditz through a knotted old tree.

Raditz snarled at the old man. "Alright...now you're asking for it..."

"Still think I'm weaker?" Jiraiya asked as he flashed behind Raditz and kicked him in his lower back.

The kick didn't even phase the Saiyan as rocks started to float next to him. "Now you're dead..." Raditz smirked before transforming into a Super Saiyan.

Jiraiya jumped away from Raditz with a concerned look on his face.

"He might pose a threat now." Pa Toad croaked.

"We should flee and take the boy with us." Ma added.

"No. Not while my godson's life is at stake. We're going to throw this bastard back at his master empty handed." Jiraiya stated with a fury.

"Let me explain to you how utterly fucked you are now..." Raditz smirked. "I can push myself one more level if I have to."

"Then I suggest you do it now. I gain strength from nature itself." Jiraiya bragged. "I do not tire and my strength will only increase as time passes."

"If I need to I will." Raditz said before he flashed out of sight. He reappeared behind Jiraiya and kicked him hard in the back.

Jiraiya stumbled, but quickly recovered. He sent three punches at Raditz's face, raising his guard up, thus opening his belly to Jiraiya's knee. Raditz used his tail to block the attack before punching him square in the nose, making him stumble. Jiraiya then flashed through hand signs faster than even a Super Saiyan could keep track of.

"Earth Style: Dark Swamp Jutsu!" Jiraiya cried making a black swamp appear right below Raditz's feet to swallow him up to his knees. To a lesser warrior, this would be an endgame trap, but the Captain of the Ginyu Force looked unimpressed.

"Really...is that your best..." Raditz deadpanned. Mama Toad just looked offended at the Saiyan's cheek.

"No. This boy is tougher than he looks." Ma declared. "I'll have to cook him up something nice. Jiraiya-boy, get a fire going; Pa, you fan the flames; I'll bring the oil." Ma said as she and the two other Toad Sages flashed through hand signs.

"Toad Style: Oil Burst Jutsu!" Ma shouted before spewing out a concentrated burst of highly flammable, highly sticky oil directly at the trapped Saiyan.

"Wind Style: Torrent Breath Jutsu!" Pa shouted, unleashing a tornado directed at Raditz.

"Fire Style: Inferno Stream Jutsu!" Jiraiya shouted, unleashing a stream of red hot flames at the alien invader.

All three streams collided together at their target. The wind jutsu enhancing the fire jutsu beyond its capabilities, which when colliding with the oil created an inferno stronger than napalm. Raditz screamed as he was consumed by the flames, the oil searing his skin and melting his armor. His screams soon turned into laughter, which made their blood run cold. In an instant, Raditz created a dome of energy and blew away the flames and oil.

Jiraiya shielded himself and looked on as Raditz stood with his skin only slightly sunburned and his armor melted away.

"Jiraiya-boy. I think we're in over our heads." Ma said.

"Not yet, there is still that one technique to gain the upper hand." Jiraiya said.

"You don't mean..." Pa gasped.

"I do..."

"Well I refuse to do it!" Ma snapped.

"Ma, be reasonable. We have to do it if we want a chance at beating this Saiyan." Pa begged.

"Hell no, I hate having to harmonize with you. It's embarrassing when I try to sing." Ma stated.

"DOUBLE SUNDAY!" Raditz shouted, firing two purple beams directly at them.

Jiraiya sidestepped in between both beams, dodging them by a hair's breadth. "The fuck kind of name for an attack is Double Sunday? And we don't have a choice." Jiraiya argued.

Ma grumbled. "How do you know this will even work?"

"Saiyan's have very acute hearing. If my assumption is correct, this should disorient him enough to land a devastating blow." Jiraiya stated.

"Fine..." Ma grumbled. She hated using this technique above all else because it was embarrassing, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

She and Pa both took a deep breath, their throats inflating to twice their size as they filled their lungs with air. Raditz tried to fire more Ki beams at Jiraiya, but he nimbly dodged all of them. Finally, the toad couple began to sing a haunting melody at the Saiyan. At first he thought he could power through the two concentrated sound waves, but then he fell to his knees. It wasn't just that his equilibrium was distorted, all of his senses were failing him.

He fired a Ki blast wildly into the air and missed. He fell on his hands and knees, not knowing up from down. His lunch spewed out over the ground as his ears began to bleed.

"Damn you...huh?" Raditz asked as he looked up from the ground and couldn't see Jiraiya anymore. Instead he saw a little boy, with a tail, dark hair, and a bright smile on his face; running towards Raditz with reckless abandon.

The Captain's higher brain knew that this had to be some kind of trick, a way to distract him, but he didn't care. He held out his arms to embrace the young boy as he ran towards Raditz as a son would to his father.

He got all the way to the Saiyan's reach before the boy was replaced with the Toad Sage who delivered a skull rattling punch to Raditz's nose. The Saiyan was sent flying back through five trees and slammed against a rock, splitting it in half. He slumped against the broken rock, his face broken and his eyes dropping as his Super Saiyan transformation faded. He was slipping into unconsciousness.

"And that's Jenga." Jiraiya smirked.

As Jiraiya stood over Raditz triumphantly, a hundred yards away, Yu was holding his own against Lee and Neji, both of whom were reaching their limits. All other fighters were exhausted and only those two remained standing between Yu and the Leaf's underground base.

"Neji, how are you fairing?" Lee asked.

"Honestly..." Neji huffed. "We need to end this quick..."

"I agree. But Gohan is out of commission and Videl is too fragile right now." Lee stated before looking at him seriously. "I think it's time we use maneuver 14."

Neji looked at his longtime teammate. "Lee, we aren't supposed to do that unless we are desperate."

"And it is that time. My Kaioken is exhausted and you're Chakra levels are depleting fast, are they not?"

"Alright..." Neji said as he dashed towards Lee. He twirled his sleeves to wrap around his arms tightly. He held out his arm which Lee grabbed and started twirling him around like a shot put.

"Wait." Yu said out of the blue, holding up his hand.

Neji stopped dead in his tracks and Lee kept his guard up while Yu looked up to the sky.

 _'Alert: Captain Ginyu is down.'_ A computer voice spoke inside Yu's helmet. _'Heartrate and brain activity is falling. Ginyu Force member 5: Broly, and Ginyu Force member 3: Vegeta, are also unconscious. Suggested battle tactic: Recover fallen members and retreat.'_

"What is he doing?" Neji asked to no one.

Without saying a word, Yu charged up his Ki and rocketed off towards the horizon.

"Um...What just happened?" Lee asked.

Neji activated his Byakugan and followed Yu's trail. "He's headed towards Tenten and Naruto!"

"We have to follow him!" Lee declared.

"Right." Neji nodded as the both of them flash stepped after him.

They sprinted through the forest until they came across an unconscious pair of kunoichi.

"It's Sakura and Ino." Neji said as they came to a stop to check them out.

Neji knelt down and check to see of Sakura had a carotid pulse. "Sakura is alive, but she's out cold."

"Same with Ino...It seems their fusion wasn't enough." Lee stated.

"It's possible. The most logical choice should've been with Videl. But at any rate, we need to catch up to Yu." Negi stated.

"Even still, Sakino was more powerful than Gohan. I could sense it. What kind of monsters are we fighting if their fusion wasn't enough?" Lee asked.

"If Gohan's memories are anything to go by...they are unlike anything this world has, or will, ever see." Neji stated.

"Why don't we fuse?" Lee asked.

"Because I would rather die again than do that ridiculous dance with you." Neji stated.

"But you've seen the results. Our combined power and skills would be unreal." Lee argued.

"We'll discuss it another time, let's go!" Neji exclaimed as he took off after Yu.

"Right!" Lee agreed as he took off behind Neji. They made it 100 yards north before they ran into Lord Jiraiya and that Root kid named Sai. The latter had Tenten unconscious in his arms while Jiraiya knelt over Naruto trying to undo the Chakra Chains still binding him.

"Lord Jiraiya?" Lee exclaimed.

"What happened?" Neji asked.

"I believe I've read about this before. Naruto got into some kinky bondage with his cousin." Sai smiled.

Neji and Lee sweat dropped while Jiraiya just smirked.

"No you idiot!" Naruto snapped. "They tried to capture me!"

"That too, I suppose." Sai shrugged.

"Hold on. What's this about Naruto having a cousin?" Lee asked.

"Remember how Kushina talked to you all about her clan, the Uzumaki? Well it turns out we ran into one of Naruto's nomad clansmen. A female at that." Jiraiya said as he tried to remember the jutsu he developed to break out of Kushina's Chakra Chains.

"Then what's with the chains?" Lee asked.

"Uzumaki Kekkei Genkai. Mostly, the women of the clan can use it." Jiraiya replied.

"Then what do the males of the clan get?" Naruto asked.

"A little bit longer lifespan than the woman. So you could in theory live till you're 150." Jiraiya answered as he finally got the hand signs right and the chains dissolved.

"Does that mean...I'll outlive Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, afraid of the answer.

Jiraiya sighed. "It's very possible. I don't know much about the Haruno clan, but I know their life spans are typically between average and just under average."

"I think we have more pressing matters." Neji said.

"Not really." Sai stated.

"We just got our asses kicked and barely survived thanks to the both of your stepping in. Now we are extremely vulnerable to attack." Neji pointed out.

"He's right, we need to regroup at your base and plan our next move." Jiraiya stated.

"Not much of the base left. Kiba, Shino, Asuma, Gai-sensei, Kakashi, Ino and Sakura are out of the fight." Neji reported.

"I don't think this one is looking any better." Sai said, looking down at Tenten.

"And Captain Yamato is out as well." Neji added.

"What happened to Sakura-chan!" Naruto demanded.

"She got injured in the fight. She's alive, but out cold." Neji reported.

"Damn it..." Naruto swore.

"Who's left?" Jiraiya asked.

"Just us and Videl, but she won't leave Gohan's side." Neji reported.

"And Hinata." Lee added. "And Kabuto's team. Which would amount of himself, that blue kid, and that woman who can fight."

"Don't forget about me." Naruto stood up. "I can still...ugh..." He flinched as a wave of pain washed over his body.

"So we're screwed then." Jiraiya mused.

The young ninjas all looked at him curiously. "Um...Lord Jiraiya, shouldn't you be encouraging us not to give up?" Lee asked.

"Why? We're all equals here. And we truly are screwed." Jiraiya said. "Let's get back to the base. We need to plan our next move."

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: So am I clever with Ice's Ginyu Force? My favorite part has to be Raditz being the leader and the strongest among them. Something that I'll be sure to have us explain in the later chapter. Is this original or am I not as clever as I think I am? Tell us so in the review below.**

 **I don't want to promise anything, but chapters 38 and 39 are "done." I am super excited for chapter 39, as you will see. Without wishing to spoil it was one of the most fun chapters me and Cmartin have ever written (in my opinion). But as I said at the beginning, the road of life is being bumpy right now for the both of us. Delays happen. They suck, but they do. So thanks again for your patience and all your support.**


	38. Chapter 38: Sage Training

**Message from CMartin: Relatively short chapter this time. Really sorry for the delays. This past month has been a real bitch on both me and my fiance. But things are finally settling down and I'm able to help put chapters out again. Which brings me to a conversation that me and Panda have been going on about for a few weeks now. The next chapter of Transfer Students. We've been debating on a new threat to have everyone fight. A long term threat, not just a short term one as is the norm in Dragon Ball. So we came up with a couple of ideas. Panda's was to have another cousin of Naruto's come in and make a wish on the Dragon Balls to make all of the Saiyan's human's. Personally, I don't wanna do it that way. He assures me that they'll be returned to normal after either a year or when they go to Namek. My idea was to have Android 17 revive the Red Ribbon Army using the same Android programs Gero used to make the Androids as well as incorporating Saiyan DNA that survived Gero's lab destruction to enable this new army of Androids able to adapt instantly to new and higher power levels. Which do you think we should do? LEave a review and let us know.**

* * *

"Hey Sakura? Can... I talk to you for a minute?" Ino asked. "Privately?"

"Do you really think now is the time?" Sakura asked as she noted all the injured people laying on the ground.

"It pertains to my concerns of your mental well-being so yes. Now is the time."

"I have an inner self who talks to me. I've had it since I was a kid. Can we move on?" Sakura snapped before she ran off to treat Kiba who looked more worn out than ever.

"No, we can't!" Ino said firmly as he held Sakura back by grabbing on her shoulder. "I need to know more about this. Because right now, until I get more information I can't let you do anything more and you know it."

"Ino, you met her back when we fought during the Chunin Exams. Have I acted crazy since then?" Sakura asked.

"Honestly? You have changed a lot since then. Hell, your whole demeanor in general has. You're quicker to lose your temper now more than you ever have been, you openly showed affection for Naruto before you even knew you had feelings for him and just recently you agreed to a fucking swingers party. Something I know you'd never EVER do. So what I wanna know is that how much control does she have over you and how does this power of yours relate to her?"

Sakura blinked a few times. Like she was waking up for the first time in months. "I...she..."

Ino sighed heavily. "Sakura...I want to do a full psychological evaluation on you, starting the moment we get back inside...but for right now...your duties as a medic are suspended until I say differently."

"Then I'm going to say you are unfit to serve do to your injuries as your superior officer." Sakura countered.

"At this point, I outrank you and Shizune will agree. And my injuries are minor."

"I was a Chunin before you. I outrank you. Plus, I diagnose you with cancer. So there." Sakura said as she started healing Kiba's ribs.

"You can't just falsely diagnose me with a terminal illness that I know you don't have proof of."

"I don't need to prove it, I just need to get you to shut up while I do my actual work. Which is how long an actual diagnosis from Shizune would take. So, you can either help me, or keep up this nonsense about benching me until you can do a psych eval." Sakura said.

"Fine. Then I'll just talk to Shizune about it. Since it's obvious you've decided not to listen." Ino said before walking off.

"Would you get your ass back here and help me heal all our friends? Before more aliens arrive to wreck our shit?!" Sakura yelled.

Ino didn't acknowledge her and kept walking. The concern she had for her long time best friend and surrogate sister was far more important to her.

"Sage of Six Paths..." Sakura sighed.

 _'Seriously, since when is she ever this nosy?'_ Inner thought.

 _'Since always...but I think I understand why she's concerned.'_

 _'Why's that?'_

 _'I have given you a lot of free reign in the past few years. Because of that, I was able to become the woman I am now and Ino isn't used to seeing that. And I also want to know why this power is somehow associated with you.'_

 _'You sure I can't convince you to overlook that for twenty more years?'_ Inner thought.

 _'Why 20 years? Wait no...no I wanna know more about this. If nothing else, it will get her off our backs.'_

 _'Look, if I tell you, I won't be able to stop.'_ Inner said.

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _'You want to get stronger, right?'_

' _Of course, I do. You've seen how Ice and his Ginyu Force fights. I need power now more than ever.'_ Sakura ranted.

Inner frowned. She knew this day would come. She just really wished it would have been long after her destiny was fulfilled.

 _'Tell you what. Get in a meditative stance and I will tell you everything. This time for real. Just be prepared for a very long talk. I mean a long talk.'_

 _'Fine, but after I heal my friends.'_

 _'Done. Just...promise me you'll love Naruto after our talk is done.'_

Sakura actually had to stop what she was doing when she heard that. _'I'm sorry, what? What does Naruto have to do with this?'_

 _'Quite literally everything.'_ Inner thought before fading away into the back of Sakura's subconscious.

Sakura gulped. _'I really don't like the sound of that.'_

* * *

Down in the basement, Naruto was observing all his friends as they sat around licking their wounds. As impossible as it seemed, it was still day one of their mission, yet they hadn't stopped fighting since they arrived. First the Ice soldiers ambushing them, then the Akatsuki, then Ice himself, and finally his Ginyu Force absolutely pounding the shit out of their platoon. By some grace of god, no one on their side had been killed yet, but Naruto couldn't be certain that they had truly won any battles either.

They had recovered all of Team 10, but their members were down to Asuma and Ino, neither one of them looked ready for another fight. Team 8 and Team 3 had all been pushed to their limits and looked to be on the edge of collapsing. That left Team 7, plus Gohan, and Kabuto's forces. Consisting on one guy who could turn into water, a boy who could summon the Three Tails but was useless in a fight, and the Crystal Release user. They were down to half their strength and the sun hadn't even gone down yet.

Naruto looked over and saw Shizune, Sakura-chan, Ino, even Kabuto doing what they could to help the wounded. Jiraiya and Sai were hunched over a map while Kakashi explained to them their situation. Videl was also hunched over Gohan, who was still fading in an out of consciousness due to the poison.

"Things haven't been this grim since the 3rd war." Jiraiya muttered.

"Tell me about it." Kakashi said as he felt the need to rub his left eye.

"You don't suppose this could be the start of a 4th war, do you?" Hinata asked.

"We'd need to be fighting against another ninja nation for that." Sai pointed out.

"Not exactly." Jiraiya spoke.

"No, he's right." Kakashi said. "This isn't a declaration of war, this is an invasion."

"Right...but this isn't the first invasion our planet has faced." Jiraiya stated.

"True, but that was thousands of years ago. Back when the Sage of Six Paths was still young." Fakusaku the Toad Sage said.

"Wait, the Saiyan's came here before?" Videl asked, voicing everyone's question.

"So that old fart the Elder Toad tells us." Ma Toad said. "They came after the Mad Queen Kaguya was defeated. The Sage and his brother managed to defeat the Saiyan invaders, who fled to the farthest corners of the planet. There they hid amongst the populous and gave birth to children who would become Element's first Ki users. They would expand until they were hunted down by Chakra users to extinction. That is, until you and Gohan-boy came along." Ma said.

 _'I never heard about that...'_ Sakura thought.

"It is believed that some of their descendants survived. But their blood line thinned so much over time that their traits and skills were forever forgotten." Fukasaku said.

That's not true." Sai stated. "The last Ki user was killed off less than 100 years ago."

"Who did?" Videl asked.

"By Madara." Sai stated.

"Of course, all the world's problems seem to point directly to him." Sakura sighed.

 _'You have no idea...'_ Inner sighed.

 _'What? What do you mean?'_

 _'Tell you later, like I promised you.'_ Inner said.

 _'How about you just tell me now?'_

 _'Patience.'_

"Why did...Madara kill them...?" Gohan asked, gasping for air.

"Why did Freeza kill the Saiyan's in your universe? People were afraid of them." Fukasaku answered.

Videl's fist tightened.

"If I remember the historical texts correctly, Madara was afraid they would become stronger than him. So he killed the known descendants of the original invading Saiyan's that elected to stay and live among the people on Element peacefully." Ma said.

"Danzo did not believe they were intending to live here peacefully. They were bidding their time." Sai said.

"Well he doesn't have anything to say about it anymore." Videl growled.

"He can't say anything anymore." Naruto joked.

"Madara might." Kabuto said.

Doesn't matter. We'll beat him."

"How will we beat them?" Hinata asked. "Gohan and Naruto together couldn't beat Ice, and when Sakura fused with Ino they couldn't even stand up to the leader of Ice's Ginyu Force."

"That's why I'm thinking I could fuse with Sakura." Videl said.

"What about your twins?" Sakura asked. "How will they fair if the two of us fuse? Will they fuse with us? Will our fused-self become pregnant?"

"I...I don't know..." Videl answered honestly.

"What if one of the twins gets left inside Sakura when the fusion wears off?" Kakashi pointed out.

"What if both of the twins get left inside, Forehead?" Ino pointed out.

"It's too risky. Too many variables." Shizune said firmly.

"So we need to figure out some other method of getting stronger." Naruto said.

 _'Getting stronger alone isn't the answer.'_ Goku said in their minds.

 _'What do you mean?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Just raw power and bulked up muscles alone won't win this battle against this kind of opponent. While the physical training is important to have, you all need additional mental training. Create new strategies, work them out with each other, coordinate your attacks, outsmart him.'_

 _'That's kind of hard to do when we are in the middle of a mission.'_ Neji thought.

 _'The mission can wait. The fate of your world as it stands is far more important.'_ Goku stated seriously. _'I've been watching you thanks to King Kai. Though some of your strategies are sound, your approach to using them are wrong. You can't just recklessly attack head on and expect to win. You need to focus on finding your opponent's weak points and use them against him. If Ice is anything like Freeza, then he'll be easy to beat. He'll be proud and arrogant of his power. As soon as you find a way to tip the scales in your favor, you'll have him cornered. He'll get desperate and lose sight of his goals. His moves will get sloppy, giving you the advantage.'_

 _'That's all well and good, but our enemies will not stand idly by while we lock our wounds and plan need tactics.'_ Kabuto pointed out. _'We need to retreat for now. We still have Yukimaru and we have Naruto. So long as the both of them remain out of the Akatsuki's clutches, victory may be ours.'_

 _'Where are we supposed to retreat to?'_ Naruto asked. _'Between my cousin and their Scouters, no matter where we go they will find us.'_

 _'Not everywhere.'_ Jiraiya spoke up.

All eyes turned to the Toad Sage, but none more astonished than the two elder toads.

"Jiraiya-boy, you can't be serious. You know it is forbidden." Fukasaku croaked.

"We don't have a choice. Besides, it gives me the opportunity to train Naruto how to use Sage Mode."

"That is exactly the point, only someone with the Toad Summoner's contract may ever step foot on Mount Myoboku." Fakusaku reminded him. "Perhaps Sakura could join since she has the Slug Summoner's contract, but this one has the Snake Summoner's contract." Fakusaku pointed at Kabuto.

"We're not leaving anyone behind. Even Kabuto." Jiraiya stated. "Mount Myoboku is the safest place in the world for them all to recover and train. Ice and his men could search the planet for a month and never find it. Besides, these kids are all the best hope for the entire planet. If the Toads don't make an exception, then we can all kiss our butts goodbye."

"We are spitting in the face of 2,000 years of tradition." Fakusaku groaned.

"Oh screw the damn tradition!" Ma spat. "We can break it now and spend the next 2,000 years getting all stuffy about new traditions."

"What she said. If we don't beat this threat now then we're all dead." Jiraiya said.

Fakusaku stroked his beard in thought, he looked out at all of the faces seated before him, young shinobi that still had the will to fight but not the means.

He sighed. "I'm going to get an earful for this, but you are right. Ma, help me prepare the seal for transportation."

"Right. Kids, pack everything you need." Ma clapped her hands.

"I'll handle the medical supplies." Shizune stated.

"I'll help you." Sakura offered.

"No, you help get the wounded ready to go. You and Ino both."

"I've got Gohan." Naruto said.

"No... I'll take him." Videl said somberly.

"Let me help you." Naruto said.

Videl just nodded before they carefully lifted him up.

The rest of the guys who could walk all worked on packing everyone's things together, even Yukimaru helped out. All the while, Fakusaku and his wife began drawing a large circle in the center of the room. The runes they wrote were strange to Sakura and Videl. Neither one of them recognized them. Not in regular seal writing or advanced seal writing. It was as of it was written in an old language exclusive to Toads.

"The Toads are experts with fuinjutsu. You lot could learn a lot from them." Jiraiya smirked.

"Only if she signs the Toad Summoning contract." Fakusaku said.

"I probably could. I haven't signed a summoning contract with anyone yet." Videl said.

"We can discuss it in detail later, you seem like a sweet girl." Ma smiled as she finished her rune.

"But don't just pick the first one you see. Explore around and see which one fits your needs." Jiraiya advised.

"Well...what ones are there?" Videl asked.

"All kinds. I summon dogs for instance." Kakashi said as he helped Shizune pack up her supplies.

"Myself, Shizune and Lady Tsunade summon slugs." Sakura said.

"Old man Hokage summoned monkey's." Naruto stated.

"Sasuke had taken on the Hawk Summoning contract." Kabuto spoke up.

"He did? When did he do that?" Sakura asked.

"Two years into his training I believe." Kabuto said as he tightened his bag.

"Wait...is there an Eagle contract?" Videl asked, now intrigued as she was a fan of birds of prey.

"Yes, although what use would it be to you, who can fly?" Kabuto pointed out.

"Scouting. I'm classified as a scout Genin." Videl answered.

"And Genjutsu." Shizune spoke.

"You should take the Snake Summoning contract. Snakes are great for scouting and genjutsu." Kabuto hissed.

"I...um...I don't think I want snakes..." Videl answered, a little creeped out.

"Suit yourself." Kabuto said as a snake slithered down the hole in the roof that Sakino made, freaking out Videl and Yukimaru, before it slithered up Kabuto's leg and disappeared beneath his robes.

"Ew...oh definitely not..." Videl shuddered.

"There are also cats and fish." Jiraiya listed off. "I would get yourself a contract that makes up for your shortcomings."

"Which would be what?"

"I don't know. You know yourself better than I do. Figure it out."

"You're cocky and too overconfident." Sakura stated seriously. "You also lack basic knowledge of being a ninja and the history of ninjutsu. Which can be remedied by going to the Academy."

"Wow, thanks..." Videl said.

"I'm not putting you down, I'm being serious." Sakura clarified. "The one thing you have a major issue with is getting angry too quickly. Honestly, I think you should sign the slug contract."

"Ew, gross." Videl stuck out her tongue.

"They're not gross." Sakura stated. "They are actually very helpful and have healing powers. I bet you didn't even notice the one on your shoulder, did you?"

"What?" Videl said as she looked over to her right and then her left shoulder to come face to face with the biggest slug she had ever seen.

"Hello." The white slug with pink stripes spoke.

"WAAAHHHH!" Videl cried as she flung the slug off of her shoulder into Sakura's arms.

"Videl! What did you do that for?! You damn near gave Katsuki a heart attack!" Sakura snapped.

"And I don't even have a heart. Not like you vertebrates." Katsuki spoke teasingly.

"She snuck up on me!" Videl cried.

"She was healing you." Sakura pointed out.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like slimy things, especially when they sneak up on me." Videl stated.

"And if it wasn't for her, you'd be in a lot worse shape than you are." Sakura stated.

"It is alright, Lady Sakura." Katsuki said sadly. "I apologize for sneaking up on you." Katsuki bowed her head towards Videl.

"Don't apologize to her, she overreacted." Ma spoke up.

"Well, sorry. I don't like slugs. No offense." Videl said.

"None taken." Katsuki said.

"Well, you got time to think it over. We're ready to go so." Jiraiya stated.

Videl looked over to see everyone had gathered together in the circle. Naruto and Lee were carrying Gohan's unconscious body.

"Oh...my bad." Videl said sheepishly before she stepped into the circle.

Ma and Pa then leapt to either side of the seal and flashed through a few quick hand signs.

"Naruto-boy, Jiraiya-boy, we need a sample of your blood as payment." Pa said.

"Got it." Naruto nodded before he and Jiraiya bit down on their thumbs.

They let the blood drip down onto the seal which glowed upon contact. The world filled with light and Videl felt they could draft of the base being replaced with the warm glow of the sun.

She opened her eyes and found herself in paradise. Mountain peaks, trees, and ponds all looking like they had been painted by a master artist. Filled with greens, reds, blues, and yellows. It was breathtaking.

"Woah...this is where the toads live?" Videl said in awe.

"Yes." Jiraiya said simply as Videl noticed a few toads hopping behind one of the mountain peaks, only he appeared as tall as the mountain peak.

Another few toads were lounging on a lily pad, casually eating flies the lay on a leaf in front of them. Some younger toads could be seen playing leapfrog. An older toad appeared to be painting a landscape portrait of all things.

"This is amazing." Yukimaru said in awe as he held onto Gurren's hand.

"It's beautiful." Sakura said while Naruto just looked dumbfounded.

"Jiraiya! What is this?!" A loud booming voice echoed that Jiraiya and Naruto immediately recognized.

"Gamabunta. Glad to see you've been patched up so quickly." Jiraiya said to his main summon, the Chief Toad, as he stood before the group like a mountain wrapped in gauss.

"Don't change the subject. What the Hell are you doing with all these people? Only those who signed our contract may step foot on our mountain." Gamabunta's eyes narrowed at Kabuto. "Especially him...he stinks of snakes."

"We didn't have a choice. They have been under constant attack from those Saiyan's and I brought them here to train and recover. If it makes you feel any better, these two ladies." Jiraiya said, pointing to Shizune and Sakura. "They have the Slug contract."

Gamabunta flinched. "Never much cared for slugs. You approved of this?" The Chief asked Fakusaku.

"I didn't really have a choice. It's either they came here or our very existence is doomed." Fukasaku stated. "That, and I'd never hear the end of it from Ma."

"Took you 300 years, but you're finally learning." Ma praised as she hopped past him. "Come along children, we'll take you to our home. Get you all situated and then get some grub in your bellies."

"And she means literal grub." Jiraiya warned.

Unfortunately, no one heard him after hearing about the possibility of hot, home cooked food.

"That sounds awesome. Let's go!" Naruto declared.

"Mind if I help?" Videl asked.

"Oh that won't be necessary dear, but thank you." Ma smiled. "You attend to your husband. I'll whip you all up a feast." She declared with her fist raised high.

"You should let her help you. They may not care for what you eat, but even half Saiyan's are bottomless pits. Especially one who is pregnant." Jiraiya informed.

"You're pregnant?" Ma exclaimed with joy as she leapt over to Videl's side and placed her hand to her belly.

"Yes, with twins." Videl smiled.

"Mmmm..." Ma hummed as she slowly ran her webbed fingers down Videl's stomach. "I can sense that they are both strong and healthy. Still, why in the Sage's name are you doing on a mission, as far along as you are?"

"She's a little more than two months along." Sakura informed as the rest of the group followed Fukasaku to his home.

"Even still, back in my day, you kunoichi ceased fighting when you were with child. Although those were more dangerous times." Ma said as she remembered the endless age of the Warring States period.

"She's one of the strongest Shinobi we have." Sakura stated.

"She should be thinking about her tadpoles." Ma said as she kept her hand on Videl's belly, using her energy to sense the little forms of life taking shape.

"My goodness... They're so far along. And only after two months?" Ma said in shock.

Videl sighed. "Saiyan pregnancies have a shorter gestation period. Only a six-month term."

"Only pressing my point if you are reaching your second trimester." Ma said.

"Well, I chose to go. And I'm not the only pregnant woman here." Videl stated.

"You're pregnant too?!" Ma beamed at Sakura.

"What?! No!" Sakura cried with red cheeks.

"Pity. We hear so much of Jiraiya-boy's student. Poor boy has had such a horrible life. But to hear he finally got with the girl he had always had a crush on... Well, I've never properly met the boy, but Jiraiya-boy talks about his godson like he was his own. That makes him family." Ma smiled.

"I know..." Sakura sighed heavily. "But it's not me. It's Shizune."

"Wait, back up. What's that about Jiraiya being Naruto's godfather?" Videl asked.

"He never told you? Minato and Kushina named him Naruto's godfather after Jiraiya-boy gave them the boy's name." Ma said.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"It was the name of a character in one of his novels." Ma said.

"Oh God no...Not one of his smut novels..." Sakura groaned.

"No, no child. While, yes, Jiraiya-boy is well known for his rather...Questionable novels, he did write one that wasn't. It was called The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. The hero of that novel was named Naruto." Ma explained.

"That's right, I completely forgot. Kushina and Minato told me this already. Although they didn't mention that Jiraiya was Naruto's godfather."

"They told you? How did they tell you?" Ma asked in confusion.

"Back when King Kai linked us together via the Mental Plane." Sakura said.

"That and you were at King Kai's." Videl added.

"That's true, but I actually met them face to face back in the boys' hotel room in Hell." Sakura said.

"My word..." Ma said in shock.

"But Jiraiya is his godfather. Where was he all of Naruto's life?" Sakura asked.

"You'd have to ask Jiraiya-boy that. I would have half a mind to raise the boy here after hearing about what those villagers did to an innocent little boy." Ma growled. "Now come inside, I need to get to work on the feasts your party needs."

"Okay." Sakura nodded.

"I still insist that I help you." Videl said.

"Well now that I know you're pregnant, I'm not going to let you help with cooking. Relax, be by your husband's side. I know it is where you truly wish to be." Ma said as she remembered so many centuries ago when she had to bandage Fakusaku after he returned from a harrowing battle where he nearly lost his life. She could still remember his breathing. It was so shallow, yet he never looked so brave as he tried to return to the battle while she forced him to rest.

"Then let me help at least." Sakura offered.

"Can you cook?" Ma asked skeptically. "I've heard horror stories through the grape vine."

"Oh did you now." Sakura grumbled. "Yes, while I was on King Kai's planet, Kushina taught me to cook."

"You had an excellent teacher then. I shall be honored to continue your training in the culinary arts." Ma smiled.

"I'm the one who should be honored." Sakura smiled.

"I can give you a couple of recipes. Gohan's mom has a great recipe for centipede eel stew." Videl offered.

"That sounds lovely. You'll have to share it with me afterwards." Ma smiled.

"Oh I will." Videl nodded as the 3 of them went to Ma's house.

* * *

Sometime later, back at Ice's ship.

"YOU IGNORANT FUCK UPS!" Ice bellowed as sparks arced around his healing tank, making the Saiyan's flinch. "I gave you idiots one SIMPLE task and you couldn't even do that! It was simple; bring me the 9 tails brat and you failed... Miserably..."

"Sire, we underestimated their skills and-"

"I don't wanna hear any lame excuses, Captain!" Ice snapped. "Once my arm is healed then I will take care of it myself. Seems I have to do everything around here."

"Metamorese." Raditz spoke.

"What about them?" Ice asked curiously.

"Those brats know their art of fusion." Raditz informed.

"Is that so...That is quite curious..." Ice mused. "I wonder how they were able to learn that technique..."

"I will personally bring the 9 tails here." Raditz declared.

"No, that would not be a wise move. If they know fusion then your nephew could fuse with the 9 tails brat and utterly destroy you. If it came to that then I'm the only one who can take them down. No, we'll bide our time and wait until my arm is healed. That and once Vegeta and Broly are healed as well." Ice mused.

"How long will that take?" Raditz asked.

"Around 3 days for it to fully regenerate. So as of right now, careful planning is our only option. Now, get out of my sight."

* * *

All eyes were wide open in terror at the sight that beheld them. The bubbling pots, the twitching limbs sticking out of purple stews, all with the overwhelming aroma of crushed ladybugs rising up from the bowls and searing everyone's nostrils.

Kiba and Akamaru clutched their noses. Shino let loose a silent scream. Hinata buried her face in Kiba's chest. Ino and Asuma looked green.

Team Gai also looked greener than Lee's jumpsuit. Kakashi, Shizune, and Yamato all held their mouths, while Naruto, and Videl looked on in horror.

"Dig in." Ma chirped with joy as Sakura stood behind her, looking ashamed for having a hand in creating this disgusting abomination served to them.

"I tried to warn you." Jiraiya said knowingly.

 _'Sakura-chan... Why...'_ Naruto whined into her mind.

 _'I tried to stop her, but she insisted...and it was the only ingredients she had in her house.'_ Sakura thought back, feeling like she had failed them all.

"I-is that...insect gumbo...I smell...?" Gohan asked weakly.

"Why, yes it is!" Ma beamed. "Would you like to try and have some?"

"Y-yes...please..." Gohan replied.

Ma waddled over to his bedside on the couch with a bowl of insect gumbo. Gohan tried to reach out to gasp the bowl, but found his arms to be too weak. So, Ma spoon fed him and saw his exhausted face light up.

"It's delicious...thank you..." Gohan smiled.

"You're quite welcome, young man." Ma smiled.

Gohan then looked out the window to see the golden tipped mountain tops and the setting sun.

"Is this heaven?" Gohan asked. "There are a lot more frogs in heaven than I was expecting."

"No, you're not dead. We're in the land of the toads." Jiraiya stated.

"Oh...it felt like heaven." Gohan sighed.

"Is it really that good?" Kiba asked.

"Tastes like my mom's." Gohan confirmed.

"Let me try it." Videl said, being the only other brave soul to give it a shot. She took a spoonful of the viscous, chunky stew up to her face and plopped it in her mouth,

A chill ran down her spine.

"It's...interesting..." She said.

"But how is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's not bad...just, not something I've had before."

"Hmmm... Let me try it." Naruto said bravely.

"By all means." Sakura said.

Sakura pushed forward a bowl of beetle stew with a beetle the size of a chicken sticking out of its broth towards Naruto.

"Ah, Sakura here made that dish herself. With my instructions." Ma smiled. "She's a quick learner. You won't be disappointed."

Naruto just frowned at Sakura. _'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'_

 _'Hey, if you're going to try this...cooking, it might as well be my cooking.'_ Sakura thought back at him.

 _ **'I think she's trying to prank you, kit.'**_ Kurama smirked.

 _'I'm not trying to prank you!'_ Sakura snapped. _'I worked really hard to make this dish. It's not my fault the ingredients are meant for amphibians.'_

 _'Yeah, fuzz brain! Lighten up.'_ Inner snapped.

 _ **'Who are you?'**_ Kurama snapped back.

' _Your worst nightmare...'_ Inner growled as her eyes glowed red.

Kurama had seen that look before, but he wasn't sure where. All he knew that it was a very long...

Then it hit him. _**'No...it can't be...'**_

Kurama shook his head. That was a long time ago and there was no way he could've been right.

Naruto looked down at the bowl skeptically. He picked up his chopsticks and poked at the beetle. It's chest cavity opened up to reveal the yellow gooey meat inside.

 _'Oh god...that's just gross...'_ Naruto thought to himself.

 _'I'm sorry...'_ Sakura thought sadly.

Naruto's heart broke at Sakura's apology. Here he was complaining about a free meal that Sakura had worked really hard on, no matter how disgusting the ingredients may be. He sucked in his chest and nervously took a bite.

 _'Oh god, I can't look.'_ Sakura thought as she tried to cover her face.

"It's good." Naruto spoke up.

"What?" Sakura asked as she looked up to see Naruto turning purple trying to hold it all down.

"It's really good, Sakura-chan." Naruto swore as he forced himself to swallow his bite.

"You hear that, Sakura? Now here is a fine man who knows good cooking." Ma playfully nudged the kunoichi's ribs.

"Um...right..." Sakura said, putting on a fake smile that Ma didn't seem to notice.

 _'You're only saying this because it's my cooking, right?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'I'm sorry...But it's so disgusting...'_ Naruto whined.

 _'Well we can't be rude. We're going to be living here for a few days.'_ Sakura stated.

 _'I know...'_

 _'So no whining.'_ Sakura thought as the rest of the gang forced down their food that was offered to them. All of them looking disgusted, but if Ma recognized this she either didn't care or found some sadistic amusement from it.

"I gotta say, this is some good beetle stew." Jiraiya praised as he sampled Sakura's dish without even shivering at the aftertaste.

 _'How can you eat that?'_ Sakura thought to him.

 _'Years and years of training with the Toads. You either develop a taste for their food or starve. And with the training Naruto is about to undergo, he will develop a taste for it too.'_ Jiraiya said as he sampled some more if the feast everyone else was trying to keep from crawling out of their bellies.

 _'I'm not making it for him I'm telling you that right now.'_

 _'I never said he'd want to eat it again.'_

 _'Knowing him, it will be one of those rare occasions that he'll eventually want me to cook for him.'_

 _'Knowing him, he'll want you to cook for him every chance he gets.'_ Jiraiya countered.

 _'Yeah, true. Which I won't mind.'_ Sakura said fondly.

'You're a rare woman. He's lucky to have you.' Jiraiya praised.

 _'What can I say?'_ Sakura said as she looked at Naruto trying to gag down his meal. She smiled as she watched him. _'I'm head over heels in love with him.'_

 _'I can see that. It's good to see that he's getting the love he needs.'_

 _'Yeah. That's another thing. Why didnt you step up and take him in?'_ Sakura asked, making Jiraiya go wide eyed. _'Oh yeah. I know about you being Naruto's godfather.'_

Jiraiya looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at them and their mental conversation. "Why don't we take a walk? Have a nice private conversation."

"Agreed." Sakura nodded as she stood up from the table.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"Lord Jiraiya here is your godfather and I wanna know why he let you grow up as an orphan." Sakura stated.

All around, everyone's jaws dropped at hearing that. But the one who was the most shocked was Naruto himself.

"What did you just say...?" Naruto gasped out.

Jiraiya let out a deep sigh. "Naruto...Before you were born, your mother and father named me as your godfather and Sakura's mother as your godmother. But...when I heard that Minato and Kushina were killed by the Nine Tails, I assumed you were too... I never knew that their child survived that night." Jiraiya explained.

"Bullshit." Naruto said. "You've been the spy master of the Leaf for decades. You telling me the Third Hokage never told you about me?"

"You were in his inner circle. Even his name should have tipped you off!" Sakura exclaimed. Making Jiraiya look at her in shock once again. "Yes, I know about the one novel you made that wasn't a load of smut. The Tails of a Gutsy Ninja. The main hero being named Naruto. The name that inspired Minato to name his ONLY child after! So, don't give us that load of shit!"

The Toad sage's house was as quiet as a grave.

"Why don't the three of you take this outside?" Fakusaku suggested. "Some fresh air could keep your heads clear."

Sakura turned on her heel and walked to the front door, her anger getting ready to boil over.

"Oh boy..." Naruto said as he followed after his girlfriend, followed by Jiraiya.

Once outside, they could see Sakura smashing some pebbles with her fingers just to keep her temper in check.

"Alright, out with it. What was the real reason you didn't take Naruto in?" Sakura demanded.

Jiraiya closed the front door of Ma and Pa's cottage before facing the two Chunin.

"Do you want the straight answer or the long-winded answer?"

Sakura crushed a larger pebble in her hand with an audible crack.

"Naruto...I need an answer from you. I plan on training you on how to be a Toad Sage while we are here. I need to know that you'll be able to put aside your anger for me after I tell you this. Otherwise, I'll just wait until the crisis has passed." Jiraiya said seriously.

Naruto just sighed. "You have my word. Now explain before Sakura-chan turns you into a pretzel."

Jiraiya looked over at Sakura and could swear it was Princess Tsunade standing in her place, glaring death at him.

"Right..." Jiraiya said as he motioned for the two of them to follow him down the stream of ponds cutting the Toad village in half.

"I got word of your father's death faster than anyone else outside of the Leaf at the time." Jiraiya began. "Hiruzen-sensei had called me back immediately in case of an attack. And to have me elected as the 5th Hokage."

"And you refused. Why?" Sakura asked.

Jiraiya chuckled. "What part of me screams Hokage material? I was the Pervert without equal who wrote smut novels and was too obsessed with bringing my best friend back to the Leaf." The Toad Sage said sadly. "Hell, if I couldn't be a good Hokage, how was I supposed to be a good father? The way I figured it, I could do more good for my godson from afar than I ever could changing his diapers."

Naruto and Sakura stared at him, inviting him to continue.

"So I left you in the Third's hands. He assured me that the orphanage would take care of you. Meanwhile I had my spy network working round the clock to ensure that your parentage was never made common knowledge to keep you safe from your father's enemies." Jiraiya continued. "And make no mistake, he had a lot of enemies."

The two ninjas followed Jiraiya over the surface of one of the ponds, the water as smooth as a sheet of glass.

"By the time you were old enough to become a student of the Academy I sent the Third Hokage huge checks every month to pay for your rent, your food, and anything else you might need."

"Wait, that was you?" Naruto asked. "I thought the old man was just doing that."

"He pitched in, believe me. But I was your godfather. I might not have raised you but I'd be damned before I let you starve."

"I...I never knew..."

"Because I never told you. Not that I ever intended to. God knows a few checks don't make up for lonely nights." Jiraiya said sadly.

"Well you did a lot more than I thought you did. That definitely counts for something." Naruto said.

"And... I'm sorry for nearly losing my temper." Sakura said shamefully.

"It's alright. I curse myself every now and again for the kind of godfather I was. The Third always assured me...but if I have three regrets in life, one of them is not sucking up my pride and taking care of you myself like I promised Minato and Kushina."

"Three regrets?" Sakura asked.

"Yup." Jiraiya said.

"What are the other two?"

"I'm not telling." Jiraiya said as he strolled through the mountain pass.

"One of them is about Lady Tsunade...isn't it." Sakura said, making Jiraiya stop dead in his tracks.

"Possibly." Jiraiya admitted as he continued on his hike.

"It must be...Because it's one of hers."

Jiraiya then whipped his head around. "Now don't go teasing your elders like that. I might have a bang buddy deal with her now, but that doesn't mean it's anything more than that."

"I know it is...I heard her say it to Shizune."

"Really? What did she say?" Naruto asked.

"I didn't hear all of it as I was just passing by her office. But I heard her say with absolute seriousness that she regrets not giving him a chance back in the day and that she wishes she had the courage to make all of that up."

 _'Did Tsunade really say that...?'_ Jiraiya thought with almost childlike hope.

 _'She did.'_ Sakura thought. _'She may have loved Dan a long time ago, but the Lady Tsunade I've known these past few months has been happier than I have ever seen her after you came back.'_

Jiraiya just stared at Sakura, looking like a dear caught in the headlights. Could it really be true? After all these years, was Tsunade finally falling for him?

He shook his head, there were more important things to do. A student to train and a world to save. But the second he got back to the Leaf...

"Thank you for telling me, Sakura." Jiraiya smiled.

"No problem. Just figured I could help." Sakura smiled.

"You've got a kind heart." Jiraiya praised.

"Well...this knuckle head had a big influence on that..." Sakura blushed as she pointed to Naruto.

"Oh come on. You've always had a big heart, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled.

"Not always..."

"Yes always, quit selling yourself short." Naruto insisted.

"I'm not selling myself short. Don't you remember? Back when I wouldn't hesitate to put my fist through your face over the smallest thing? How is that having a big heart when you were just trying to lighten up an otherwise crappy day?"

"Oh come on, I was a brat back then. I wanna punch myself upside the head when I remember what an annoying idiot I used to be." Naruto said.

"The thing is...looking back on it now, you weren't annoying, Naruto...you were actually funny and so were your pranks."

"Come on, you give me too much credit." Naruto waved off.

"No... I'm not giving you enough. Or rather, I was too blinded by my own shortcomings, i.e., Sasuke, that I never voiced how I truly felt. And by that, I mean how funny you were, not any feelings I may or may not have had." Sakura stated truthfully.

"Okay, how about the both of us agree that we both sell ourselves short." Naruto chuckled.

"I guess." Sakura sighed.

Naruto them stepped forward to steal a peak on her lips. "Chin up, you're so much cuter when you smile."

Sakura blushed then giggled. "Baka..." She smiled before pulling him in for a real kiss.

Jiraiya then pulled out his notebook and scribbled down a few notes.

"Ahem." Jiraiya coughed.

Sakura and Naruto each held up a finger to tell him to wait before they separated a few moments later.

"Not that I'm against young love, but I have something to show you, Naruto." Jiraiya said.

"Really? What?" Naruto asked.

"Perhaps the greatest technique I will ever teach you. The final lesson for anyone who has signed the Toad Contract. How to become a Toad Sage." Jiraiya said.

"Awesome..." Naruto said in awe.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure. I saw him use it a little while ago. Made him look ugly but he matched Raditz blow for blow." Naruto stated.

"Ugly?" Jiraiya roared. "That was Sage mode, the most sacred and revered technique of the Toads! You should be honored that you were even there to bear witness to such a technique, let alone being given the opportunity to be taught it."

"Just explain to him what it is." Sakura ordered.

"Geez, you really are Tsunade's double, aren't you?" Jiraiya asked.

"So, what if I am?" Sakura asked while she secretly wanted her masters boob size.

"Nothing. Sage mode is essentially what you achieve once you activate Sage chakra, or natural energy as some call it." Jiraiya explained.

"Natural energy? what's that?" Naruto asked.

"It's the energy that occurs naturally. In the air, from the earth, the seas, and all living beings. Something that we humans don't have a natural affinity towards. Not without proper training." Jiraiya said.

"Oh, I get it. It's like the energy I collect to make the spirit bomb." Sakura deduced.

"Yes, only you don't collect it in your palm, you bring it inside your own character reserves."

"Right..." Sakura nodded.

"This in turn strengthens your entire body, awakening all your senses. You'll be faster, stronger, more agile, more durable, and since the natural energy doesn't come from you, you won't tire out after using Sage chakra either." Jiraiya added.

"Woah...I wonder if that's something I can learn." Sakura said in awe.

 _'I've got something more important to teach you.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Really? What?'_

 _'Just find a nice quiet place to meditate. This is going to be a long talk.'_ Inner said.

 _'Alright.'_ Sakura replied before turning to Naruto. "I'm gonna go meditate for a while."

"Hold on, I've got the perfect spot for you." Jiraiya said as he led them both past a wall of over grown vines.

 _'What are you meditating about?'_ Naruto asked her mentally.

 _'I was just thinking about what Goku said. About how we have to be both strong physically and mentally.'_ Sakura answered.

 _'So, you wanna get stronger mentally? But you're the smartest person I know.'_ Naruto pointed out.

 _'It's...more to it than just getting smarter.'_

 _'If you say so. Just holler if you need anything.'_ Naruto nodded.

"Sakura?" Jiraiya spoke a little louder.

"Huh? What?" Sakura asked.

"I was saying that you would need to undergo the Slug's Sage training. You wouldn't be accepted by the Toads." Jiraiya said.

"Oh. Well that's what I meant. But would Lady Tsunade already be the Slug Sage?"

"No, she isn't. To my knowledge, the Slugs have never had a Sage." Jiraiya answered.

"Then how do you know that they can teach me how to be a Sage?" Sakura asked.

"Because Tsunade tried to become a Slug Sage, and it nearly killed her. She's the only one in recorded history to ever survive attempting the training." Jiraiya said.

"What? What does...wait, hold on." Sakura said before summoning her friend, Katsuki.

"Hello, Lady Sakura. Is everything alright?" Katsuki asked.

"I just wanna know something. What does the training in becoming a Slug Sage consist of?" Sakura asked.

"The same as the Toad's Sage training I would imagine." Katsuki answered truthfully.

"The catch is that you have to complete it in the Valley of the Slugs." Jiraiya explained.

"The Valley of the Slugs?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Katsuki said. "Where I and all my sisters and brothers resign."

"Okay...what's bad about that?" Sakura asked.

"From what Tsunade told me after she attempted the training, the air in that valley is more poisonous to non-slugs than any known substance on Element. She was reverse summoned there and nearly died just trying to crawl out of the valley." Jiraiya said.

"Oh..." Sakura said, now wide eyed. "Well, that explains it."

"Say, where are we anyway?" Katsuki asked.

"Mount Myoboku, the mountain of the Toads." Jiraiya said.

"W-what...? Really?!" Katsuki exclaimed as she looked around. Sure enough, she found herself on top of a lush mountain with toads everywhere.

"Oh my, I've never been invited to the Mountain of the Toads." Katsuki said.

"Well, it's a good thing the Slugs and Toads are friendly to one another." Jiraiya stated.

"Yes, not like the Snakes." Katsuki shuddered.

Neither Chunin could ask what she meant before they came across a break from the mountain jungle and found themselves standing before a beautiful waterfall filling up a pond of what looked like light brown oil. Surrounding it were hundreds of statues of Toads sitting in meditation, coming in all shapes and sizes. Some as large as Gamabunta, some smaller than Fakusaku. They all gave this spot a kind of holy aura about it. The kind you would associate with monks in their temples.

"Woah..." Naruto said.

"Wow...it's amazing..." Sakura said in awe.

"This is the sacred training ground of all those who wish to become Toad Sages." Jiraiya said as he walked over to the pond. "The statues you see around you are from all the people and toads who have failed to master Sage chakra."

"What about those who have?" Sakura asked.

"Well they don't get turned into statues." Jiraiya chuckled as he dipped his finger into the pond of oil and his features immediately became Toad like. His nose widened and grew warts, his eyes became yellow and his pupils turned into rectangles. His hands and feet also became webbed.

"Oh god...I see what you mean, dear." Sakura said in horror to Naruto.

"I'm honestly more startled by you calling me dear." Naruto admitted.

"I have before and you never said anything. What, you don't like me saying that?" Sakura asked nervously. Hoping she didn't make a mistake.

"No, sorry, you just don't say it often enough that it surprised me. I don't hate it." Naruto said, scared that he had made Sakura upset.

"Would you two lovebirds save it for later? I'm trying to teach you something that very well could be the deciding factor that lets you defeat that Frost Demon." Jiraiya lectured.

"Right, sorry." Sakura said sheepishly. "I'm uh...gonna go meditate now."

"You don't want to see the demonstration for when Naruto tries to use this oil? You might find it amusing." Jiraiya smirked.

"I'd...rather not. Might give me nightmares."

"Yeah, yeah, probably. Spoiler alert. He could turn into a frog, and then one of these statues if the training goes wrong." Jiraiya said, opening his arms to the garden of Toad statues surrounding them. "And a kiss won't turn back to normal."

Sakura's face was completely drained of its color. "I...uh..."

"Oh bullshit." Naruto scoffed as he dipped a finger into the oil.

"Wait, Naruto!" Jiraiya cried out after it was too late. At first Sakura couldn't see anything wrong with Naruto from the back of his head. Then he turned around to face her and the pink haired medic shrieked in horror. The right half of Naruto's face had mutated into some kind of toad/human hybrid freak. Its yellow eye blinked at Sakura while Naruto raised up his green, slimy forearm to touch his cheeks with his webbed fingers.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto croaked as the mutation spread across his face like moss.

Wasting no time, Jiraiya bit his thumb and flashed through the hand signs before slapping his palm onto the stone basin surrounding the oil pond. From the puff of smoke, Fakusaku appeared.

"Jiraiya-boy, what is the meaning of- BY THE SAGE!" Fakusaku cried upon seeing Naruto curl up onto his belly with his limbs tucked in. His skin was now completely green and slimy, and he couldn't move his arms or legs anymore, like he was turning to stone.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried out as she watched helplessly as her boyfriend was transforming into a stone frog before her very eyes.

Fakusaku clapped his hands together and out popped a black metal rod from thin air. He grasped the rod and brought it down upon Naruto's amphibian head.

"OUCH!" Naruto cried as he sat up, his body completely returned to normal with the exception of a new lump on his crown.

"What the Hell happened just now?!" Sakura cried out as she rushed to Naruto's side.

"Aahh...son of a..." Naruto moaned as Sakura wrapped him up in a hug, beyond relieved that his skin was back to being sweaty, not slimy.

"That is what I was warning you both about. The training we are about to undertake is extremely dangerous. Learning how to use Sage chakra means mastering how to balance natural energy with your body's mental and physical energies that normally mix together to create your chakra. Letting too much natural energy inside your body with cause you to be overwhelmed and result in this transformation." Jiraiya explained.

"Which you aren't supposed to attempt without me being beside you." Fakusaku lectured. "How could you even think of letting him attempt the oil exercise without me being here with my nature expulsion stick, Jiraiya-boy?"

"Why didn't you say something in the beginning?!" Sakura exclaimed. "You know how careless Naruto can be!"

"Um, I'm right here, Sakura-chan..." Naruto deadpanned.

"And you're careless. Care to argue my point?" Sakura challenged as she pointed to the pond of oil.

"I'd rather call myself curious." Naruto nervously chuckled.

"Well you know the old saying; curiosity killed the cat. As it almost did." Sakura lectured.

"Right." Naruto said as he tried to lean back from his girlfriend's piercing glare.

"Now...am I good to do my mental training or do I need to watch you?"

"It's alright, Sakura." Fakusaku said as he hopped over to her. "I will supervise them both. Nothing will happen to Naruto-boy."

"Thank you, Master Fakusaku." Sakura bowed politely at the Toad Sage.

"Don't mention it." Fukasaku waved off.

"I don't suppose I could meditate at this spot? I don't wish to be disrespectful." Sakura requested.

"You can meditate anywhere you want my dear." Fukasaku smiled.

"Thank you. Good luck to you all." Sakura smiled as she found a nice flat stone to sit upon where the sun looked like it would shine upon all day. She sat down, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

 _'What I'm about to tell you is completely true. So please listen carefully.'_ Inner spoke.

 _'I'm listening.'_ Sakura nodded.

 _'You know of the sage brothers, Indra and Asura, correct?'_ Inner asked.

 _'Well of course I do. That's Academy knowledge.'_ Sakura stated.

 _'Did you know that Asura had a wife and kids?'_ Inner asked.

 _'What? But Asura practiced abstinence. He didn't have a family.'_

 _'That is what they would have you believe. The fact is that Asura did have a family. I should know...I was his wife.'_ Inner informed.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Slowly…we are getting back into the swing of things. We love you all for your patience. Expect ch39 up soon. It has got to be one of my most favorite chapters. Right up there with the Confession chapter and Naruto vs. Freeza. But before that happens, tell us what you think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Ugly? We can only get better by people pointing out our flaws in writing in a constructive manner so that we heed their critiques and don't get all offended.**


	39. Chapter 39: Chimera

_'What I'm about to tell you is completely true. So please listen carefully.'_ Inner spoke.

 _'I'm listening.'_ Sakura nodded.

 _'You know of the sage brothers, Indra and Asura, correct?'_ Inner asked.

 _'Well of course I do. That's Academy knowledge.'_ Sakura stated.

 _'Did you know that Asura had a wife and kids?'_ Inner asked.

 _'What? But Asura practiced abstinence. He didn't have a family.'_

 _'That is what they would have you believe. The fact is that Asura did have a family. I should know...I was his wife.'_ Inner informed.

 _'You were Asura's wife?'_ Sakura repeated in awe. _'I thought you were just a voice in my head.'_

 _'And if I had my way, that's all you would ever think of me. The truth, however, is that I am not your inner self, your ego, or your subconscious. I am you. The you, you once were. I am what Asura is to Naruto. Or what Indra would be to Sasuke. I am you, and you are my reincarnation.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Wait, Naruto is...Asura's reincarnation?! Sasuke was Indra?!'_ Sakura exclaimed.

 _'And you are the lesser known Chimera's reincarnation.'_ Chimera stated.

Now Sakura was completely flabbergasted. _'I-I'm...'_

 _'A demi-goddess. At least once you unlock all of my powers you will be. Congrats.'_ Chimera smiled.

 _'But...how? How did you get these powers?'_ Sakura asked.

Chimera chuckled to herself as Sakura opened her eyes and found herself in a black inky world similar to the one where she had met Naruto's parents for the first time. Opposite her was a beautiful woman in a kimono of flowing pink ribbons and resplendently done up hair and make-up. She looked like the noblest of Daimyo wives. Above lords and high priests. Her hair was dark pink and her face made her look like she could be Sakura's older sister or even Sakura's twin a few years down the line. She looked beautiful.

Sakura's awe turned to horror when she noticed the woman sinking into the blackness below her feet. Sakura tried to run after her, but found her own feet bogged down in the stick black tendrils of her own subconscious, dragging her down as well. Sakura held her breath as she was completely concealed into darkness, only to blink and find herself standing outside in the garden of one of the most magnificent palaces she had ever seen. Three stories of while marble walls with roof tiles made from the finest clay. The wooden doors leading inside or serving as windows on the stories above, made the finest wood, expertly crafted by what looked to the completely creative unconscious Sakura as the work of master artisans. The garden was decorated as well with flowers and planets from every corner of the globe. All blooming with colors Sakura didn't even realize existed.

It looked to be the palace from long ago that Sakura assumed was owned by the man who ruled the world. The only thing not worthy of awe about the entire scene was the clothes line hanging above Sakura's head, in between her and the garden. And that's when Sakura heard the sliding wooden door open and a little girl wearing simple peasant robes and sporting pink hair a shade darker than Sakura's walked outside carrying a basket of laundry.

 _'Enjoying the palace?'_ The little girl asked Sakura as she walked past her and started hanging up the laundry.

 _'Inner? I mean, Chimera?'_ Sakura asked the little girl.

 _'In the flesh.'_ Chimera said without turning away from her chore.

 _'Wait, hold on...you just looked like a princess a moment ago, why do you look like a maid now?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'We are in one of my memories. Specifically, of my time living as a servant girl for the Hagoromo clan.'_ Chimera said as she pinned up a wet undershirt up on the line to dry.

 _'The...Hagor...what?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Just call them the Sage clan. Or the Clan of the Sage of Six Paths. All the rest of the peasants do. It's a terribly confusing name. Even worse to try to write. It's gotta be the worst part of being the future matriarch of the clan.'_ Chimera laughed.

 _'So wait, let me get this straight. You were a maid to the Sage Clan, then you married Asura?'_

 _'That's jumping ahead a few decades. I'm only six years old at the time.'_ Chimera said as the scenery around the two of them began to change.

 _'But yes, I end up marrying Asura.'_ The world shifted to show a wedding ceremony happening far in the distance atop a beautiful hill covered in blooming cherry blossom trees. Then it shifted back to the garden with the handing laundry. _'But for now, such ideas are the dreams of a foolish peasant girl who needs to learn her place and do her chores.'_

Chimera hung another shirt up on the line before continuing. Sakura could see the sores on the bottom of her bare feet, indicating that the young servant girl was rarely off her feet.

 _'After my father died, my mother found a place for the both of us to live inside the palace, provided that we both worked.'_ Chimera said. _'I was as content as a child could be. I had my mother, clothes on my back, a beautiful home to live in, a warm bed to sleep in, and enough hot food to call this place heaven. In the decades that followed the sealing away of the Mad Queen Kaguya, many were not so lucky.'_ Chimera said as she diligently continued with her chore.

 _'Wait a minute, Kaguya? The rabbit eared goddess who ate the Chakra Fruit?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'The very same. This was her palace in fact.'_ Chimera said as she waved her hand towards the magnificent palace looming behind the two girls. _'Her sons inherited it after they sealed her away and saved the world. One of the twins would go off to meditate for fifty years. And the other would create Ninshuu to share with humanity. Or as you call it today, Ninjutsu.'_ Chimera said, making Sakura feel in awe of the world changing place she found herself in the center of.

 _'But I was a child back then. I had no understanding of that. I didn't even realize that I was serving the greatest and most powerful savior of this world that humanity has ever known.'_ Chimera said. As if on theatrical timing, on the other side of the garden, far away from the lowly servant's garden, a man with grey skin, the robes of a Sage, and horns like a demon, stepped out of his house and headed towards the garden's koi pond. Following close behind him were two boys looking to be around 5 and 7 years old. Both of them were wearing robes as splendid as the man Sakura knew instinctively to be the Sage of Six Paths. They both ran around the garden and played like two young brothers often do. With a rough game of tag where the goal wasn't to touch the other person, it was to shove them into the ground.

Eventually the father managed to corral his sons into paying attention. Sakura watched as the Sage of Six Paths walked over to the Koi pond and began walking atop the water's surface without breaking his stride. He then sat down in meditation and invited the brothers to join him.

The younger brother looked in awe of his father's magic trick and ran over to join him, only to take one step onto the pond's surface before crashing into the water below.

The older brother meanwhile, stoically obeyed, stepping carefully onto the water's surface. He made three whole steps forward before he too fell into the water.

Sakura couldn't help but smile when she saw the two brothers. There was something so oddly familiar about them.

 _'It's uncanny, isn't it?'_ Chimera asked. _'How much they remind you of Naruto and Sasuke I mean.'_

 _'It really is...I think I understand them better now.'_

 _'That they are brothers? No great leap of logic there.'_ Chimera said as she completely stopped in her chore to observe the two boys her age try again and again to walk on water.

 _'But what about you? What was your relationship with them?'_

 _'Hmmm? Oh, I was there only friend.'_ Chimera said as the scene changed again. Now Chimera was walking away from Sakura who had to jog to catch up with her. Chimera was carrying another basket of freshly dried laundry down the hall as the two young Sage brothers ran around the corner, the older brother chasing the younger brother.

 _'Get back here!'_ Indra cried as he ran after Asura. Before Chimera could react, Asura collided with her and they both took a tumble.

 _'Ah! Watch where you're going!'_ Asura and Chimera said as one. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at their interaction.

That's when the two kids opened their eyes and looked at one another. Asura looked up and saw the prettiest girl he had ever seen and Chimera saw the two young princes of the palace.

 _'My Lords, I'm sorry.'_ Chimera bowed her head as low as she possibly could, just as her mother taught her.

 _'Uh...no its fine. I wasn't watching where I was going.'_ Asura said sheepishly.

Indra took that opportunity to pound his fist into Asura's head.

' _Ow! What'd you do that for?'_ Asura cried.

 _'That's for sewing horse dung into my mattress.'_ Indra scoffed.

 _'Geez, brother. Can't you take a joke?'_ Asura whined while Chimera took the time to scramble all of her split clothes back into her basket before she got in trouble.

 _'Do it again and I'll sew horse dung up your nose!'_ The seven-year-old threatened.

 _'Ah whatever- Hey, where are you going?'_ Asura cried out when he saw Chimera trying to slip away unnoticed.

 _'I uh...I gotta finish my chores.'_ Chimera said.

 _'What are chores?'_ Asura asked in confusion.

 _'Fool, it is what servants do.'_ Indra answered.

 _'Wait, you're a servant?'_ Asura asked.

 _'Y-yes, my lord. I am a faithful servant of yours and of the Hagoromo clan.'_ Chimera bowed.

 _'Hey now, no need to bow to me. Come on. Leave these chores and come play with us.'_ Asura grinned.

Chimera looked up in horror at his suggestion. _'Play? B-but my lord. The chores...if a don't finish them, my mother will be really angry with me.'_ Chimera said meekly.

 _'Then let's go ask your mother. Is she a servant too?'_ Asura asked as he took Chimera's hand.

Chimera blushed heavily. _'Y-yes she is...'_

 _'Then I should be able to order her around like I do you. And then we can play together.'_ Asura smiled as he dragged Chimera off with Indra following close behind.

Sakura ran after the three of them, leaving the laundry basket behind. They searched up and down the castle, rounding corner after corner until Sakura found herself running outside atop a beautiful grassy hill in the middle of summer. From there she watched as the three children played together. Running around, playing tag and king of the hill, with Chimera being pushed down and crying once or twice before finally shoving both boys down and proclaiming herself Queen of the Hill.

The scene changed and the four of them were exploring deep in the woods. Looking under rocks and walking along logs. The boys leapt from tree top to tree top while Chimera ran on the forest floor beneath them. They went swimming in the rivers together, sat underneath the stars during a meteor shower, and even hunted down a boar together. Asura and Indra acting like Chimera's personal bodyguards against the savage beast.

The scene changed again as they were back inside the palace as the snow outside battered the walls with the winds of winter.

Chimera did her chores, but also sat to watch as the Sage brothers learn a new jutsu. She would yell out encouragement for them both and ran to get the medic whenever one of them burned their cheeks learning to breath fire.

Sakura then blinked and found herself looking at Chimera who was walking down the hallway alone, carrying a heavy mattress. When who else but Asura showed up to help her carry it.

Sakura smiled, but then the scene grew dark and Sakura turned around to see the only source of light was a single candle for a desk. Where Chimera and Indra were seated opposite one another and Indra appeared to be teaching Chimera how to read and write.

Indra sat closer to Chimera to help her with a particularly difficult word and Sakura was almost surprised when she saw Chimera leaning her now 12-year-old head against Indra's shoulders. And Indra didn't seem to mind it one bit.

 _'You had feelings for him, too? So why did you push me to go for Naruto so much?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Because your flip flopping feelings for the two boys are nothing new. I was no different back when I was your age.'_ Chimera said as she sat up from her desk, leaving Indra behind to continue the scene without her. _'Although Asura clearly liked me more, and was sweet, and kind, and funny, do you think that held a candle to his brother? Who was older, smarter, more serious, more powerful, and the shoe-in to one day lead the greatest clan in Element's history?'_ Chimera asked.

 _'Back then, no...but now...'_

 _'Well don't think I completely made up my mind when I was 12 either. Still, even before I had bled, if Indra had asked me to bear him children, I would have said yes. Of course, I assumed that meant a lot of kissing in bed and nothing else.'_ Chimera admitted.

Sakura giggled. _'But what about Asura?'_

 _'Him?'_ Chimera asked as the scene changed to show Chimera watching from the porch as the rain pounds the garden training grounds while out in the middle of the Koi pond, a 16 year old Asura did handstand push-ups with his shirt off. He was so young, yet his back muscles rippled with each dip. A sight that had mortal women everywhere thanking the gods.

 _'I might have been more reserved with him at first, but I wouldn't have hated the idea of bearing him children.'_

 _'Sure you wouldn't have.'_ Sakura smirked.

 _'I'm serious. Even when I was 12, if both of them had asked me to bear them children I wouldn't have refused. I loved them both, albeit for different reasons.'_ Chimera stated.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. _'Seriously? Isn't that polygamy?'_

 _'It is, but it wouldn't have mattered. Asura and Indra were the two princes of the Savior of the World. People might have talked, but no one would have questioned it had they both taken the same girl as a wife. Even a lowly servant girl.'_ Chimera stated. _'Hell, many in the servant's quarters talked about the two boys starting their own harems to spread their divine lineage as far and wide as possible. I however had a few choice opinions to give on any princesses and noble ladies who came to our palace and asked to join in such a potential harem.'_ Chimera smirked.

The scene quickly changed to Asura asking Chimera what she thought of the latest daughter of a great daimyo who came to present herself to the boy.

 _'Sure. She's make a great mother of your children if you like clubbed feet and skanks.'_ Chimera said.

 _'Wow, you've got a good eye for this, Chimera-chan. Thanks.'_ Asura smiled before he ran back into the palace's meeting hall to reject the princess's generous offer of marriage.

 _'Why didn't you just offer yourself to him right then and there?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Because at the time I was still a lowly commoner and he was the son of a demi-god. All three of us were still friends at the time, but I could rise no higher without permission from either of the two.'_ Chimera said as the scene changed again to a resplendent ball. Lords and Ladies from all across the neighboring kingdoms had come to attend. Chimera watched from the shadows of the second story of the palace at the garden below, draped in hanging lanterns. From there, she watched as Indra and Asura danced with two beautiful princesses dressed in kimonos that Chimera could only get closed to if she was ever asked to clean one of them.

 _'No matter how much I wanted to.'_

The scene shifted again, and now Sakura found herself looking down from the balcony alone at a similar looking party but this time with Chimera down on the dance floor in between the two brothers. She was dressed in a kimono grander than the ones worn by the two princesses in the last memory, and she looked to be drunk on happiness, dancing arm in arm with her two favorite men in the world.

 _'I did say that I was their only friend.'_ Chimera said as she appeared next to Sakura, looking to be around her age of 16, maybe older.

 _'That's a beautiful kimono.'_ Sakura said, it was the only thing she could think of.

 _'You like it? It's my favorite kimono.'_ Chimera smiled as she twirled around to give Sakura a 360 degree view of her dress. _'The brothers were both flabbergasted when I didn't attend the ball with them. So instead of just sending a servant to request the local artisan to make me the best kimono in the world, or asking the artisan to make the kimono for free (which he would have been happy to do, I'm sure), or even ask their father for the money to pay for said kimono. The two of them went down from their palace into the city that had sprung up around their castle and worked odd jobs for six months to pony up enough gold coins to pay the artisan for my kimono. All so that I could attend next year's ball with them.'_ Chimera sighed.

 _'They even covered it in seals to protect me, those two paranoid Bakas.'_ Chimera said fondly. 'By their own words, it cannot be burned, pierced, bludgeoned, or cut. All for my protection. The only thing it can't do is be cleaned after stained.' Chimera chuckled as back down on the dancefloor, Sakura witnessed Asura slapping Indra on the back, causing him to spill his wine all over Chimera's kimono's sleeves.

Sakura giggled again, as did Chimera at the memory.

 _'That all sounds so sweet. What made you chose Asura over Indra though?'_ Sakura asked, making the party fade away into the darkness.

 _'In a way, I didn't.'_ Chimera said as the scene changed to the inside of the palace meeting hall, where she and Sakura were spying on a meeting held by the Sage of Six Paths with Indra and Asura.

 _'Once Indra had completed his training, he chose to leave the palace and travel the world to spread the teachings of Ninshuu and learn more about the world.'_ Chimera said sadly as the world quickly shifted to her and Indra alone in his room. Sakura couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew that Chimera was begging Indra to stay, or at the very least take Chimera with her.

The scene faded back to the meeting hall. _'While Asura decided that he would stay behind with me and all our friends from the village. Together, he said, he would spread the teachings of Ninshuu gradually and learn to be a good ruler over the people. So that when Indra returned he would only have to focus on leading the clan and the religion in their father's stead.'_

Sakura witnessed as Asura and Chimera waved goodbye to Indra as he set out on his journey. Chimera held her heart in her chest while Asura held out his fist to salute his brother.

 _'For three years, it was just the two of us.'_ Chimera said as the scenery kept changing around her. _'Asura would complete his training with his father, and I would become more involved in helping Asura fulfilling his duties.'_ Sakura saw Chimera fold laundry while Asura trained in the garden. Helped him memorize the scrolls the Sage had given to him. They visited the forest and dipped their feet in the river together. During mealtimes, Asura would barge into the servant's dining room and sit next to Chimera and all their friends rather than eat an elaborate meal alone at the master dining hall.

Then they were walking through the streets of the village. The villagers bowed before Asura who carried a comical amount of feed bags atop his head while Chimera casually walked from stall to stall completing errands and finding more things for Asura to carry on his own.

The scene changed again and Sakura found herself sitting in a beautiful carriage with an impatient Asura tapping his foot and an annoyed Chimera staring at him. Both were dressed in some of their finer clothes, but something felt off about this memory.

 _'What's this memory?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'This is the day I fell in love with Asura for good.'_ Chimera said just before the carriage stopped and there was a commotion outside. _'We were on our way to a faraway Daimyo's court to spread the word of Ninshuu. That is, until we were attacked.'_ A scream punctuated Chimera's words, making Sakura jump. She could faintly hear blood splattering against the side of the carriage.

 _'Son of the Sage!'_ A man called out from outside the carriage. _'Your guards are dead! Come out so that you may join them!'_

Asura immediately stood up and despite Sakura and Chimera both knowing better than to worry about him against a few bandits, they both lunged at him and grabbed the sleeve of his robe.

 _'I won't let them hurt you.'_ Asura promised them both. He gave them a determined nod before he opened the carriage door and stepped outside.

 _'Your choices have led you here, as have mine.'_ Asura spoke to the bandits. His voice was regal and sympathetic. Exactly as Sakura imagined a true leader's voice should be.

 _'I will give you a new choice. Leave here now and live.'_ Asura spoke as Sakura could hear footsteps creeping closer towards the man. _'Or stay, and face your destiny.'_

 _'Fucking heretic brat, feel the divine judgement of Lord Jashin!'_ The attacker cried as he lunged at Asura. Sakura could hear a scuffle, but when she tried to look out the blinds of the carriage, she could not see anything, she could only hear the sounds of battle.

 _'Why can't I see anything?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Because I did not look.'_ Chimera replied with her face hidden in her hands.

There were more explosions of ninjutsu outside as more men cried out their last. Blood splattered against the roof of the carriage like rain, and Sakura swore she could hear the man she loved cry out in pain.

 _'Naruto!'_ Sakura screamed, silencing the battle outside.

For a few terrible seconds, all was quiet. Sakura could hear Chimera's heartbeat as a man stepped closer towards the carriage. The door swung open and Asura stuck his bloody head inside the carriage.

 _'You alright, Chimera-chan?'_ Naruto asked before Sakura shook her head and remembered that this was Asura, not Naruto, looking at her.

 _'I'm alright, Asura.'_ Sakura said breathlessly before she noticed the gaping wound atop Asura's forehead. _'Baka! What we're you thinking taking on all those bandits alone?'_ Sakura ranted as she yanked Naruto into the carriage.

 _'Geez, Sakura-chan. Not so hard.'_ Naruto whined as he was forced to sit down next to Sakura, their knees pressed against one another as she inspected his head.

 _'Answer the question, Naruto.'_ Sakura demanded as she saw to her delight that the wound didn't appear to be foaming or green. I.e. not poisoned.

 _'I was thinking I needed to protect you, no matter the cost.'_ Naruto said as Sakura tore at the sleeve of her kimono.

 _'Sakura-chan, your dress!'_ Naruto cried.

 _'Baka, hold still.'_ Sakura ordered as she took the strip of fabric and dipped it in her canteen of fresh water. She then cleaned his wound, ignoring his fussing, and then tore off another strip of fabric from her other sleeve and wrapped it tightly around his forehead.

 _'There, that ought to keep the rest of your blood in your brain. Not that it needs much, being so small after all.'_ Sakura stated.

 _'Geez, you're so mean, Sakura-chan.'_ Naruto whined as he looked up at her, their faces so close that their noses actually touched. Time seemed to stop. Sakura could feel Naruto's breath on her lips and felt his blue eyes tracing along her face to meet up with hers. The carriage felt incredibly cold, but Sakura's kimono felt so stuffy and warm.

Sakura had never seen that look on Naruto's face before. It wasn't goofy or in awe, it was serious...

And handsome...

And brave...

Their lips crashed together. Neither knew who made the first move, and neither one of them cared. There was a hungry in their bodies that needed this touch more than ever. Like a drug they had been denying themselves of for years or maybe even all their lives. The next thing Sakura knew, she was on the floor of the carriage with her shoulders and thighs exposed with Asura kneeling over her on all fours. Wanting nothing more than to slip back into a state of dream like bliss and let come what may. But alas, the stench of death hit her soon after it hit Asura.

Sakura could only watch as Chimera and Asura picked themselves up and tended to the dead assassins and the dead guards surrounding their carriage.

Asura lay the assassins to rest in a ditch while Chimera wrapped their bodyguards up in bedsheets and placed them inside the carriage. The two of them then continued their journey to the nearest town where they found an Inn with a bath and a private room for two.

Sakura stood outside the porch opposite the room that Asura and Chimera were staying at. The moon was full, the lanterns inside were snuffed out, and Sakura could faintly hear them from across the courtyard.

 _'I'm sure it would have been a fantastic story to tell my first-born son he was conceived on the day assassins following our enemy Lord Jashin attacked us.'_ Chimera mused as she walked up from behind Sakura to lean against the wooden railing with her.

 _'But sadly, it was not meant to be.'_ Chimera sighed. _'He would be conceived a year later during our honeymoon. Same hotel room though. So that's something.'_

 _'And you were how old then?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Oh...19...20...around that age.'_ Chimera thought.

 _'What? That young? What about the rest of your life? Didn't you want to further yourself first?'_

 _'Further myself? This was 22 years after the death of Kaguya and the creation of Ninshuu. I was supposed to be married off and producing babies by the time I was 16.'_ Chimera said. _'My god, the way my mother droned on. "You're going to become a seamstress all your life if you don't settle down soon and find a nice boy. You can't just hang off the robes of the Sage's sons and expect them to come around to you. They will both marry princesses. You will marry a nice stable boy or another servant boy. If you're lucky at the rate you're going."'_ Chimera ranted in an old crone's voice.

 _'But I told her no. I was doing important work helping Asura spread the word of Ninshuu to the people. I also gave him insight to the wants and needs of the commoners. Which he gladly accepted to help better their lives.'_ Chimera said as she began to walk slowly down the porch of the hotel, followed by Sakura.

 _'You on the other hand, there is so much for you in this century to help you provide for a growing family. But this whole waiting till you're in your 30's to have children thing is ridiculous. You do know that you start to lose your fertility after your 32nd birthday, right?'_ Chimera added

 _'I also have dreams of being the Head Medic in the Leaf village to leave my own legacy behind. I love Naruto but I don't want to just be remembered as his wife.'_ Sakura said.

 _'And you can still do that and sometimes children can make a stressful day seem like a thing of the past. I'm not saying to jump his bones and get knocked up now, but perhaps a few years down the road.'_

 _'So long as you aren't going to artificially restrict my powers until I have children, then I'll seriously consider it.'_ Sakura compromised.

Chimera shrugged. _'Fair enough I suppose.'_ Then her eyes lit up. _'Actually, this reminds me of a story you might enjoy as a future Head Medic.'_

 _'What?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'It's nothing too important. Just an example of me leaving my mark. Plus, I never get to tell this story.'_ Chimera said as the scenery shifted to the top of a rocking ship caught in a storm. Chimera was now hunched over the railing with Asura standing next to her to rub her back through the storm.

 _'As per Asura's decision, he choose to spread Ninshuu gradually across the world like a wildfire, compared to Indra's lightning strike approach. But occasionally the two of us would travel far out into the world to spread our message to friends of Asura's who invited us to meet with them and their countries across the seas.'_ Chimera said before she vomited over the side of the ship.

Chimera wiped the bile from her lips before turning back to address Sakura. _'So, the two of us were off to answer the invitation of one of Asura's friends that he had met in a bar. Who just so happened to be the son of a Senator from across the seas. I think they called themselves Romulans...Remeses...?'_ Chimera guess as the storm clouds broke and Sakura could see a beautiful city of white marble box houses climbing up the massive hill that the entire city was built upon.

The trio entered the city with a small caravan of servants following behind them. The civilians that gawked at them all wore strange clothes to Sakura. Like bedsheets draped around their torsos.

 _'Togas.'_ Chimera answered for Sakura. _'One of their odder traditions, but it works for their warm climate.'_

 _'Oh, I think you mean Romans.'_ Sakura corrected.

 _'I don't think so. I remember distinctly that their garments are called togas.'_ Chimera said as they soon found themselves skipping the long walk through the city and found themselves inside an amphitheater where men in much finer and grander togas sat in their elevated seats before them.

Asura started preaching to the Senators about Ninshuu while Chimera started to get antsy. She hopped back and forth on each foot like she was standing on a hot plate.

 _'To spare you the gruesome details, I went to look for a chamber pot and ended up discovering that the Romulans used aqueducts and running water for the world's first flush toilets.'_ Chimera said as the scene quickly changed to a large stone room like a public bathhouse like Sakura knew from the Leaf village, decorated with pictures of naked men and women with flowing hair, holding lightning bolts, tridents, and harps.

 _'I then had Asura request that the Romulan engineers share their knowledge of toilets that didn't stink. Which they were happy to agree to in exchange for the gifts of Ninshuu that Asura provided for them.'_ Chimera said proudly. _'We brought the schematics back to the palace and within the year we had our own public toilets washing our waste away. Reports of diseases were cut in half after that.'_

Sakura blinked. _'That actually is kind of impressive. How come this isn't in any of the history books?'_

 _'Because Asura would later decide to share these ideas of civilization along with his father's teachings of Ninshuu. Soon everyone was using aqueducts across all the cities. And so he got the credit for passing along the idea of sanitation to humanity.'_ Chimera said. _'By the time that Asura, Indra, and their father was considered to be myths, I was shoved back into the footnotes of history. Not that I realized that until my 10th reincarnation.'_

 _'How many times have you reincarnated?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'I've honestly lost count after the first thousand years.'_ Chimera shrugged. _'One generation bleeds into the next, and I jump around from one reincarnation to another. Sometimes before my previous reincarnation has passed. The same with Asura and Indra. They inhabit a young soul according to fate's will and grant that reincarnation with their blessings. Subtly guiding them throughout their lives.'_

The scene changed and Sakura found herself jumping thousands of years into the future to the interior of a hospital room at Konoha General. There she was surprised to see her mother, looking much younger and much more tired, cradling a new born baby while a woman with long blood red hair and a three month along pregnant stomach looked down and smiled at her goddaughter.

 _'Kushina and my mom...'_ Sakura breathed out.

 _'Oh Mebuki, she's beautiful.'_ Kushina smiled, holding out her finger to rub Baby Sakura's pudgy little cheek.

 _'Thank you. She's got her father's hair. Something I'm sure I'll never hear the end of from my Baka of a husband.'_ Mebuki sighed as Sakura could hear outside as her father Kizashi was hooting and hollering for joy out in the hallway.

 _'Not that this isn't a beautiful sight, but what's the point of this?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Nothing terribly important.'_ Chimera admitted before she walked over to Baby Sakura, dressed in the same splendid robes that Sakura had seen her in the first time. She lingered over Mebuki's bed. Stopping only to rub Kushina on the belly. If Kushina felt Chimera's touch, she made no indication of it. Next, Chimera leaned over to spy Baby Sakura's tiny sleeping face. Sakura came in close to observe this as well. She looked exactly like she did in all her baby photos. And that was before Baby Sakura opened her eyes to look up, not at her mother, but at Chimera.

 _'Rest now, little one. We've got your whole life ahead of you.'_ Chimera soothed before she reached out and touched Baby Sakura on the forehead. Sakura was suddenly brought into her infant self's perspective, just in time to see Chimera turn transparent and vanish from the physical plane. Sakura was so upset that she started crying, only to be set upon immediately by her mother and godmother.

 _'I just thought I'd show you the first time we met before I got us back on track.'_ Chimera admitted as Sakura found herself and her former Inner self back at the palace, where another baby's cries echoed through the halls.

 _'Definitely interesting, but the main thing I wanna know is how you got these powers?'_

 _'Of course, but that's a simple explanation.'_ Chimera said as she led Sakura deeper into the palace corridors. Past the giddy servants cleaning sheets and scrubbing floors with a spring in their step, and into the main chamber outside of a bedroom where the screaming was loudest. Out there, Sakura could see Asura, his father, at least a dozen men from all walks of life, and two young boys that both looked to be mixes of Asura and Chimera.

 _'Is that it? Is that my third son's cries?!'_ Asura asked frantically as he stood outside of the bedroom chamber. None of the other men spoke and all of them seemed to be terrified of stepping any closer towards the paper and wood door.

 _'Come on, this is no place for women.'_ Chimera said as she led Sakura past all the big burly men just in time for the wooden doors to open and a terrifying looking old woman stepped out into the living room.

 _'It's a girl. A healthy baby girl.'_ The woman declared as all the men took up cheers and Asura looked speechless. Giving Sakura and Chimera plenty of time to slip into the bed chamber where Sakura found Chimera seated in a sweat stained mattress surrounded by emergency wet nurses and midwives and female friends from all over the world.

Sakura stepped closer and saw Chimera holding a shrieking bundle of blankets in her arms. Her daughter's cries seeming to wish to pierce the Heavens.

 _'For the love of your father-in-law, Forehead! Can your daughter be any louder?'_ A tall woman with raven black hair exclaimed.

 _'Zip it, Pig. You didn't hear me complaining when your daughter cried so hard it made my ears bleed.'_ Chimera snapped.

 _'No one was hearing anything at that point.'_ One of Chimera's midwives stated.

 _'Well we must calm her down somehow. Perhaps she needs more skin to skin contact with her mother?'_ Another dark-haired woman suggested.

Chimera thought about it for a minute and figured it was the best idea she had available to her. She unwrapped her baby girl into her arms and held her close to her bear skin. The little girl with brown hair like Asura's clung to her mother's breast, but did not suckle. She kept crying, and Chimera could not stand to hear her daughter's shrieks like she was in pain. She willed her daughter to be calm and still. She kept imagining wrapping her daughter in her protective warmth until she felt her newest child calm herself.

 _'Forehead! You're glowing!'_ Chimera's best friend exclaimed.

 _'More like I'm caked in sweat.'_ Chimera said sweetly.

 _'No, you're actually glowing! You're using chakra!'_

Chimera opened her eyes and found to her astonishment that her arms were covered in a glowing green aura, and it was enveloping her daughter, calming her down enough to fall asleep in her mother's arms.

 _'How are you doing that? Only the Sage and his direct descendants can use chakra. You were once a commoner. How can you use it?'_ The ancestor of Ino's asked.

Chimera thought back on it and remembered all the way back to her childhood. The long mornings, afternoons, and evenings that she had spent playing with the Sage brothers. The pushing, grabbing, and touching that went on between the three of them over the years. How their very touch always seemed to invigorate her. And when she made love to Asura...it was like a shot in the arm of adrenaline. This was a similar feeling, only being released by Chimera instead of taking it in.

 _'I guess I've always had chakra. I've just never had the need to try and use it.'_ Chimera lied to give the simplest explanation.

Sakura watched as the midwives, wet nurses, and friends all faded away until only she, Chimera, and her daughter were left in the room.

 _'To clarify, my time spent growing closer to Asura and Indra allowed me to absorb their bits of chakra lingering off their bodies. That's the best explanation I can come up with.'_ Chimera explained.

 _'I meant this Kami Mode.'_ Sakura clarified.

 _'I'm getting to that.'_ Chimera said. _'By the time I had borne Asura a third child I could use chakra myself. So I began experimenting with my powers.'_ The scene changed to a twenty-five-year-old Chimera practicing out in the garden, the same one that Indra and Asura had been taught in by their father all those years ago.

Chimera was attempting to walk atop the Koi pond and was succeeding faster than Asura or Indra had ever managed. Meanwhile, her two eldest sons were sparing against a guard while their father watched over the both of them and Chimera.

 _'Doing great, honey!'_ Asura cheered for her, the same way she had cheered for him. _'You too, boys. Attack low, break his roots!'_

The two sons obeyed and ducked low to deliver low kicks to the poor samurai guard's ankles. The mortal man was no match for two boys with chakra enhanced limbs. While neither one of them were older than 5, they both knocked him to the ground.

 _'Excellent job.'_ Asura praised.

 _'Whoo-hooo!'_ Chimera cheered for them before she felt a sudden rush of fatigue. Her constant chakra training was too much and she found herself growing dizzy atop the water's surface. She fell forward, right into Asura's awaiting arms.

 _'Medic!'_ Asura called out as he held his wife and brought her to dry land.

 _'Mommy?'_ The youngest of the two boys called out as he and his brother ran towards their parents.

 _'I'm fine...I'm fine...'_ Chimera insisted as she waved off the world spinning.

 _'The Hell you are, you pushed yourself past your limit again, didn't you?'_ Asura lectured.

Chimera looked up at Asura with tired eyes. To Sakura, she looked to be on death's door with Chakra Exhaustion. By all rights, she should have fainted dead away, but Chimera kept herself conscious and held up her arm.

 _'My Prince...please, I wish to try my theory again.'_ Chimera begged.

 _'Chimera-chan...please no. You must rest now. There will be time for theories and practice later.'_ Asura insisted, but Chimera shook her head.

 _'If not now? Then when? This scenario is exactly what my jutsu is designed for. Please.'_ Chimera insisted.

Asura sighed, but relented. Sakura was confused when he held up his arm and began to channel chakra into it enough to be visible like blue flames. Chimera then reached out her palm just beyond the grasp of her husband's arm and concentrated.

Sakura's eyes went wide when the chakra off of Asura's arm began to waver and then started to float towards Chimera's outstretched hand, merging into her body. Within seconds, all the fatigue was gone from Chimera's eyes and she sat back up with completely renewed vigor.

 _'Oba, Dachi, come here.'_ Chimera then ordered. The two boys ran two feet closer to their mother's side, who placed her palms upon their heads. She breathed out, and Sakura could see visible chakra transferring from Chimera's arms over to her sons. As soon as she was done, the boys were leaping around like they had just woken up on Christmas morning, and Chimera remained just as invigorated.

 _'It's just as when you tried it on me.'_ Asura said in awe. _'You can take another person's chakra, enhance it, and then transfer it over to whomever you wish.'_

 _'Plus, every time I use this jutsu, my own chakra reserves grow stronger.'_ Chimera smirked.

 _'Oh this is wonderful, Chimera-chan. We shall be able to spread the word of Ninshuu even faster now. All thanks to you.'_ Asura leaned forward to peck Chimera on the lips.

 _'So you can absorb chakra and transfer it. How come I can't do that?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'You can. You just haven't tried to yet. You've been so focused on the side effects of my power. What you call Kami mode.'_ Chimera answered.

 _'Okay...wait, hold on. How come you got nervous when Beerus showed up?'_ Sakura asked.

Chimera blushed. _'Long story, really dumb, but a few hundred years into reincarnation and I became so sick of Asura and Indra's shit. So I took a break and accepted the advances of a handsome and powerful God of Destruction from the next dimension over. Well that lasted a total of ten years, the Godly equivalent of a one night stand until I came back to this dimension and started reincarnating again.'_

Sakura went wide eyed and blinked. _'You dated Beerus?!'_

 _'If you can call it dating. He never wanted to do anything besides eat, train, and visit planets to harass. I tried to get him to change his ways. Stop destroying planets for such minor infractions and only destroy the truly rotten ones, but he's more stubborn than Asura and Indra combined.'_ Chimera scoffed.

 _'Oh believe me, I know...even if my exposure to him was short, I could tell.'_

 _'Yeah. There is a reason my reincarnations only ever end up with Asura or Indra's reincarnations. There are a few exceptions, but those are never as fulfilling. At least not to me.'_

 _'So that's why I was always drawn to them...Chimera, was it fate that I got put on the same team as them?'_

 _'It must be. I don't select whom I reincarnate into. I'm just drawn to them. And in all my time spent as a Leaf ninja, I've always been on the same team as Indra and Asura. It's uncanny.'_

 _'Has it always been Asura?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Not always.'_ Chimera admitted. _'Sometimes it was with Indra. I pushed you away from his reincarnation this time because I know this one was going to be trouble for you in the long run. I knew that you would've been much happier with Naruto than Sasuke.'_

 _'You didn't act that way when I was younger.'_ Sakura said. _'You encouraged me to go out with Sasuke.'_

 _'To be honest, I was trying to pre-emptively end Sasuke's strife. Indra's clan was on the boiling point after his and Asura's reincarnations founded the Leaf village. I figured if I calmed his heart I could stop him from turning evil and sparing him and Asura from fighting one another for once.'_

 _'Well...you don't have to do that anymore.'_ Sakura sighed.

 _'I know...it seems that death cleansed his mind of evil and seeing you and Naruto finalized it.'_

 _'Does that mean that the cycle is broken? Indra and Asura won't fight each other anymore?'_ Sakura asked hopefully.

 _'No. One has died without killing the other before. Sometimes through outside interference, other times through old age, but the cycle always repeats. Those two fight, and I have to pick a side.'_ Chimera said grimly.

 _'How come they fought in the beginning? What started it?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'To answer that, we need to go back to when Indra finally came back.'_ Chimera said, once again making the world shift around them until they were back to the palace where Chimera was holding a one month old baby boy in her arms. Her first baby.

The little boy was cooing in his mother's arms who radiated beauty as she held him. All was well as they sat in the back gardens of the palace. All until a shadow blocked their sunlight, making Chimera look up and gasp.

 _'Indra!'_ Chimera cried out in surprise.

 _'Hello, Chimera.'_ Indra stated with a smile on his face. He looked so much older than the last time Sakura or Chimera had seen him, back when he was 18. He looked wore out, tired, but also wiser. With that same stoic look on his face as if the world around him bored him.

 _'My God, it's been almost 4 years. You never write, you never told us you would be returning. How are you?'_ Chimera asked as she stood up with little Oda in her arms.

Indra looked down at his nephew's brown hair and knew immediately. _'I see you and my brother have been busy.'_

His words cut Chimera, who for the briefest moment, looked down at her own son in shame. _'You were gone for so long. A lot has happened.'_

 _'Yes, clearly your words that you would wait for me were just that...words.'_ Indra said, making Chimera's blood run cold, then boil.

 _'You...dare speak to me like that? After leaving us for so many year?'_ Chimera asked, her voice shaking. Then she felt something jab her in the forehead and she looked up to see Indra as the culprit with his index and middle fingers pointed at her.

 _'I'm just kidding. It's natural that this could happen and no one is more ecstatic about this development than I am. Now where is my baby brother?'_ Indra smirked that cocky smirk of his.

 _'Hold on, before I tell you, would you like to hold your nephew for the first time?'_ Chimera inquired.

Indra looked down at the swaddling bread bundle with spit running down his chin.

 _'I suppose.'_ Indra said as he held out his arms and took Oda from his mother's arms.

 _'What is his name?'_ Indra said, noting the weight of the baby in his arms.

 _'Oda. After my father.'_ Chimera said before she slugged Indra right in his gut. He doubled over, still holding the baby, which Chimera took from his arms.

 _'Your brother and father are inside. Welcome home, Indra.'_ Chimera said as she walked off with her son nestled protectively in her arms.

 _'Thank you...'_ Indra squeaked before the scene changed to the interior of the meeting hall where the Sage of Six Paths sat facing his two sons and his daughter-in-law who held his only grandson.

 _'Indra, my eldest son. You have finally returned to us.'_ The Sage of Six Paths declared.

 _'I have father. I have seen the world, I have spread your teachings far and wide, and now I am ready to take the necessary steps to assume my role as your successor.'_ Indra said as he bowed his head towards his father. Asura and Chimera looked at each other fondly. This was it, this was what Indra always wanted. Now he would return home and their family would be whole again. All anyone was waiting for were the words of confirmation from the Sage of Six Paths, but they never came.

An awkward silence hung in the air as the Sage remained silent. Indra would not look up, but Asura and Chimera shared a glance or five, silently wondering what was going on.

 _'Father?'_ Indra asked without raising his head.

The Sage tisked, as if wishing he didn't have to break the news to his son this way.

 _'Indra...while you were gone, I had made my decision. I'm sorry, but you won't be my successor. I am passing that duty along to Asura.'_ the Sage spoke.

All eyes in the room went wide. Indra's, Asura's, Chimera's, Sakura's, even Oda's.

 _'Father?'_ Indra repeated.

 _'Indra...tell me, have you heard of your brother's deeds during your travels throughout the world?'_ The Sage asked.

 _'I have heard rumors, yes. Whispers here and there of his deeds, but nearly all of them confined to this country that we live in. I have spread our reach to the farthest corners of the globe!'_ Indra insisted.

 _'Yes, I have heard rumors of your teachings as well. Like flashes of lighting on the horizon your teachings are quick, brilliant, and ever fleeing. You perform a great deed in a village or city. Righting a wrong before heading off to next one. Never forming lasting bonds of friendship with the people you meet.'_

 _'Why should I befriend them? They are all mortals beneath us, father.'_ Indra argued.

 _'And is Chimera not a mortal? You befriended her, did you not?'_

Indra bit his tongue. _'She is different...father...'_

 _'I have heard enough. While you have been away, Asura and Chimera have worked together to spread the teachings of Ninshuu slowly but surely. Like a wildfire, their influence has spread across the country and to its neighboring nations. They have formed alliances and bonds of friendship that will last for generations. Ensuring not only that Ninshuu spreads, but remains...'_ The Sage stated.

Indra's fist tightened and even Chimera could feel his chakra rising.

 _'So that is it then? I am nothing to you? My years of toil and isolation wasted? Spreading your teachings, father?'_

 _'Do not despair, my son. Your efforts have not been forgotten. Nor has your sacrifice to carry out my work. I am confident that you will serve your brother well as his second once I have returned to the earth.'_ The Sage stated.

 _'Outrageous!'_ Indra snapped as he chakra made the wooden tiles beneath his feet split open. _'I return after 4 years and you expect me to assume the place behind my younger brother! I AM YOUR HEIR! YOUR FIRST-BORN SON!'_ Indra bellowed, kicking up a gale storm from his chakra alone.

 _'You forget yourself,_ _ **boy.'**_ The Sage spoke with a demonic voice that made even Sakura shiver even though this was a memory.

Indra then felt a grip on his wrist and an even greater chakra presence standing next to him. He looked back and saw his younger brother staring at him with a blank expression.

 _'Calm yourself, brother. You are startling your nephew and Chimera-chan.'_ Asura stated.

Indra looked over his brother's shoulder and saw Chimera cowering behind Asura while protecting her baby boy Oda. Indra's rage broke and he returned to his seated position.

 _'I am sorry brother, I've forgotten myself.'_ Indra admitted.

 _'It is alright, brother. I understand completely.'_ Asura reassured as he patted his brother on the back just as he had 4 years ago.

Asura then turned back to face their father with a serious face.

 _'Father, is there no way for Indra to regain your favor as heir to the clan? I will give up the position myself. I only wish to serve the people, raise my family, and spread Ninshuu.'_

 _'And that is precisely why I have chosen you as my successor, Asura. Your drive to serve me and humanity is pure, born of love. Not out of duty or obligation. It is what I want Ninshuu to be for humanity, a uniting force for peace and harmony. Through your actions, you have proven this. I will not allow you to reject your status as clan heir. Not while I still draw breath on this mortal plane. Should you switch hands of who will lead the clan after I am dead, you will do so without my blessing...'_ The Sage paused to consider his next choice of words. _'But if Indra manages to prove himself worth of retaking his birth right before my death, then I shall make the appropriate choice.'_

 _'As you wish father.'_ Asura nodded.

Indra grimaced, but nodded too. _'Thank you, father.'_

Chimera can jump ahead now.

Chimera then turned back towards Sakura. _'So, do I need to go on or can you fill in the blanks from here?'_

 _'I think I get it. Indra was blinded by jealously towards Asura and you.'_

 _'More towards Asura than me. I wonder sometimes in my most bitter moments towards Indra that he saw me just as another prize. Something he was entitled to because he was born as the Sage's oldest son. But then it makes me think that if it were true, would that mean that Asura saw me as a prize too?'_ Chimera admits.

 _'That's ridiculous, Asura loves you. In all your lives.'_ Sakura states.

 _'That's what I always think.'_ Chimera said.

 _'So with that out of the way, is it safe to assume that the Sage never changed his decision and he died with Asura as his successor?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'He did, and Indra did not take it well.'_ Chimera said as the scenes began flashing one after another. _'He spent the next 8 years trying everything he could to regain his father's favor. He did grand feats of his powers. Destroying entire kingdoms of heretics, moving literal mountains to bring a river to a dying remote village, but it was never enough. My husband never fell out of favor with the Sage.'_ Chimera said sadly as the scene changed to a distraught and frustrated Indra.

 _'We tried to help him, Asura and I, but it was never enough. Indra became more and more distant from his family. He even left us for 3 years again when he could bear to look at our seemingly perfect family.'_ Chimera said as the scene changed to her and Asura watching Indra leave again. This time with their five children by their side.

 _'Things finally came to a head when father-in-law was on death's door.'_ Chimera said as the scene changed to her, Asura, and a small army of servants all attending to the Sage as he lay in his bed. Weak and coughing.

The doors to his bedroom flew open and in stepped Indra, looking drenched from the rain. He had evidently just run day and night to get here in time.

 _'Father...'_ Indra said as he dashed over to his father's bedside.

 _'Indra...My son...'_ The Sage said weakly.

 _'Father.'_ Indra said as he brushed past Sakura and Chimera to kneel next to his father's left side. All the while Asura knelt by his father's right side.

 _'Indra...I wish for you...To aid your brother...And his family...He will remain...As my successor...'_

The air in the room ran ice cold while Indra gripped his father's limp hand.

 _'Father...I have come back from the kingdom to the east. It has no longer under grips of the heretic teachings of Jashin. I have even made friends and allies. And father...you shall have another grandson soon. With a common girl I wish I had time to introduce you too. Please reconsider...please...'_ Indra begged.

 _'Indra...You have...Only done your deeds...To benefit yourself...Asura...Has done his deeds...To benefit...The world... You do things...That suit your needs...Not the needs of others...'_

Indra gripped his father's hand tighter. Tears flowing down his cheeks. _'I see...so there truly is nothing else I can do to make you accept me as you successor...'_

 _'No...and before you do what I know you are about to do...please reconsider...stand by your brother...guide him when he is lost...serve the clan and humanity together...as brothers...adhere to my dying wish...'_ The Sage of Six Paths breathed heavily as the Impure world loosened its hold on him against the inevitable pull of the Pure world.

 _'I'm sorry father...I cannot.'_ Indra stated as his words boiled.

Faster than anyone could blink, Indra drew his sword and held the tip underneath Asura's chin. The younger brother looked up at his older brother from in between their dying father.

 _'Indra...Is this really the path...You choose...?'_ The Sage asked.

 _'It is father... If you will not accept me as your successor over my brother, then you will accept me after I am your only successor available to you.'_ Indra stated without breaking eye contact with Asura.

 _'Then...You have learned nothing...You have failed...In my teachings...You have failed the clan...And you have failed me...At being...My...Son...'_

 _'I'm sorry you think that way, father.'_ Indra spat as he dug his sword a little deeper into Asura's throat.

 _'No...I am sorry...for I have failed you as much as you have failed in turn.'_ The Sage said before descending into a violent fit of coughing.

 _'Indra...please...stop this madness at once.'_ Chimera begged.

 _'Brother...please...I don't want to do this. Not when you have a son on the way.'_ Asura stated calmly.

 _'Oh you think you can beat me after all these years? Need I remind you who was always the stronger of the two? The big brother.'_ Indra spat.

 _'Times have changed, brother. And I have changed too.'_ Asura said as he slowly stood up to face his older brother. _'You, however, seem determined to stagnate.'_

 _'I am determined to keep what is mine.'_ Indra spat.

 _'What you lost.'_ Asura snapped. _'And what I was willing to share with you, which is more than I could ever expect from you.'_

 _ **'Share? My birthright?'**_ Indra growled.

 _'Yes. I would have loved nothing more than to lead humanity side by side with you and Chimera, but your pride wouldn't let you brother.'_ Asura growled. _'And now you pull a sword on me over our father's literal deathbed. Are you fucking_ _ **kidding me?'**_ Asura's chakra levels raised up to a level Sakura didn't think was possible for Tailed Beasts. _**'I have always enjoyed prosperity from showing mercy and forgiveness to those I would call my enemies. But what you do now. I cannot forgive.'**_ Asura snarled.

Sakura felt the entire palace shaking as the two Sage brothers unleashed their Killing Intent on one another. The very ceiling opened up and Sakura could see two titans, demons made of chakra, one dark purple and the other golden yellow. Clashing with one another.

It seemed to go on forever, Sakura witnessed some of the rawest, most powerful chakra based attacks she had ever seen. They were almost like Ki attacks given form. It was overwhelming.

And then it was silent.

Sakura blinked and found herself back out in the gardens. The trees were taller than ever, the gardens had been filled with all new flowers. And the Koi pond was filled with dozens of young children training to walk on water. All of them being taught by a 28-year-old man that Sakura recognized as Oda. Chimera's first born son.

 _'Behold, Sakura, the fledgling Senju clan.'_ Chimera declared as she stepped forward to join Sakura against the railing. Chimera was now nearing fifty years old and like Tsunade somehow looked more beautiful than ever. Chakra agreed with her.

 _'What's going on?'_ Sakura asked in astonishment.

 _'Well my son Oda is taking up his father's duties of training the next generation of the Sage's clan, or what will be the Senju and later splinter off to become the Uzumaki clan.'_ Chimera answered. _'I believe he is training a combination of his own children, his nieces and nephews, and his youngest twin brother and sister.'_ Chimera smiled.

 _'Amazing...'_ Sakura said in awe.

 _'Yes...It is, isn't it?'_ Chimera smiled as she watched her grandchildren as old as 12 and as young as 5 training with her first-born son. Her first pride and joy. She knew that she had grandchildren even younger, but she had taken a break from bearing children of her own for now.

 _'I don't get it. Indra and Asura were at each other's throats. Yet seeing this, it makes me think they've buried the Kunai.'_ Sakura pointed out.

Storm clouds seem to appear out of nowhere at Sakura's mentioning the older brother's name.

 _'Far from it.'_ Chimera said as one of her youngest granddaughter fell into the pond and had to be rescued by Oda.

 _'The fighting comes in waves, sometimes with years in between them. But the last 20 years our family had been constantly harassed by Indra and his fledgling Uchiha clan. He and his son attacks our allies. Defenseless villages or peaceful cities to draw Asura and my sons out. Then he ambushes them in an attempt to kill him.'_ Chimera spat.

 _'My God...'_ Sakura whispered as she noticed that a few of the children who were training had some pre-existing injuries that they would never have gotten from training. Bandaged cuts, eye-patches, and an amputated arm on one of them.

 _'What happened...?'_ Sakura asked in horror.

 _'Indra happened.'_ Chimera said. _'He means to destroy our entire clan and he doesn't care who gets involved in the fighting. Men, women or children.'_

 _'Disgusting...'_ Sakura spat.

 _'Yes, but thankfully, this will be the last day. At least for me.'_ Chimera stated ominously.

 _'What...? How?'_ Sakura asked, dreading the answer.

 _'I didn't know it then, but this will be my last sunset. The last time I ever gaze upon my grandchildren and youngest boy and girl.'_ Chimera said as casually as she would talk about the weather.

 _'I'm sorry, I don't follow.'_ Sakura begged, desperate for clarification.

 _'I'm sorry, but I'd hate to ruin the suspense.'_ Chimera smirked as an aide came rushing to find her.

 _'Lady Chimera!'_ The man cried out, having sprinted all the way from the main gate to the gardens.

Chimera sighed before putting on a face. _'Yes? What is it?'_

 _'It is Lord Asura, my Lady. He and your sons have returned from their hunting trip. They have been attacked, my lady.'_ The aid informed her. _'By Indra.'_

Chimera and Sakura's blood ran cold as Oda overheard them and ceased the lessons. He leapt over to his mother's side, looking to be a striking resemblance to his father.

 _'Was anyone seriously injured?'_ Oda asked.

 _'Most of them, my Lord.'_ The aid reported. _'But sir, the most severe is your closest brother. Lord Dachi.'_

 _'What about my brother?'_ Oda demanded. _'What happened to Dachi?!'_

The scene changed and the servant pulled back the blanket from Dachi's cold face. His sisters and his wife all turned away in horror. Chimera, Sakura, and all the men looked down at his corpse. Their blood boiling.

 _'This was the last straw.'_ Chimera said to Sakura while the family grieved. Their bodies acting out their anguish, but their voices were silenced.

 _'Dachi was not even the first son I had lost to Indra. Nor the first grandchild that was taken from me. The first family member. The first lifelong friend. But my heart had been broken one too many times before. I was sick of my family being attacked and it's children having to fight. Never knowing the peaceful days that myself, Asura, and Indra had blissfully enjoyed from birth into our adult lives.'_ Chimera ranted.

 _'Seems to me that Uchiha hatred and demand for power runs very far back...I just didn't know how far back.'_ Sakura stated angrily.

 _'It's not all that runs back from the beginning. Their lust for revenge comes from these twilight generations as well. Not a few months earlier Oda had managed to kill Indra's oldest son and the heir to his fledgling clan. He swore he would pay us back and today he fulfilled that promise.'_ Chimera said as Dachi's wife wept atop his cold chest.

 _'That was Indra's entire plan. Eye for an eye, blood for blood, one son for another.'_

 _'He's a monster.'_ Sakura decided.

Chimera looked down and felt the same pain in her heart that she felt that afternoon in the summer. Centuries later, it's intensity never wavered.

 _'I decided right then and there that enough was enough. I didn't share Indra's desire for my clan's enemies to be wiped off the face of the earth, or my husband's foolish notion to never give up no matter what the adversity. I was a grandmother who had buried four of my grandchildren and three of my children. I wanted this idiotic feud to end once and for all so that my family could live in peace. Once and for all.'_ Chimera stated.

 _'What did you do?'_ Sakura asked.

Chimera looked up at Sakura with a look that she had seen only on the faces of mother's who had lost their children to cancer. A lack of hope. _'Whatever I had to.'_ Chimera said.

The scene changed and Sakura stood over Chimera as she sat alone at a desk in a private room, lit by a single candle stick. She was writing a letter, although the language and dialect were way to ancient for Sakura to make sense of.

 _'I am penning a letter to Indra, who I knew would be camped somewhere outside of the city, waiting for Asura to come looking for him in a blind rage, which my husband would never do. At least, not given the circumstances.'_ Chimera explained to Sakura as she finished writing the message and wrapped it up tight. She then sealed it with wax and flashed her chakra. Sakura didn't realize what Chimera was doing until she noticed the window next to her desk. She thought nothing of it, until a tiny ball of fur and nine fluffy tails leapt through the window and at Chimera's feet.

 _'KURAMA?!'_ Sakura exclaimed.

 _ **'You summoned me, Lady Chimera?'**_ Kurama asked, albeit with a much younger, cuter sounding voice than Sakura was used to. He was like a kid, a kit. He was also so incredibly fluffy and cute like a stuffed animal made living that Sakura had to stop herself from scooping him up and squeezing the stuffing out of him.

 _'Oh this is too good! I can't wait to lay into that fuzz ball for this!'_ Sakura laughed.

 _'Yes, Kurama. I need you to deliver a message to Indra. Within the hour if possible. I want a response as fast as humanly possible.'_ Chimera said.

 _ **'Well shoot, I'll get it done in a quarter of that time. I'm a fox!'**_ Kit Kurama declared as he stood up on all fours and puffed out his chest like a kid playing samurai.

Sakura was laughing so hard that she was holding her sides.

Chimera giggled. Despite the deathly seriousness of the situation, even she could not hold back her delight at how cute the little baby fox was. Even if he was only 50 years old, he was the human equivalent of 5 years old.

 _'I know you will, but be careful. Indra's Sharingan can control you.'_ Chimera said as she handed Kurama the letter, which he leapt into the air to snatch it out of her hand with one of his tails.

 _ **'Don't you worry about a thing, Lady Chimera.'**_ Kurama chirped. _**'I'll get this message to that jerk Indra before you can blink.'**_ Kurama then turned his fluffy little tails and leapt out of the window into the moon lit world outside.

 _'Oh my god! He was so adorable yet so funny!'_ Sakura laughed.

 _'Trust me, I have trouble not laughing out loud whenever I see what a hardass he has become.'_ Chimera smiled.

 _'Hoo...oh man...'_ Sakura breathed, finally recovering from her laughing fit. _'I think if you talked to him as you are now, he'd recognize you.'_

 _'It's been way too long for that. But maybe once you all defeat the Frost Demon we can mess with Kurama.'_ Chimera smirked.

 _'Oh definitely.'_ Sakura smirked back.

 _'But for now. I'm going to skip us ahead a half an hour when Kurama returns with Indra's reply.'_ Chimera said as Kit Kurama returned with the same message with new writing written on the back.

 _ **'I got it, Lady Chimera!'**_ Kurama proudly declared. _**'I had to threaten to bite him so that he'd hurry up, but eventually he replied quickly.'**_

Chimera smiled. _'Good job, Kurama. I'll make sure to have a nice tasty steak for you tomorrow.'_

 _ **'For reals?!'**_ Kurama yipped. He rolled on his back like a puppy dog. _**'I love steak!'**_

 _'OH MY GOD STOP! I'M GONNA PEE!'_ Sakura cried in laughter again.

Chimera unrolled the message while Kurama ran around her feet in joy for his reward.

 _'Looks like Indra accepted.'_ Chimera stated for Sakura's sake.

Sakura was able to catch her breath upon hearing that. _'Oh god...what is it?'_

 _'Indra has agreed to meet with me at his camp to discuss terms for surrender.'_ Chimera said as she stood up and rubbed Kurama's belly to get him to stop running.

 _ **'Lady Chimera! I'm ticklish!'**_ Kurama laughed.

 _'I know, Kurama. Now I need you to make yourself scarce for the time being. Don't accept any summons from anyone else in my family for tonight. And whatever you do, don't tell anyone about the message I had you deliver.'_ Chimera ordered with a smile.

 _'Wait a minute! Terms of surrender? Who's surrender?'_ Sakura asked as Kurama hopped away and Chimera penned another letter that she left inside her desk away from prying eyes.

Chimera then stripped herself of her usual kimono meant for daily wear and changed into her kunoichi outfit. A robe similar in design to Asura's that Sakura could tell from the stitches was not used just for kinky nights alone with Asura. Then Sakura recognized it by its fabric as the same dress that Asura and Indra had bought and embedded seals into for Chimera all those years ago.

 _'Come on, Sakura.'_ Chimera said as she stood framed in the open window, gazing out at the night time world filled with mystery and adventure. _'It is time to end this tale, for the first time.'_ Chimera said as she leapt out of her study and over the gardens of her palace.

Sakura leapt after her and when she landed the two of them were walking deep inside of the forest Sakura could just barely recognize as the one she had witnessed Chimera playing in with Asura and Indra as children. It seemed that everything was coming back around full circle as they stepped further and further into the inky black unknown.

 _'I remember being so scared when I first walked through this forest as a child.' Chimera said out of the blue. 'Even with Asura and Indra by my side.'_ They leapt over a river Sakura swore was the same one they once swam in. _'But back then...as I walked to what I assumed would be my certain death...I didn't feel scared at all.'_

Sakura didn't say anything as they leapt over a ridge with a cave.

 _'Maybe it was because of my grief for my second son was so great. Or maybe because I kept forcing myself to think of my grandchildren finally being free to live happy carefree lives. But I wasn't scared.'_ Chimera admitted. _'Except now...no matter how many times I relive this memory with however many reincarnations of myself. When I know the outcome. I can't help but be afraid... Funny how that works.'_

 _'...you gave your life to save your family, didn't you?'_ Sakura asked.

Chimera looked back at Sakura as if the girl was already supposed to know the answer. _'I did. But not in the way you might think. Or maybe just not how it appears now.'_

 _'Why didn't you use that red form that you give me? You could've just taken him down.'_

 _'Do you think I want to kill him? What would that accomplish besides spreading the anger and hatred to his children who would then take it out on my children? I said I wanted to end it, not prolong it.'_ Chimera stated as Sakura noticed them coming towards a campfire.

 _'So then how are you going to end it?'_ Sakura asked as she began to notice figures standing or sitting around the campfire.

 _'Watch.'_ Chimera said as she entered the camp where Indra and his 12 children stood around the campfire with him. They all shared distinguishing traits with Indra, most notably his glowing red Sharingan that were all staring at Chimera and felt like they could even see Sakura. But the two women could tell at a glance that all of these children came from different mothers. Either willing or from rape. They all looked to be conceived in the same year.

 _'Hello, Chimera-chan.'_ A voice dripped from the mouth of the leader of the fledgling clan.

 _'Hello, Indra.'_ Chimera spoke with an exhausted voice. Any love or admiration in her voice had long since vanished from when she addressed the man she once had a crush on.

The Indra children all shifted uneasily in their seats and on their feet. Expecting a fight when Chimera and Indra remained calm.

 _'So, you wished to speak to me?'_ Indra asked smugly.

 _'I want you to turn around and leave this kingdom once and for all. Then keep going until you've crossed the great sea and are a thousand miles away from the nearest ally of Asura's.'_ Chimera demanded.

A few of Indra's son laughed at Chimera's presumption, the others knew from experience how dangerous this woman could be.

 _'And why in the world would I ever do that? I wasn't under the impression that you could order me around.'_ Indra stated.

 _'I'm not ordering you. I am begging you in the name of our past friendship to let sleeping dogs lie. You've killed mine and Asura's second son. We've killed your oldest son. We are even. Let it end.'_ Chimera stated. _'Just leave my family alone and I know that Asura and our children and our grandchildren will never pursue you. You can teach Ninshuu on your side of the world. You can claim yourself to be the founder. We'll call our teachings something different. I don't care. I want the fighting and killing to end once and for all.'_

The Indra children all went silent. This honestly sounded like a good deal. No more hiding in run down villages in between attacking members of the Senju clan at their father's insistence.

Indra just leaned forward in his seat.

 _'Interesting.'_ Indra said. _'You really will do whatever you have to get rid of me. Just as you said in your letter.'_

 _'That's right.'_ Chimera said without a hint of hesitation.

 _'Very well. I'll do just that.'_ Indra stated. _'I will take my family east until we are beyond the influence of even your most remote allies. We shall forget our dead siblings and start our own Ninshuu in another continent and never harass your clan again.'_ Indra said, surprising even his children. _'On one condition.'_

 _'Name it.'_

 _'Bear me a son.'_ Indra said.

 _'EXCUSE HIM!?'_ Sakura roared.

 _'Is this some kind of petty revenge against Asura?'_ Chimera asked bluntly. _'You get to be with the woman he stole from you thirty years ago?'_

 _'Partly. But I have also noticed that you have borne my brother the strongest children. We have killed two of your sons for ten of my sons and daughters. My brother and I are even in terms of strength, thus you must be the deciding factor when dozens of other commoners produce me nothing but these weaklings.'_ Indra waved his hand at his spawns.

 _'They are weak because you have never given them a reason to fight other than to serve your own pathetic revenge.'_ Chimera stated.

 _'Maybe, but this will prove it, won't it?'_ Indra asked, his offer now on the table.

 _'You can't be serious. You wouldn't actually sleep with this creep, would you? After everything he is done? After all the pain!'_ Sakura screamed at Chimera. Who just looked back at Sakura without any hope in her eyes.

 _'I said I would do anything to end this. And I meant, anything.'_ Chimera said.

 _'But this...it's too much...what would Asura say? How could you do this to him?'_

 _'I imagine he will hate me for being unfaithful. And he would be right to. But so long as this saves my children, I will be content to be shunned and disgraced.'_

 _'How do you even know he'll keep his word?!'_ Sakura exclaimed, only to be answered with silence.

 _'How do you want this? I will not travel with you and leave my family.'_ Chimera stated.

 _'And I care little to deal with you being pregnant. I remember your temper from when we were young. I have no interest in witnessing it with a child growing inside you.'_ Indra said.

 _'So then you wish for me to bear your child in secret for nine months?'_ Chimera asked. _'That shouldn't be a problem. Asura and I make love enough that it wouldn't be a stretch that it was his.'_

Sakura smirked at her counterpart's cheek of telling her ex how much she was having sex.

 _'And in return, my clan shall cease hostilities for nine months until you give birth. Then you shall present to me a healthy son and my clan shall leave your inferior clan alone for the rest of time.'_ Indra said.

 _'And what if it comes out a daughter? I can't control its gender. I'm not sure if you are aware.'_ Chimera asked.

 _'Then we will have to try again. Won't we?'_ Indra sneered. Making both pink haired women shiver.

 _'You can't be serious! You can't go through with this!'_ Sakura exclaimed.

 _'And why not? Are you saying you wouldn't mother a bastard to save the rest of your children?'_ Chimera asked.

 _'Wha- I couldn't- I mean, I uh...'_

 _'When you become a mother, you will understand your duty to your children. And when you become a grandmother, you will understand your duty to your clan.'_ Chimera stated.

Sakura couldn't respond to that. How could she? Despite her scare a few weeks ago, she's not a mother and her clan had dwindled down to her, her parents and one or two distant relatives. She had no experience with being in a large clan or a recognizable period.

 _'Very well. Give me a week to prepare. I must grieve for my son.'_ Chimera said.

 _'No. It's now or never.'_ Indra said firmly.

Chimera blink, not even surprised. _'You really are the worst, aren't you?'_

 _'He is what life has made him.'_ Indra said, quoting one of the philosophers who came to the Sage's castle.

 _'He, was an asshole to begin with.'_ Chimera countered as she walked past the campfire towards the biggest tent that was obviously Indra's.

 _'Wait a minute. How can you bear him a child? At your age, your fertility is in the tubes.'_ Sakura pointed out.

 _'You may remember that an Uzumaki bloodline is vitality and an extra strong life force. That bloodline comes from chakra, and they got that chakra from Asura. Which is where I got it from. Thus, I can bear children for longer.'_ Chimera answered.

 _'Oh...huh...didn't know that.'_

 _'Yeah, so be sure to thank Asura the next time Naruto goes at you like a locomotive.'_ Chimera winked. _'Or you know, when it just saves his life.'_

 _'Heh...yeah...'_ Sakura chuckled in embarrassment in a very Naruto like fashion.

Chimera smiled before slowly walking towards the tent, Sakura's heart was racing with every step. Chimera stopped outside of the tent flap and Indra walked right past her.

 _'Don't be so nervous. This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?'_ Indra smirked as he walked up to Chimera and whispered in her ear.

Chimera turned back to Sakura with a sad smile on her face. _'You know what the saddest part of this whole thing is?'_

 _'What?'_ Sakura asked, afraid of the answer.

 _'He's right.'_ Chimera admitted. _'Deep down...I've always wanted this. Because deep down...I still love him.'_

Sakura gasped. _'Why? After everything he's done?!'_

Chimera shrugged. _'It's my curse. To love two men. For they are my brother too, my family.'_ Chimera then stepped into the tent to leave Sakura out in the cold.

Sakura watched as Indra followed her into the tent, a smug look on his face was evident to Sakura as she glared daggers at the man who would do such a repulsive act.

 _'Yeah, keep going you sick prick.'_ Sakura spat, knowing that this was just a memory and that he couldn't actually see her.

She tapped her foot in irritation, waiting for the scene to change as it always did, but she remained in front of the tent.

 _'Um? Chimera?'_ Sakura asked to no reply.

 _'Chimera!'_ Sakura shouted, trying to gather her past life's attention. Still no reply.

 _'Oh please tell me you don't want me to watch.'_ Sakura groaned before she sensed movement coming from the bushes behind the main tent. Sakura's curiosity got the better of her and she headed over to behind the tent and pushed past the bushes. There she found the absolute last person she wanted to see right now. Asura. Hiding in the bushes and looking at the tent. Which was casting a shadow showing two familiar silhouettes laying on top of one another.

 _'Oh shit, Chimera!'_ Sakura called out, hoping to get her attention.

 _'It's fine, Sakura...this is what happened.'_ Chimera answered from the tent.

Asura then brushed past Sakura and ripped the back of the tent wall open.

 _'CHIMERA!'_ Asura roared.

 _'A-Asura! Honey, I can explain!'_ Chimera tried to say.

 _'Sleeping with the enemy!? My brother!? And the murderer of our children?! How can you explain?!'_ Asura roared as he pushed past Chimera and swung his sword at Indra.

 _'How does it feel, Asura? To watch the woman you love returning to her true love. After all these years...'_ Indra smirked as he backed up to grab his own sword.

 _'Asura, it's not true! I love you! I was trying to get Indra to leave for good!'_ Chimera begged him to understand.

 _'SHUT UP! YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!'_ Asura screamed at the top of his lungs. _'You're a cancer on the world and to me, brother! I should have done this long ago!'_

 _'YOU TOOK MY DESTINY AWAY! YOU TOOK MY LOVE AWAY! AND YOU CALL ME A CANCER?!'_ Indra yelled.

 _'I TOOK NOTHING! YOU THREW ALL THOSE THINGS TO THE WAYSIDE BECAUSE YOU WERE GIVEN THEM! I WAS NOT GIVEN THEM! I EARNED THEM!'_ Asura ranted as he unleashed his chakra and sent Indra flying out of his tent. _'FROM MY BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS I EARNED THEM! YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO EARN ANYTHING SO WHEN YOU FINALLY HAVE TO TRY AND FAIL YOU THROW A TEMPER TANTRUM!'_

Asura became enveloped in golden chakra that began to elevate him off the ground with each step.

 _'THAT'S ALL THIS IS, INDRA! A THIRTY YEAR LONG TEMPER TANTRUM!'_

 _'That...looks like Naruto's transformation...'_ Sakura gasped in awe.

 _'That's not an accident.'_ Chimera said as Indra began to envelop himself in purple chakra like armor.

 _'What the...what is this?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Susanoo. The final and greatest power of the Sharingan.'_ Chimera explained. _'It is an absolute defense that completely conceals the user in chakra and is perfect for offense and defense.'_

 _'Unbelievable...wait, what if Sasuke was able to...'_ Sakura trailed off as she imagined the horror of it.

Indra's children all fled at the sight of the two titans raising higher towards the sky.

 _'He would have had to kill his best friend and replace his eyes with another pair of Sharingan in order to unlock Susanoo.'_ Chimera consoled.

 _'My God...Sasuke could have been this powerful?'_ Sakura asked as she looked up at the two titans.

 _'Stronger I'm sure. Now watch what happens.'_ Chimera said.

Asura's chakra form them grew four other arms and Indra's created a sword made of chakra. The two men slammed their feet into the dirt and the battle began.

 _'And this all started because Indra didn't get what he wanted? What the fuck...really? Is he 50 or 5?'_ Sakura deadpanned.

 _'You tell me. You've seen this whole story through my eyes.'_ Chimera said.

 _'Well then what do you think of his side of the story?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'How would you feel if you grew up with everything, knew nothing but a perfect life, and then had it all snatched away from you as punishment for doing things the way you thought they should be done? Truly, Indra's only mistake was leaving on his pilgrimage, which the Sage of Six Paths encouraged him to go on. Where did he go wrong?'_ Chimera pointed out.

Sakura pondered things for a minute. _'The Sage of Six Paths never wanted Indra to be his successor, did he?'_

 _'I can't honestly say.'_ Chimera admitted. _'He loved both his sons, that is without question. He would praise both of their deeds around the dinner table. But it was Indra's decision to go. And Asura's decision to stay. Father-in-law merely provided them both with his wisdom on how to go about with both methods. Except Asura was the more successful of the two.'_

 _'I'm just calling it as I see it. I don't know, maybe I'm just over thinking it.'_

 _'You could spend the next two thousand years have this debate in your head. I should know, I have had this debate in my head.'_ Chimera admitted.

 _'I don't know about you, but I doubt I'm gonna be jumping from person to person. I plan on going to Grand Kai's planet after I die.'_

 _'Yeah, good for you. You think I wouldn't like to be free of jumping from person to person? I want to see my children and grandchildren again. Maybe even meet the rest of my family. Dachi's wife was pregnant at the time and she named her daughter after me. And I never even got to meet her.'_ Chimera grumbled.

 _'Oh no.'_ Sakura gasped in horror. _'I didn't mean it like that. I just meant...'_

 _'I know what you meant...'_ Chimera sighed. _'I'm just tired of jumping around bodies every other odd century.'_

 _'How did that even happen? It must have something to...do...wait a minute...'_ Sakura paused going deep into thought.

 _'What?'_ Chimera asked.

 _'Hold on a second...you married a son of the Sage, you aided him in spreading the good word of ninshuu, you had several children with him...YOU BECAME A GOD?!'_ She exclaimed when the realization hit her.

 _'A demi-god, technically. A God has less love for mortals.'_ Chimera said.

 _'So what?! It makes sense now! When you passed, you were granted the powers of the Sage Brothers by association and marriage!'_

 _'You act like this was a blessing.'_ Chimera said as the two brothers grappled with one another, rolling around in the Titan forms, flattening the landscape as they went.

 _'Well, no. I'm just saying that this really makes sense now. I finally understand now and that's what is making me a little giddy, I guess...sorry.'_

 _'Don't worry about it. Just watch closely for the next few minutes.'_ Chimera said before she burst into a fire red chakra, covering her entire body. Purple ribbons wrapped around her torso and limbs as her eyes burned with white flames.

 _'Woah...can I do that?'_

 _'When I'm done with you, you will. Until then, witness my final moments.'_ Chimera said before she leapt 2,000 feet into the air at the two titans. Indra had his back turned which gave Chimera the exact opportunity she needed to punch his Susanoo in the back of the head.

Indra stumbled and turned around to see Chimera in her Kami form falling right by his head. He slashed his sword at Chimera as she sailed through the air. Sakura gasped when she saw Chimera nimbly leap over the sword taller than the palace she grew up in.

 _'CHIMERA! LEAVE NOW!'_ Asura ordered.

 _'I WON'T!'_ Chimera shouted as she punched Indra's Susanoo right in his ribs, sending him flying 2 miles away.

 _'I LOVE YOU, ASURA! AND I LOVE OUR FAMILY MORE THAN ANYTHING! INDRA SAID HE WOULD LEAVE OUR FAMILY ALONE IF I BORE HIM A CHILD! SO I AGREED!'_ Chimera shouted as she felt through the air until she was caught by Asura's giant chakra titan.

Asura's giant hand brought Chimera closer to him. _'Why...'_

 _'For us. For our sons and daughter, and their children, and their children's children. I didn't want one more drop of blood shed between our houses and I was ready to die with you hating me for that.'_ Chimera said with tears in her eyes.

 _'I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I couldn't risk you saying no.'_

 _'So you went behind my back anyway and cheated on me...I thought you were better than that...after all we've been through together.'_ Asura spat.

 _'If it makes you feel any better, he never touched me. I was lying on my back, waiting for him to get it over with when you showed up.'_ Chimera said.

 _'No...it doesn't...the fact that you were allowing him to procreate with you is what's the worst.'_

 _'I know. And I understand that you hate me for it. But I did it to protect our family and I would do it again.'_ Chimera said.

 _'There are other ways to ensure our families safety...cheating on me...is not one of them.'_ Asura snarled.

 _'How then? Fighting? Negotiation? We've tried that for twenty years!'_ Chimera cried. _'I was ready to die for this family!'_

Asura looked over at Indra who was taking his sweet ass time recovering from that punch. _'I fucking hate it when you're right!'_ Asura snapped.

 _'Just let me help you...let me redeem myself for the pain I've caused you.'_ Chimera pleaded.

 _'Fuck! You're cooking me Udon for the next month!'_ Asura ordered.

Chimera smiled. _'Anything you want, honey.'_

 _'And you're wearing the dress gift that Caesar sent us next time! I don't care how breezy it is.'_ Asura ordered.

Sakura looked up and could see a white see through dress meant for Arabian dancers hovering in the sky as Chimera imagined it.

 _'I'll wear it anytime you want.'_

 _'While serving me Udon?'_ Asura asked.

 _'Anytime.'_ Chimera smiled.

 _'You sure you want to give him so much power?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Yes I was. I was willing to do anything to get back on his good side. Even if it meant I had to wear nothing for a month straight, I was willing to accept.'_

 _'I'm just saying. You give'em an inch and they take a mile.'_ Sakura said.

 _'Anal?'_ Asura suggested.

 _'I'm willing to give you anything you want, but not that.'_ Chimera smirked.

 _'Oh good, I was worried that I'd be walking all over you from now on.'_ Asura smiled.

 _'How can I have more children if you fuck me in the ass?'_ Chimera winked.

 _'Maybe I just wanna feel your tight ass around my cock?'_ Asura smirked.

 _'Umm...weren't you guys fighting Indra?'_ Sakura asked, starting to be grossed out.

 _'Wait for it.'_ Chimera said before there was a huge explosion and Indra's Susanoo appeared out of the rubble.

' _Shall we?'_ Chimera asked her husband.

' _We shall.'_ Asura smirked as he charged at Indra with Chimera standing on his shoulder. The two titans met and the three of them clashed.

 _'I'm actually just going to skip ahead because we all know how this song and dance goes.'_ Chimera said as Sakura witnessed the three demi-gods fighting one another to the bitter end. Asura and Chimera worked together as a perfect team while Indra used every jutsu in his arsenal. The battle seemed to last for hours and by the time Susanoo and Asura's chakra form had been extinguished, the landscape was completely unrecognizable. All that was left were burning splinters and smashed rocks. Chimera was laying on a pile of rubble; Indra's last hit having knocked the wind out of her while Asura stood over her with his arm limp and dripping blood.

Indra stood opposite Asura, looking no better. The both of them were bleeding and had their garments torn. Their chakra levels were also dangerously low.

 _'Will you...just die already...'_ Indra growled.

 _'Indra...'_ Asura gasped out. _'Please stop this...we're family...we can put...this all...behind us...and live a happy life...like when we were young...'_

 _'Aha-AHAHAHAHAHA!'_ Indra burst out laughing, his voice echoing all throughout the battlefield.

 _'The hell is he laughing about.'_ Sakura snarled.

 _'You...you really are a fool, brother!'_ Indra laughed. _'You think we can go back to the way we once were? No. Not when I'm so close to killing you both once and for all.'_

 _'Is it really such a farfetched idea to imagine? Or are you so blinded by pride and revenge that you refuse to see your own short comings?'_ Asura spat.

 _'Are you blind? I killed your second son not a day ago. I've got your bitch of a wife on death's door after I had her in my bed. And you want us to both hug it out? Read the fucking mood for once, Asura!'_ Indra roared.

 _'How about you open your eyes and wake up!'_ Chimera yelled. _'He gave you the opportunity to take his position and he's giving you the chance to change now and just like before, you spit it back in his face!'_

Chimera shakily stood up in defiance. _'Personally, I'm tired of giving you chances to change. You're a curse to this world and I would rather see you laying in your own blood at our feet then let you continue to draw breath...'_

' _No, Chimera...you can't do it. You're too weak to do anything.'_ Indra sneered.

 _'I will...with my dying breath...I will take you down. One way or another, you will die this day-ASURA! NO!'_ Chimera screamed when Asura rushed past her.

Chimera tried to run after him, but something was wrong with her leg, she couldn't move. Asura clashed with Indra, all their chakra was depleted and they had been reduced to fighting in hand to hand combat.

 _'What's happening?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'These...are my final moments...'_ Chimera answered.

 _'What?'_ Sakura asked as she looked back and saw that Asura was starting to give ground to Indra.

 _'Just watch.'_ Chimera said.

Indra stuck a devastating blow to Asura, then another, his defenses seemed to be crumbling beneath Indra's onslaught. He took one last punch to the face and fell to his knees. His neck exposed to the heavens.

Indra paused as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His greatest enemy, kneeling before him, completely helpless.

 _'You great fool! I always knew you would kneel before me in the end.'_ Indra proclaimed as the picked his sword out of the rubble and lined it up to skewer his brother. _'Goodbye, Asura...'_

The younger sibling closed his eyes and heard the sickening sound of metal slipping through flesh, yet he felt nothing.

Sakura looked on in horror at what she just witnessed.

Chimera had leapt off of her broken leg and made it in between the two Sages at the last possible second. She took Indra's sword right through her heart.

 _'CHIMERA-CHAN!'_ Asura cried as he lunged to catch her before her legs gave out. Indra quickly stepped back, horrified by what he had done.

 _'Chimera...'_ Indra whispered.

 _'Chimera, stay with me!'_ Asura begged, ignoring his own fatigue. His hand pressed against her entry wound, her blood seeping through his fingers and staining his chest.

 _'I'm...I'm sorry...dear...looks like...I won't be...keeping that deal...after all...'_ Chimera gasped out.

 _'Damn it, I don't care about that! I just want you to live. Live for our children. You were always the better parent.'_ Asura cried.

 _'I...I'm...sorry...I...l-love...you...'_ Chimera said. With her last breath, she transferred the remainder of her fleeting Chakra before everything went black.

Sakura found herself surrounded by darkness. The same inky black darkness that first surrounded her when she began her meditation.

 _'It was at that point I passed out. Asura used the remainder of my chakra to kill Indra before he succumbed to his own injuries. All 3 of us died that day, but because of my relationship with Asura, I was granted the same status they were; a demi-god.'_ Chimera explained.

 _'My god...'_ Sakura gasped out.

 _'Yes...I learned later on from my reincarnations that Indra's children fled the country that very night. Without Indra to guide them, they ceased to attack my children. For two hundred years afterwards, there was peace. My family prospered long enough that they began to stagnate and grow corrupt from so much power and influence. Which gave the Uchiha clan the opportunity they needed to lead a rebellion against the Senju kingdom. Overthrowing our theocratic monarchy and scattering my family to the wind.' Chimera said. 'From there, history repeated itself with our two houses clashing together like waves of two great seas. Until Asura's reincarnation Hashirama Senju managed to convince Indra's reincarnation Madara Uchiha to cease hostilities and form a village where ninja clans that had all splintered off from the blood of the Sage of Six Paths and of his twin brother. Madara agreed, but this did not stop their quarrels. They fought many battles, even after they made peace. And it was only after my reincarnation, Mito Uzumaki, gave up her body to let Hashirama seal Kurama inside of her, that Hashirama gained the upper hand to kill Madara.'_

 _'Naruto's ancestor?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Yes. You know that the Senju and the Uzumaki were once the closest descendants of me and Asura. When the Uchiha clan destroyed our kingdom the Senju fled the country and fought against the Uchiha for the next two thousand years. The Senju clansman who would go on to be the Uzumaki clan took refuge on a remote island surrounded by whirlpools where they hide from the Uchiha and mastered their craft of Fuinjutsu. It was my pink hair that later mutated into their trademark blood red hair.'_ Chimera said.

 _'Then...Where did the Haruno clan come from?'_ Sakura asked as she pointed to her own pink hair.

 _'I don't know. It's been two thousand years, I'm certain that at some point one of my clansmen broke away from the family and remained a clan of civilians up to this day.'_ Chimera shrugged.

 _'So, wait...That means...I'm one of your descendants...?'_

 _'Possibly. You could even be a descendant of a cousin of mine that I didn't know about. Genetics are a funny thing.'_

 _'Woah...'_ Sakura breathed out in awe.

 _'So now you know everything.'_ Chimera sighed.

 _'Wait, one question. Madara, you said that Hashirama, one of Asura's, he killed Madara. You're certain of this?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Yes I am. Whoever this Madara is now is not the real one.'_ Chimera assured.

 _'So do you have any idea who it could be?'_

 _'No. I have no idea who it could be. But it's not Madara himself I can promise you that.'_

 _'Alright, if you say so...'_ Sakura said as she just stood opposite Chimera in her godly form. _'So is that it? I can use your powers now?'_

 _'No. Now we can begin your training.'_ Chimera stated.

 _'Training?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'Yes. To use my powers and what you call Kami mode more effectively. By completing that, you should be able to keep pace with Naruto on the battlefield. Perhaps even surpass him.'_ Chimera smirked.

Sakura went wide eyed. _'S-surpass him...?'_

 _'Naruto is indeed powerful in a raw sense, but Asura does not like to directly instruct his reincarnations. I, however, have no such problems with giving you a helping hand.'_ Chimera smirked.

 _'Wow...That's...That's amazing! But how would that compare to Gohan and Videl?'_

 _'The half Saiyans? Hard to say. Their raw power of Ki can't be matched, but there is a reason that Chakra outlived Ki on this planet. We shall surpass them with skills and finesse when they come at us with overwhelming might.'_ Chimera declared.

 _'Um... We're not fighting them.'_

 _'But we could. If their clan ever threatened our clan we could take them out.'_ Chimera stated.

 _'We literally had two threesomes with them. I think we are friends for life at this point.'_ Sakura said.

 _'Yea...That's true. But we can smoke these other Saiyan's.'_ Chimera smirked.

 _'Oh, without question. Now teach me how to do that.'_ Sakura said.

 _'Alright.'_ Chimera smiled as the scene changed and Sakura found herself sitting at her desk back in her old classroom in the Academy. Chimera stood by the chalkboard wearing a Chunin Instructor's outfit.

 _'Pull out your notebooks and hold onto your butt, girl. Class is in session.'_ Chimera smirked.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: Yes, I did copy a scene from Samurai Jack and reworked it in there.**

 **Fight me.**

 **At times this chapter felt like a story in of itself, which made it so fun that we couldn't stop writing it. Has anyone ever done a story about Naruto and Sakura spreading the word of Ninshuu to the world? Cause I'd say there is potential in there. Not that I'm saying me and Cmartin need any more stories to work on, but thinking up stories is always the fun part. Writing them…that takes dedication.**

 **Tell us what you thought.**


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